benguttery wrote:
I got to see the newest aircraft at Ellington Field in Houston recently. It is beautiful. Like new. You will be able to identify the pilots.... they're the ones with the huge smiles on their faces. Ask them how high it will go. They won't tell you, but they will tell you they look down on the U-2s.
It's a great research aircraft because of the huge space it has for experiment packages or whatever payloads.
Enjoy the show!
15 years ago, I took my father to Oshkosh and we stumbled into a presentation at the theater in the museum given by an ex RB-57F pilot. He said that they routinely flew at 60k'+ feet, and told tales of sampling nuclear clouds following various above ground tests by a number of countries. He indicated that if they were on a mission that required max range, they left the two auxiliary turbojets on the ground. If they were going for maximum altitude, the two aux engines were attached. He said the highest he ever flew the aircraft was 81-82k', somewhere south of Mexico...
Very enjoyable presentation, and piqued my interest in the big wing B-57's. Conveniently, we fly into Ellington when visiting some friends who live in League City, and the WB-57F's are often out on the ramp with easy access.
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