B-36 Flight Engineers Desk and Cockpit 360

[Magog]

This may be a repost, but I thought this was pretty amazing, hope some of you find it interesting.

If not you can always zoom in and look out of the windows and play 'guess the aircraft'!

Seems strange to imagine that the guys sitting in those seats were really on the front line of the Cold War and the possible enormity of some of the missions they might have been tasked with.

http://www.nmusafvirtualtour.com/media/062/B-36J%2...

[Simpo Two]

Magog said:

Seems strange to imagine that the guys sitting in those seats were really on the front line of the Cold War and the possible enormity of some of the missions they might have been tasked with.

Though much preferable to the shooting war they had come from.

[anonymous-user]

It was a bit bigger than it's predecessors

[anonymous-user]

Loving the large number of dials and throttle levers for the later derivatives with 6 piston engines and 4 yet engines!

[Hard-Drive]

Just sayin'

[Hard-Drive]

Just sayin'

[Simpo Two]

el stovey said:

It was a bit bigger than it's predecessors

Jeepers.

It must be a trick of perspective but the B29 looks smaller than the B17.

Would be interesting to see a B52 in that group.

[Tango13]

Max_Torque said:

Loving the large number of dials and throttle levers for the later derivatives with 6 piston engines and 4 yet engines!

The fun started if the B-36 had different varients of R-4360 fitted at the same time, each varient needed different mixture settings etc so the flight engineers really had to earn their pay.

[tank slapper]

Simpo Two said:

Would be interesting to see a B52 in that group.

The B-36 has a 45 foot larger wingspan than the B-52, but they are about the same length.

[anonymous-user]

tank slapper said:

The B-36 has a 45 foot larger wingspan than the B-52, but they are about the same length.

[anonymous-user]

B52 crew


B36 crew

[Eric Mc]

One of my favourite aviation films and full of B-36 and B-47 action -

http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/179070/Strategi...

[Scotty2]

Ah, reminds me of the quip from pilots, and then Engineers:

"Six turning, and four burnin"

Which in reality was

"Two turning, two burning, two smoking, and two joking"

(or something like that...)

[2013BRM]

holy crap, managing the fuel must have been a chore and synchronizing all those busses must be a nightmare, it was all manual back then

Edited by 2013BRM on Wednesday 21st May 15:33

[dome]

Simpo Two said:

Jeepers.

It must be a trick of perspective but the B29 looks smaller than the B17.

Would be interesting to see a B52 in that group.

I was going to say look out the right hand cockpit window but it's a RB47.

Just lost far too much of my day on a virtual tour of that place....

[benters]

question for those who know. . .what's the advantage of the props off the back of the wing instead of the conventional placement ?

[Eric Mc]

In theory it leaves the front of the wing uncluttered so the wing should be more aerodynamically efficient. However, the downside is that it makes cooling of the engines problematic as the radiators will not be getting the full effect of airflow.

With a large aeroplane and a large wing, like on the B-36, this is less off an issue.

If jets weren't already making their impact, I think we might have seen more large piston engined aircraft with pusher arrangements.

Convair tried to interest the USAF in a jet derivative of the B-36, called the B-60, as an alternative top the B-52. However, in virtually all areas it was inferior so the Air Force went with Boeing.

[FourWheelDrift]

And it was a B-36 that was used to test out the potential of a nuclear powered bomber.

NB-36H



"The NB-36H completed 47 test flights and 215 hours of flight time (during 89 of which the reactor was operated) between September 17, 1955, and March 1957"

[benters]

cheers Eric....
it has a certain Gerry Anderson look about it

[Lost soul]

Simpo Two said:

el stovey said:

It was a bit bigger than it's predecessors

Jeepers.

It must be a trick of perspective but the B29 looks smaller than the B17.

Would be interesting to see a B52 in that group.

I always thought the B29 was much bigger than the B17