Re: B-36!

[Cub Driver]

I went through the B-36 some years ago for a magazine article. The
deal was that I should be at the museum at eight a.m. and a docent
would take me through, and we would be done before it opened to the
public at nine.

Well, of course we weren't through by nine, and at one point I looked
back, and behold! two former B-36 crewmen were following us around!
They were fun to talk to, and told me a PG story about the urinal in
the 36.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email:

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

[Jay Honeck]

> Well, of course we weren't through by nine, and at one point I looked
> back, and behold! two former B-36 crewmen were following us around!
> They were fun to talk to, and told me a PG story about the urinal in
> the 36.

Which I certainly hope you intend to share with us? :-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Stu Fields]

I worked on the B-36s at Ramey AFB in Puerto Rico during 1955-1956. (was on
a crew that broke the SAC record for engine change on the bird: 3hr.) A
story comes to mind of the F-84 group that came down on a TDY. One of the
F-84 jocks was a friend of one of the B-36 pilots and went for a ride. The
B-36 pilot conned his friend into getting in the tunnel and going to the aft
compartment. The F-84 jock made the mistake of getting on the little rail
mounted cart face down. The B-36 pilot had a crew member at each end on
intercom and proceeded to give the F-84 jock a ride by first putting the
nose down and when the cart got close to the forward end of the tunnel, he
would pull the nose up causing the cart to scurry toward the rear. Had the
F-84 jock been on his back on the cart, there was an overhead rope that he
could have used to control the cart. I overheard the conversation in the
"Liner Diner" at the base of the tower later. The poor F-84 jock couldn't
figure out what was going on. Needless to say there was a lot of hoorawing
and the F-84 pilot was interested in finding a way to get even...
Stuart Fields ex SAC
"Bob Chilcoat" > wrote in message
news:3fd2b8a9$0$7587$afc38c87@...
> Hi folks. You might find this interesting.
>
> Friday, my brothers and I made the trip of a lifetime (in my one brother's
> case, sadly almost literally) for any military aviation enthusiast. Both
my
> brothers live in Columbus, OH. My younger brother has just been diagnosed
> with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease in the US, Motor Neuron Disease or ALS most
> other places) and has been going downhill pretty rapidly. We are all
> pilots, although my brothers haven't been current for years. Our late
> father was an Air Force pilot (http://users.erols.com/viewptmd/Dad.html)
and
> we have always been aviation fanatics. Dad actually flew the B-36 that's
on
> display at the US Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson AFB. Through a
> contact, our youngest brother made special arrangements for the three of
us
> to spend an hour INSIDE the B-36 yesterday, before our middle brother's
> condition gets so bad that it will not be possible. Accompanied by a
> volunteer guide, we got to crawl around in all the forward positions and
> play Command Pilot, just like our late father actually was. We took over
> sixty pictures, and I've uploaded a few onto my website. We had a ball.
>
> A few of the many things we saw and noted:
> - The airplane is placarded with a dirty stall speed of (IIRC) 57 mph!
> - There was a "Temporary Restriction" placard over the engineer's station
> (TWO flight engineers!) restricting maximum TO weight to only 370,000 lb
(!)
> until some engine vibration tests were completed.
> - There is one small (12" long) hand pump in the crew compartment below
and
> to the rear of the flight deck, with a valve that allows it to be used to
