[MilAir] B-52H "Chill 32" on 11175 kHz

[Clarke, Tom AIR4.0P NATOPS]

11175 kHz USB 1755z: HF-GCS Station "Offutt" wkg "Chill 32" (B-52H,  Minot 
AFB 5BW) for phone patch to DSN 453-4481 (Minot AFB Baron  Ops); Chill 32 is 
told that 1915z is the hard land-time because Maintenance  needs 6 hours 
between flights; trouble with #7 Generator; it has  decoupled. (26/Aug/2009) 
(ALS)  
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Hopefully he was able to limp into Minot on the 7 remaining generators! (-: wink :-)

Actually generator failures can be troublesome; mechanically rather than electrically.

Certain mechanical failures can cause overheat/fire issues. All "fearless" pilots do
actually have one fear - fire!

I can guarantee that seeing that red light and hearing the bell in the middle of a long,
up until now, boring flight, really gets your attention!

The other issue is with the mechanism that mechanically disconnects the generator 
from the engine accessory drive (often called a CSD).  Depending on the type of failure,
the disconnect can allow contaminents (typically metal chips, etc) to get into
the engine oil system and FOD (foreign object damage) the rest of the engine.  Now you have
not only a generator change ($$) to deal with, but a possible bad engine ($$$$).

Tom
Pax River, MD