B-58 Hustler prototype

[RMAllnutt]

There are seven more or less complete survivors, and two hulks... see the website below for the details...

http://www.johnweeks.com/b58/index.html

I don't believe that any of them are owned by civilian organizations, except possibly the LSFM one, but I may be wrong. There is certainly no way the US government would allow one of these babies back in the air though.... even if anyone could afford it! One of the coolest planes ever built.

Cheers,
Richard

[Ztex]

I don't believe that any of them are owned by civilian organizations, except possibly the LSFM one

The LSFM B-58 is owned by the Air Force.

It was the one that sat outside at the "Museum" at the General Dynamics gate for many years. When the AF took their airplanes back they moved it to Meacham Field. American Airlines came out and polished it before an airshow...looked wonderful.
A few years later it was gone...Then I found it in Galveston.

Gotta love that airplane....

Rick is right about there ever being another flyer...but it would be fantastic to see. makes me shudder just to think about it....

[lmritger]

If the B-58 was a woman, it would be a mix of Sophia Loren, Raquel Welch, Cindy Crawford, Monica Belluci, and Lizzie Borden... the most gorgeous, drop-dead sexy thing you've ever seen, but it'll kill you in a heartbeat if you get out of line.

[Don Martin]

I just wish someone could actually find a picture of the single B-58 that was supposedly painted in the SEA camo scheme. When I was in the AF I saw the Tech Order that showed how the camo scheme was supposed to be painted, and I had heard that one was painted that way but that no pictures actually existed.

That's really interesting Connery. I've cruised the net and seen that model (link above) but I put it down to an urban myth. Can you remember whether that model scheme is likely to be at all like what you would have read in the tech order? Many thanks, Don

Testors thinks it's true!


Maybe I've had a little too much of something fo lunch, but, I thought I had seen a photo of a SEA Camo B-58 a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far away?

[RickH]

Maybe Testors got their info from the T.O. that spells out the paint specs allowed for the B-58.

[cott]

Cott !! Bite your tongue ! A B-58 ? Never happen. THe NMUSAF and Air Force brass would go nuts. The unlucky, obviously unstable individual who would try on a B-58 would BE nuts.

A fella can dream, can't he? No one ever accused me of being completely "stable." Would be awful durned cool, though...

Chris

[gnome]

The Testors chart posted by Don Martin above refers to Tech Order 1-1-4 dated 15 May 1970. The B-58 was out of service four months before that (see below). Why create a camo scheme for a retired aircraft?

Joe Baugher again ...
"Once underway, the B-58 retirement program moved relatively rapidly. The retirement was completed on January 16, 1970, when the 305th Bomb Wing's last two B-58s (55-0662 and 61-0278) were flown to Davis Monthan AFB in Arizona for storage."

[gnome]

... this simply astounding model.
http://www.b-58hustler.com/models.html

now you see it ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yC32VmGm-Y

now you don't ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M98KxB-v ... ed&search=

[Brett]

I love the way the plan view has an arrow on it to show you which direction it flies.

Just in case the movement and whooshing noises confused you.

Cheers,

Brett

[zebm1]

There are seven more or less complete survivors, and two hulks... see the website below for the details...

http://www.johnweeks.com/b58/index.html

I don't believe that any of them are owned by civilian organizations, except possibly the LSFM one, but I may be wrong. There is certainly no way the US government would allow one of these babies back in the air though.... even if anyone could afford it! One of the coolest planes ever built.

Cheers,
Richard

Hi yall,
Back in 1975/77 while attending Junior College I met a fellow, same surname as mine but not related, who was a Crew Tech on a B-58. The above link states that there were a "few loss of control crashes." G. Matson stated that the "real reason" that the B-58 was withdrawn from service was after one B-58 disintegrated in super-sonic flight, a second plane also disintegrated while investigating a probable cause of the 1st accident. During the 2nd flight, in super-sonic they chopped the throttles to both engines on one wing. The plane immediately turned 90 degrees to tha flight path....loss of airplane and crew. He finished his tour as a mech on F-100s.

zeb matson