I saw this on WIX and thought some in the UK might find this interesting.
November 13, 2015
MEDIA ADVISORY M15-027
NASA Aircraft Provide Unique Flight Over Greater Houston
News media are invited to visit NASA’s Ellington Airport facility on Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 8 a.m. to participate in a media day with NASA WB-57 pilots and personnel. The media day will showcase the unique aircraft and highlight how the aircrews prepare for high altitude flights routinely conducted above 55,000 feet and lasting seven hours in duration. As a capstone to the media day, NASA’s trio of WB-57s will take a historic photo flight in formation around the greater Houston area.
NASA’s WB-57 High Altitude Research Program is comprised of three WB-57 aircraft based near Johnson Space Center at Ellington Airport. The aircraft have been flying research missions since the early 1960’s, and continue to be an asset to the scientific community. Missions include: atmospheric and earth science research, cosmic dust collection, rocket launch support, and research and design test bed operations for airborne and spaceborne systems.
The WB-57 pilots and personnel supported several missions this hurricane season, including flights over hurricanes Joaquin, and Patricia. The dropsonde instruments inserted into the storms from the WB-57 helped weather forecasters from NOAA and the Naval Research Laboratory accurately predict storm intensity, movement and lifespan.
Registration is limited to U.S-based media outlets and reporters. Media interested in attending must contact the JSC representatives via email (jasmine.gascar-1@nasa.gov and [email]jay.e.bolden@nasa.gov[/email]) or call 281-483-5111 no later than 2 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17, for accreditation and additional details.
Citizen photographers are encouraged to photograph Wednesday’s formation flight and post their images and video on social media using the hashtag #WB57 to @NASA_Johnson and/or @NASAAero.
For more information about NASA and its programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/aero
and
http://go.nasa.gov/1PEAOsZ
For more information about Houston Airport System and its programs, visit:
http://www.fly2houston.com
– end-
Jay Bolden
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
[email]jay.e.bolden@nasa.gov[/email]
Bill Begley
Houston Airport System
281-233-1234
[email]bill.begley@houstontx.gov[/email]
By: markb - 23rd November 2015 at 02:17
XH134 isn’t flying at the moment but it’s definitely airworthy.
By: Mike J - 20th November 2015 at 16:12
Nice! The only three Canberra variants currently airworthy anywhere on the planet.
By: J Boyle - 20th November 2015 at 14:17
Link to WIX with photos.
http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=56977
By: John Green - 18th November 2015 at 11:30
Sven,
That’s a useful graph. Thank you.
By: Sven - 17th November 2015 at 22:02
Agreed but, I make the point that 60 years ago, during what seems now to have been the golden era of British aircraft engineering and production and given the variety then in service, we apparently did so much more with so much less. Or, was that an illusion ?
I think we did more with more back then, according to this graph (which I’ve not checked in any way so happy to be proved wrong):
By: charliehunt - 17th November 2015 at 21:58
Indeed – I was not being critical merely implying that when you are big enough the size of the debt becomes less significant.
By: J Boyle - 17th November 2015 at 21:37
Bigger budgets – deeper pockets but pockets dependant on an even more massive debt than ours as a proportion of GDP.
Not by that much considering the amount the US spends being the world’s policeman.
By: John Green - 17th November 2015 at 19:31
The UK is broke and the government is trying to live within budget and, I suspect, in the 21st century. This acknowledges that we are militarily no longer a world power and cannot afford to fund platforms for every form of warfare/aviation activity.
Anyway, good to see the Canberra still active, and I was not alone in being ignorant of its continued operation.
Agreed but, I make the point that 60 years ago, during what seems now to have been the golden era of British aircraft engineering and production and given the variety then in service, we apparently did so much more with so much less. Or, was that an illusion ?
By: Jagx204 - 17th November 2015 at 18:23
Deep store at Davis-Monthan. Another reason UK assets don’t have as long a life as their US counterparts. Where in the UK could you store an airframe unattended for 20 years before putting it back into service, without investing in climate-controlled hangarage and a bunch of other stuff?
That will be the AM&SU at RAF Shawbury then, there are several climate controlled hangars used for storage of airframes.
By: J Boyle - 17th November 2015 at 18:05
Also I’d expect that the flying hours of the NASA jets will be considerably less than that of an operational RAF one and consequently to have consumed less fatigue. We tend to fly the backside off our jets
But remember the jets had a USAF career before they went to NASA.
By: charliehunt - 17th November 2015 at 17:55
How easy it would be if that were true, Geoff!!
By: 1batfastard - 17th November 2015 at 17:53
Hi All,
The only reason the UK is broke is because we keep throwing money to the rest of the world like some rich dickhead with to much money…..:eek:
Geoff.
By: Lazy8 - 17th November 2015 at 17:31
Deep store at Davis-Monthan. Another reason UK assets don’t have as long a life as their US counterparts. Where in the UK could you store an airframe unattended for 20 years before putting it back into service, without investing in climate-controlled hangarage and a bunch of other stuff?
By: markb - 17th November 2015 at 17:16
These are used by the US military as high-altitude command posts/electronics platforms as well as for NASA research. One of the three was recommissioned from Davis-Monthan after 20 years in deep store!
By: Carpetbagger - 17th November 2015 at 16:46
This link will probably be of interest then. It was posted a couple of years ago IIRC.
http://www.warbirdsnews.com/warbirds-news/nasa-martin-wb-57f-canberra-returns-skies-making-flight-41-years.html
John
More photos on this link http://www.globalaviationresource.com/v2/2013/08/10/nasas-new-wb-57-n927na-flies/
By: 12jaguar - 17th November 2015 at 16:40
Also I’d expect that the flying hours of the NASA jets will be considerably less than that of an operational RAF one and consequently to have consumed less fatigue. We tend to fly the backside off our jets
By: charliehunt - 17th November 2015 at 16:24
Bigger budgets – deeper pockets but pockets dependant on an even more massive debt than ours as a proportion of GDP.
By: Seafuryfan - 17th November 2015 at 16:04
The UK is broke and the government is trying to live within budget and, I suspect, in the 21st century. This acknowledges that we are militarily no longer a world power and cannot afford to fund platforms for every form of warfare/aviation activity.
Anyway, good to see the Canberra still active, and I was not alone in being ignorant of its continued operation.
By: Paul F - 17th November 2015 at 15:41
Bigger budgets = deeper pockets I suspect?
Good to see the first British jet bomber (or a descendant thereof) is still going strong 55 years after it started in that particular role, and some 66 years after the first Canberra took the air.
Just think, thats a bit like seeing Wright Flyers still providing useful service in 1969, i.e at the time Apollo 11 landed on the moon!
By: Carpetbagger - 17th November 2015 at 15:40
No big secret, just $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$…
US GDP 16.77 trillion USD (2013) http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD
UK GDP 2.678 trillion USD (2013) http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD
US National Debt $18 trillion http://www.usgovernmentdebt.us/
UK National Debt £1.5 trillion ukpublicspending.co.uk
They have more of them than we do.(Or are prepared to spend more of them, perhaps that’s more accurate).
John
Sign In
November 17, 2015 at 2:15 pm