> charge the brakes or to lower the landing gear. Considering the size of
the
> hydraulic cylinders on the gear, it must take a LOT of strokes of this
> little pump to get that gear down!
> - The autopilot has a switch that transfers control downstairs to the
> Bombardier.
> - Considering the size of the airplane, the flight deck is amazingly small
> and cramped. Four people work up there. We could just barely squeeze
past
> one of the two flight engineer's seats to get to the right pilot's seat.
> Since our Dad was over six feet, it must have been tough for him to move
> around, even when he was young.
> - There is a bunk suspended above the lower crew compartment for cat naps,
> and there's a two-pot coffee maker. There is also a john with a little
> window next to it (but no curtain for privacy) so you can look out when
> you're on the crapper. If you reach over your shoulder when you're on the
> crapper, you can get yourself a cup of coffee. I understand that there
are
> more bunks in the aft crew compartment. This is accessible in the air
only
> by a pressurized tunnel through the bomb bay that's at least 90 feet long!
> - All the gun turrets are retractable and radar directed. There were six
> retractable, remote-operated turrets with 2 20mm cannons each. There were
> also two more 20mm guns in the nose, and two in the tail. On the display
> airplane, which had been converted for reconnaissance, all the turrets and
> nose guns had been removed.
> - All of the electronics are vacuum tube. The airplane has a very dated
> look about it, everywhere inside.
> - The fuel lines we could see are between 2" to 4" in diameter, depending
on
> where they are. It must take hundreds of gallons of fuel (100/135 octane)
> just to prime the fuel lines!
>
> A few pictures:
>
> - Me "Flying"! http://users.erols.com/viewptmd/Bob.jpg
> - Pilot's Position http://users.erols.com/viewptmd/LSeat.jpg
> - Co-Pilot's Position. http://users.erols.com/viewptmd/RSeat.jpg Note the
> throttle quadrant - six throttles! There are four more in the overhead
for
> the jets
> - Control Panel Center. http://users.erols.com/viewptmd/PanelCt.jpg The 16
> engine dials are for the jets. The piston engines are managed by the two
> flight engineers
> - Flight Engineer's Panel Right Section.
> http://users.erols.com/viewptmd/EngPanR.jpg Note the six throttles on the
> left and six mixture controls on the right. Props are controlled by
> electrical switches on the pilot's console, and presumably also somewhere
on
> this panel
> - Flight Engineer's Panel Center Section.
> http://users.erols.com/viewptmd/EngPanCt.jpg The only jet controls we
could
> find on this panel are the four fuel flow gauges in the upper right corner
> of the main panel. All the other jet controls are on the overhead panel
> above the pilots.
> - Flight Engineer's Panel Left Section
> http://users.erols.com/viewptmd/EngPanL.jpg
> - Overhead Panel for the Jet Engines.
> http://users.erols.com/viewptmd/JetPan.jpg These are the only controls for
> the jet engines. My younger brother is in the left seat and my youngest
> brother is in the right. The two small panels on top of the glare shield
> below the compass are for the bomb bay doors.
>
> We tried to start an engine or two, but the battery was flat (yeah,
right!).
> I may add some more comments later when I have more time, but I though
some
> of you might find this interesting.
>
> We spent the rest of the day in the museum taking in everything else. A
> great day, but for obvious reasons, bittersweet. My wife and I drove back
> to Jersey in the snow today. Come the spring I'm going to take the Archer
> out there, pick up the guys and fly somewhere. Need to spend as much time
> together as we can, considering. The weather was too dodgy to fly this
> time.
>
> --
> Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)
>
>
>

