Message posted by wolfbane on November 26, 2001 at 13:10:20 PST:

During the Thanksgiving holiday "break" in my schedule, I went back to certain sources about the modified B-52H at Groom (or use to be) and asked questions raised by Magoo. Apparently, the B-52 design was built for high altitude flight. Any altitude above 50,000 ft, the AF requires the crew to wear a pressure suit. The design service ceiling of the B-52H, with payload is 55,000 ft. With a wing top surface modification, such as Boeing did with the B-52 (he didn't say which variant), Boeing modified a B-52 at its Moses Lake facility in Washington (state) and added new engines, and a material called Riblet Tape (produced by 3M) was added to the top surface of the wing that reduces drag by four percent (in aeronautical terms, that's a big percentage) and increases lift. That being said, with an aircraft such as the B-52, that can fly more than 10,000 without refueling can surely fly from the "Test Site" to the Pacific Ocean area, with payload and with fuel to spare. The B-52 may be old, but it isn't just a big old lumbering slug, as some might think. Although seldom realized, but the B-52 can (I've been assured!) reach (with a payload) the stated 68,000-ft. I also asked the source about the specific B-52H that launched the HGV. Reluctantly, he said.."Well.... It's different." I've also been told that the un-official name is "B-3" - perhaps after the name of the onboard food oven every B-52 carries? Also, the name "Stratosaurous" came up during the conversation.

In Reply to: Re: HGV (Re: Hangar 18) posted by Magoo on November 21, 2001 at 14:23:26 PST:

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