In the right spot at the right time

[leon]

Hi Guys, well as most of you know i just cant get enough of the planes that fly over our camp near Darwin. :D

There has been a lot of activity of late with the RAAF, and i spend some of my spare time at the end of the runway, well to my surprise this flew directly into my Lens. :thumbsup:

I know it is big and pretty noisy as it passed over head, but would someone please tell me what it is. :shrug:

Leon :thumbsup:

[Larryp]

B52, I think

[mithrandir]

B52. The 8 engines, main landing gear and outboard wheels near the wingtips are all giveaways. The wings sag so much the tips might touch the ground.

[Nico13]

Jeez that would have hurt :P :lol: :D

[Dennis]

Nice shot Leon - that is one big bird!

B-52 Stratofortress (http://www.darwinsairwar.com.au/B52.html)

Cheers

Dennis

[leon]

Thank guys, I thought they didn't fly anymore, so i discounted that. :shrug:

As there is one of those in the museum up here and it dose look different.

Leon :thumbsup:

PS on closer inspection it dose look like the pic, thanks Dennis :rolleyes:

[Ric]

Nice shot Leon.

That's mighty plane, that's for sure.

[mithrandir]

Leon, B52s are still in active service in the USAF, and are expected to continue in service with upgrades until the 2040s. That will be 85 years!

[rcheshire]

Good one Leon. Nice shot. The B52 has been around a long time. I remember it in a 1962 Observers Book of Aircraft - those little pocket books.

[gary]

Nice capture.

There is never any chance of mistaking what that is, with its eight black smoking
engines and enormous tail.

Here is one I photographed earlier in a less fortunate state -
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=268688&postcount=4

"Well shoot! We ain't come this far just to dump this thing in the drink ...
What's the nearest target of opportunity?" -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTo-iFBu14U

[LAW]

A military pilot called for a priority landing because his single-engine jet fighter was running "a bit peaked." Air Traffic Control told the fighter pilot that he was number two, behind a B-52 that had one engine shut down. "Ah," the fighter pilot remarked, "The dreaded seven-engine approach."

[Regulus]

Wow. Nice shot of a B-52. They are soooo big!

[leon]

Thanks guys, well it is still parked at the RAAF base, that is its third day now, so I expect it will take off soon, hope to be there when it dose, if all goes well.

Leon

[gregbradley]

A B52. This is the aircraft you didn't want to see if you lived in Russia up to about 1990.

Greg.

[DavidTrap]

Great catch Leon!

I saw one flying towards the airbase in Guam when I was there earlier this year - damm camera wouldn't focus through the wet car window, so I missed getting a shot.

DT

[ourkind]

... and Iraq
and Afghanistan
and Bosnia
and Serbia
and ... :(

[hotspur]

amazing image Leon!,you really have done well to capture that-the sound would have been fantastic.These B 52's,apparently will be still in service for many decades-I think I heard someone say even, 100 years-they were made to last,this plane and the A10 Fairchild is also said to be around for another 60 years.Both are already quite old.So the Yanks must be pretty serious about certain pieces of hardware when they build them.

Leon-I think there is a forum called QLD plane spotting or similar,you should post it there-surely IOTM!:thumbsup:

[leon]

Thanks Chris, have to admit i was pretty stoked when it just appeared in the distance, and as you said, the noise when it came in was pretty loud.

Leon