[Corrie]

As a B-36 afficianado, I'd love to read the original message - could
someone repost it?

"Michael Nouak" > wrote in message >...
> Hi Bob,
>
> "Bob Chilcoat" > schrieb im Newsbeitrag
> news:3fd2b8a9$0$7587$afc38c87@...
> > snip
> > We spent the rest of the day in the museum taking in everything else. A
> > great day, but for obvious reasons, bittersweet. My wife and I drove back
> > to Jersey in the snow today. Come the spring I'm going to take the Archer
> > out there, pick up the guys and fly somewhere. Need to spend as much time
> > together as we can, considering. The weather was too dodgy to fly this
> > time.
>
> Thanks for the write-up, and the pics. It does sound like you had a great
> day. I certainly envy you! I'm sorry to hear about your brother, though...
> :-(
>
> Mike

[Corrie]

Over on Delphi there is a forum of former B-36 crewmen - FASCINATING
reading. http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/main.asp?webtag=B36forum&nav=start&prettyurl=%2FB36forum
The moderator is Don Pyeatt, who published the CD-ROM book about the
restoration of "The Last Peacemaker" #52-827 - the lovingly-restored
(and now homeless) '36 in Ft. Worth.

Corrie


"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message news:<pJGAb.448516$HS4.3511792@attbi_s01>...
> > Well, of course we weren't through by nine, and at one point I looked
> > back, and behold! two former B-36 crewmen were following us around!
> > They were fun to talk to, and told me a PG story about the urinal in
> > the 36.
>
> Which I certainly hope you intend to share with us? :-)

[Cub Driver]

>> Well, of course we weren't through by nine, and at one point I looked
>> back, and behold! two former B-36 crewmen were following us around!
>> They were fun to talk to, and told me a PG story about the urinal in
>> the 36.
>
>Which I certainly hope you intend to share with us? :-)

Sure, why not?

The urinal was back in the crew compartment, which was connected to
Officers' Country by a tube with a little cart in it.

So back through the tunnel comes an officer who has never been in a
B-36 before. He's a bit uptight about peeing in front of the Enlisted
Men, and he's been pretty arrogant all along, so nobody bothers to
tell him that the urinal holds about six ounces, and you have to press
the relief value to exhaust it to the outside.

So he fires away, the urinal fills to the top, and it overflows,
filling his sheepskin-lined flight boot. Still unwilling to unbend, he
zips up and squishes back to the tunnel for the trip back to Officers'
Country.

(Perhaps it was funnier at 9:15 a.m. inside a B-36.)


all the best -- Dan Ford
email:

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

[Jay Honeck]

> So he fires away, the urinal fills to the top, and it overflows,
> filling his sheepskin-lined flight boot. Still unwilling to unbend, he
> zips up and squishes back to the tunnel for the trip back to Officers'
> Country.

Good one, Dan! :-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Stu Fields]

Any other B-36 types out there that were at Ramey AFB during the 55-56 time
frame?
Stu Fields 72nd Field Maintenance Sqdrn.

