[Milsurplus] B 36 bombers.

[mikea]

On Sat, Sep 19, 2015 at 11:09:07AM -0700, Mark via Milsurplus wrote:
> Saw and heard a few B 36s in the 50s but they were high up. Looked through
> cheap kids binoculars. Couldn't see much more than an outline. Unmistakable
> sound though.
>
> The only ones I've seen up close are the one at Dayton OH (complete) and the
> one at Merced CA (interior totally gutted).
>
> Went to a B-36 crew reunion years ago at Castle AFB. Amazing stories. Talked
> to guys who used the ARC 21 AM CW liaison radios and scanned HF spectrum
> with ARR-7.
>
> One story told by several different crew members were missions flow WELL
> ABOVE 60,000 ft in 36Hs that had undergone the featherweight mod. They
> would not say where the missions were flown but all agreed on altitude.
> Lowered wing loading after the featherweight mod program apparently allowed
> a service ceiling that far exceeded the published specs.
>
> I have a RB-36H Dash 1 manual. What a complicated aircraft. What really
> amazes me is the the manual still has that distinctive 1950s airplane smell.
> Those who flew those old planes know the aroma.
>
> Interestingly the lone C-99 is being totally restored for static display.
> Transport version of B-36.

I remember a flight of B-36 going over Tyndall AFB when I was maybe 10, which
would have been 1956-ish. Sounded like a contrabass beehive. The closest thing
I have now to that sound is the low "C" on my cello. 

That was the same trip where I heard a U-2 pilot say that he was at 102,500
feet, and then clam up. Can anyone say "Beadwindow"?

-- 
Mike Andrews, W5EGO
mikea at mikea.ath.cx
Tired old sysadmin