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Aviation History
1952
1952 - 0343.PDF
COMMUNICATION TUNNEL 8 February 1952 153 FLICHT ENCINEER THIRTY HOURS AIRBORNE Pen-picture of a B-36 Training Mission: Pre-flight and Handling Procedures EVEN today, in the second half of the power-flying century, we have among us men who can remember having built, flown and maintained their own aero planes unaided. Since those leisurely days, aircraft have become progressively more complicated, and for a good many years now there have been types in service which have demanded quite large crews for their efficient operation, in spite of the parallel development of electronic "boxes of tricks" and automatic devices. This increasing complexity is the natural order of things, both living and mechanical, and in the aeronautical sphere it has followed a fairly even progression. The introduction of the Convair B-36, however, has brought about drastic revision of many previous ideas concerning aircraft operation, and in some ways this 358,000- lb bomber may be said to make bigger demands upon its crew than has any preceding type. The truth of this assertion is well brought out in an article which recently appeared in The Lamp, a publication of the Standard Oil Co., of New Jersey, and which has provided the germ of the narrative that follows. It is no exaggeration to describe the B-36, in its operational form, as the most complicated piece of machinery in the world. There is reputedly a saying prevalent among its crews that flying is possible only at night, since the check lists require twelve hours to read. This is not so far-fetched as it sounds, since the briefing for B-36 training flights is in fact always scheduled some twelve hours in advance of the take-off time. As an example of the sort of work for which the aircraft was designed, an account follows of a typical training mission. Assuming that the aircraft—a B-36D—is to be airborne at 1700 hr, the crew will be given a call at around 0400 for briefing at 0600. The briefing will be attended by all the crewmen detailed for the operation j this soon produces a large audience, fifteen men being the minimum crew for each aircraft. The briefing will con tinue during most of the morning, the information being supple mented by printed books of orders and procedures fox the particu lar trip. Most B-36 training operations consist of a closed-circuit flight, with dummy attacks at each turning point. The attacks, and sections of each leg, will frequently be made at widely varying altitudes, in order to provide practice in both bombing and cruising under differing conditions. The usual height-limits are between fifteen and about forty-five thousand feet, and an average leg may be fifteen hundred miles; a B-36 may, however, be required to fly an uninterrupted Great Circle course of three or four thousand miles, and training flights frequendy extend over a large part of the earth's surface. This sort of global flying is bound to involve the aircraft in many kinds of weather conditions, thus adding to the value of die training: in fact, the B-36 is intended to approach targets under (or, more accurately, over) cover of a storm, with a view to reduc ing fighter opposition. After lunch—the last meal on the ground for perhaps a day and a half—the crew (and the flight engineer in particular) will carry out an inspection of their aircraft. This will involve rather more than the time-honoured check on removal of control-locks and pitot-head cover; oddly enough, those items will probably not be the crew's concern at all. The pre-flight examina tion will be finished by 1600 hr, when the crew, probably sixteen strong, will line-up beside their aircraft for inspection by its commander. This will occupy quite a time, each man having many items of personal equipment to be examined, as well as plenty of extraneous gear for his comfort and efficiency. The bulk of the crew will then enter the bomber through the nose hatch, and will climb up to their respective stations; five or six others will enter via a small circular hatch in the rear fuselage, which provides access to the pressurized section aft. The general layout of the nose pressurized section is shown in the accompanying sketch. In the basic-design stage it became apparent that most of the flight instrumentation and controls PILOTS RADAR RADIO OPERATORS NAVICATORS BOMBARDIERS Crew stations in the 8-36 forward compartment. The pressurized sections at each end of the fuselage have a combined volume of 3,924 cu ft—roughly a fifth of the total fuselage volume. would have to be on panels separate from those used by the pilots; this arrangement was dictated both by space conditions and by the fact that the two pilots simply would not have the time to handle the vast number of ancillary services. The flight engineer, in one sense the most important man aboard, is, therefore, to be found in the midst of an array of equipment which includes several hundred fuel and power-plant controls and instruments—for both pistons and jets—atmosphere- control panels for the two pressurized fuselage sections, and numerous electrical service panels. The flight engineer is assisted by a deputy, and together they spend a very full sixty minutes settling in before take-off. The six Wasp Majors are started as soon as possible, in order to provide full electrical power throughout the aircraft, and the pilot taxies from the dispersal on to the apron as soon as he receives permission. The piston engines are left idling until take-off time draws near. The commander checks with each member of the crew over the intercom in the usual fashion, to ensure that all is in order for the take-off. The aircraft taking part in the operation usually start at three-minute intervals and fly individually for at least the first leg of the trip. The bomber is allowed to roll on to the runway under taxying power, complete directional control being maintained by the steerable nose-wheels; differential braking and use of throttles are both difficult and unnecessary. After the aircraft has been lined up the petal diaphragms over the intakes to the four J-47 turbojets are folded umbrella-fashion and the units run up to idling r.p.m. Operational Procedure When clearance has been obtained from the commander, the turbojets are opened up to take-off power—usually 96 per cent— and then the six Wasp Majors gradually follow suit. As full power is neared, the parking brake becomes insufficient to hold the aircraft, irrespective of wheel-skid. The take-off is not unduly protracted and the climb is abnormally steep; in fact, the ten power-plants seem to have no trouble at all in lifting the 170-odd tons of aircraft very rapidly, in contrast to the rather sluggish ascent of the old B-29. Climb to the first operational height will probably be made to a complex flight plan, in which the turbojets will be used at various stages. A bomber of this size has to be given plenty of time to settle down into any flight -condition, and several hundred miles will have been covered before a steady cruise is obtained. On our hypo thetical training flight it is dark by this time and most of the crew are sleeping—in the six bunks aft, reached with the aid of a trolley running on the 85ft tracks in the magnesium-alloy catwalk or, more accurately, communication tunnel. The engineers and navigators, however, are busy with flight-planning, and someone is sure to be cooking. In the steady cruising condition, a B-36D has an hourly opera ting cost of some 2,100 to 2,200 dollars, which explains the desirability of fitting in the maximum number of dummy brmbing attacks and fighter-affiliation exercises during every flight. In fact, as far as possible, every B-36 is taken off at maximum weight, with loaded guns and cameras and a load of practice bombs made up to an operational weight with ballast; "dead" flying is cut to the minimum. Bombing is performed individually, with all crewmen at action stations. The six hatches over the twin-2omm barbettes are slid open, and the guns brought forth from their recesses. The turbo jets are then started and the "snap-action" bomb doors opened below each of the four bomb cells. The bomber is then ready for its run; the precise method of bombing from upwards of 40,000ft
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