"Stu Fields" > wrote in message
...
> I worked on the B-36s at Ramey AFB in Puerto Rico during 1955-1956. (was
on
> a crew that broke the SAC record for engine change on the bird: 3hr.) A
> story comes to mind of the F-84 group that came down on a TDY. One of the
> F-84 jocks was a friend of one of the B-36 pilots and went for a ride.
The
> B-36 pilot conned his friend into getting in the tunnel and going to the
aft
> compartment. The F-84 jock made the mistake of getting on the little rail
> mounted cart face down. The B-36 pilot had a crew member at each end on
> intercom and proceeded to give the F-84 jock a ride by first putting the
> nose down and when the cart got close to the forward end of the tunnel, he
> would pull the nose up causing the cart to scurry toward the rear. Had
the
> F-84 jock been on his back on the cart, there was an overhead rope that he
> could have used to control the cart. I overheard the conversation in the
> "Liner Diner" at the base of the tower later. The poor F-84 jock couldn't
> figure out what was going on. Needless to say there was a lot of
hoorawing
> and the F-84 pilot was interested in finding a way to get even...
> Stuart Fields ex SAC
> "Bob Chilcoat" > wrote in message
> news:3fd2b8a9$0$7587$afc38c87@...
> > Hi folks. You might find this interesting.
> >
> > Friday, my brothers and I made the trip of a lifetime (in my one
brother's
> > case, sadly almost literally) for any military aviation enthusiast.
Both
> my
> > brothers live in Columbus, OH. My younger brother has just been
diagnosed
> > with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease in the US, Motor Neuron Disease or ALS
most
> > other places) and has been going downhill pretty rapidly. We are all
> > pilots, although my brothers haven't been current for years. Our late
> > father was an Air Force pilot (http://users.erols.com/viewptmd/Dad.html)
> and
> > we have always been aviation fanatics. Dad actually flew the B-36
that's
> on
> > display at the US Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson AFB. Through a
> > contact, our youngest brother made special arrangements for the three of
> us
> > to spend an hour INSIDE the B-36 yesterday, before our middle brother's
> > condition gets so bad that it will not be possible. Accompanied by a
> > volunteer guide, we got to crawl around in all the forward positions and
> > play Command Pilot, just like our late father actually was. We took
over
> > sixty pictures, and I've uploaded a few onto my website. We had a ball.
> >
> > A few of the many things we saw and noted:
> > - The airplane is placarded with a dirty stall speed of (IIRC) 57 mph!
> > - There was a "Temporary Restriction" placard over the engineer's
station
> > (TWO flight engineers!) restricting maximum TO weight to only 370,000 lb
> (!)
> > until some engine vibration tests were completed.
> > - There is one small (12" long) hand pump in the crew compartment below
> and
> > to the rear of the flight deck, with a valve that allows it to be used
to
> > charge the brakes or to lower the landing gear. Considering the size of
> the
> > hydraulic cylinders on the gear, it must take a LOT of strokes of this
> > little pump to get that gear down!
> > - The autopilot has a switch that transfers control downstairs to the
> > Bombardier.
> > - Considering the size of the airplane, the flight deck is amazingly
small
> > and cramped. Four people work up there. We could just barely squeeze
> past
> > one of the two flight engineer's seats to get to the right pilot's seat.
> > Since our Dad was over six feet, it must have been tough for him to move
> > around, even when he was young.
> > - There is a bunk suspended above the lower crew compartment for cat
naps,
> > and there's a two-pot coffee maker. There is also a john with a little
> > window next to it (but no curtain for privacy) so you can look out when
> > you're on the crapper. If you reach over your shoulder when you're on
the
> > crapper, you can get yourself a cup of coffee. I understand that there
> are
> > more bunks in the aft crew compartment. This is accessible in the air
> only
> > by a pressurized tunnel through the bomb bay that's at least 90 feet
long!
> > - All the gun turrets are retractable and radar directed. There were
six
> > retractable, remote-operated turrets with 2 20mm cannons each. There
were
> > also two more 20mm guns in the nose, and two in the tail. On the
display
> > airplane, which had been converted for reconnaissance, all the turrets
and
> > nose guns had been removed.
> > - All of the electronics are vacuum tube. The airplane has a very dated
> > look about it, everywhere inside.
> > - The fuel lines we could see are between 2" to 4" in diameter,
depending
> on
> > where they are. It must take hundreds of gallons of fuel (100/135
octane)
> > just to prime the fuel lines!
> >
> > A few pictures:
> >
> > - Me "Flying"! http://users.erols.com/viewptmd/Bob.jpg
> > - Pilot's Position http://users.erols.com/viewptmd/LSeat.jpg
> > - Co-Pilot's Position. http://users.erols.com/viewptmd/RSeat.jpg Note
the
> > throttle quadrant - six throttles! There are four more in the overhead
> for
> > the jets
> > - Control Panel Center. http://users.erols.com/viewptmd/PanelCt.jpg The
16
> > engine dials are for the jets. The piston engines are managed by the
two
> > flight engineers
> > - Flight Engineer's Panel Right Section.
> > http://users.erols.com/viewptmd/EngPanR.jpg Note the six throttles on
the
> > left and six mixture controls on the right. Props are controlled by
> > electrical switches on the pilot's console, and presumably also
somewhere
> on
> > this panel
> > - Flight Engineer's Panel Center Section.
> > http://users.erols.com/viewptmd/EngPanCt.jpg The only jet controls we
> could
> > find on this panel are the four fuel flow gauges in the upper right
corner
> > of the main panel. All the other jet controls are on the overhead panel
> > above the pilots.
> > - Flight Engineer's Panel Left Section
> > http://users.erols.com/viewptmd/EngPanL.jpg
> > - Overhead Panel for the Jet Engines.
> > http://users.erols.com/viewptmd/JetPan.jpg These are the only controls
for
> > the jet engines. My younger brother is in the left seat and my youngest
> > brother is in the right. The two small panels on top of the glare
shield
> > below the compass are for the bomb bay doors.
> >
> > We tried to start an engine or two, but the battery was flat (yeah,
> right!).
> > I may add some more comments later when I have more time, but I though
> some
> > of you might find this interesting.
> >
> > We spent the rest of the day in the museum taking in everything else. A
> > great day, but for obvious reasons, bittersweet. My wife and I drove
back
> > to Jersey in the snow today. Come the spring I'm going to take the
Archer
> > out there, pick up the guys and fly somewhere. Need to spend as much
time
> > together as we can, considering. The weather was too dodgy to fly this
> > time.
> >
> > --
> > Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)
> >
> >
> >
>
>