Showing posts with label B-52. Show all posts
Showing posts with label B-52. Show all posts

15 August, 2022

B-52 Stratofortress Lands In Maine After 29 Years

Photo By Master Sgt. Andrew Sinclair | The Loring Commerce Centre welcomes home an old friend July 11th, 2022, Limestone, Me. It was one of the largest bases of the U.S. Air Force's Strategic Air Command during its existence and was home to the B-52 Stratofortress.
Photo by Master Sgt. Andrew Sinclair

It’s been nearly 29 years since a B-52 Stratofortress has landed in the great state of Maine; the last time being in the Fall of 1993 at Loring Air Force Base in Limestone, Maine.

At the time of its closure, Loring AFB was home to the 42nd Bomb Wing, most notable for the dynamic duo consisting of the B-52 and KC-135 tanker; an imperative pair for homeland defence and providing high strategic value during peacetime and wartime, most notable of which was during the Cold War.

Photo by Master Sgt. Andrew Sinclair

Loring Air Force Base had a huge impact on the local community, striking a sense of patriotism in the heart of Aroostook county; forever embedded in its core, and in the early afternoon of August 11th, 2022, history would once again be made at the former Strategic Air Command Superbase.


Excitement and anticipation were among the many emotions as a crowd of civilians, veterans, and service members stood frantically hunting the County skies looking for the long-awaited Stratofortress to return home after 29 years; a site I can only compare to a feeling we’ve all been privy to as kids searching for Santa’s sleigh on Christmas Eve. And for those of us lucky enough to be on the roof of the former Loring AFB control tower, it certainly seemed as though Santa was expected in Maine’s Northern skies at any moment.

The crowd had a 360-degree view of the airfield, its massive hangars, and what was left of the hundreds of buildings that housed over ten thousand airmen and their families; truly a shell of its former self from 30 years ago.

When the B-52 “BUFF” appeared over the horizon, in flight from Barksdale AFB in Louisiana, the onlookers were amazed and stunned in excitement that they were about to witness its landing; a task the locals and Loring Air Museum leadership have been trying to accomplish for a very long time.
Photo by Master Sgt. Andrew Sinclair

08 April, 2021

U.S. Air Force selects Collins Aerospace to modernize B-52 wheels and brakes

A US Air Force B-52                                                                     Photo US Air Force

The U.S. Air Force is extending the operational service life of the B-52 Stratofortress into the 2050s, and therefore it has selected Collins Aerospace, a Raytheon Technologies business, to design and develop a new wheel and carbon brake for the platform, leading to fleet retrofit of vintage 77 aircraft.

Collins will design the new wheel and carbon brake for the B-52H using the company's proprietary DURACARB® carbon heat sink material. With its increased wear life, DURACARB® will allow the Stratofortress to conduct more landings per overhaul, helping to reduce maintenance time and cost while increasing aircraft availability. DURACARB®'s ability to handle higher thermal energy loads during braking will also increase the safety margin when stopping heavily-loaded B-52s. 

"Since the first Stratofortress variant took flight in the 1950s, Collins Aerospace has been onboard," said Ajay Mahajan, vice president, Landing Systems for Collins Aerospace. "Our world-class engineers will develop a solution that offers seamless technology insertion to help sustain the B-52 as it continues flying for another three decades."

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