NOTE: RADIO CONTROL AIRPLANES ARE ON THE BOTTOM HALF OF THE PAGE.
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress was originally designed as a high altitude bomber. Due to
increased effectiveness of anti aircraft defenses they have also
developed low altitude, high speed penetration tactics.
The heavy jet bomber had its specifications released by the United States Air Force
in 1946 and first flew on April 15, 1952. Today, it is still going strong.
Boeing B-52 bombers played a major role in the Vietnam War. They dropped over 2.9 million tons of ordnance during the its duration.
During the first days of the Gulf War the aircraft launched cruise missiles to take out key targets. Eventually they flew 1,624 missions.
During the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Boeing B-52 aircraft, flying from bases in England, were again active.
Today they are also used in cooperation with the United States Navy for sea patrols, mine laying, and air to ship operations.
The Boeing B-52 is the primary nuclear bomber and the only air launched cruise missile platform in the U. S. A. F. It can carry nuclear or conventional weapons and deliver them on targets with precision.
The aircraft is capable of delivering virtually any air borne ordnance that the United States possesses.
Current plans are for the aircraft to remain service with the USAF until about 2040.
They are periodically being rebuilt and upgraded to extend their service life. Most recent upgrades include the instillation of satellite uplink system communications equipment.
A total of 744 Boeing B-52 bombers were built, with the last one delivered in Oct. 1962. Today about 94 remain in service.
Specifications
US$ Cost:
Primary Function:
Crew:
Engines:
Thrust:
Empty Weight:
Max Weight:
Ordnance:
Length:
Wingspan:
Cruise Speed:
Max. Speed:
Initial Climb:
Ceiling:
Range:
First Flight:
Year Deployed:
$30 million
heavy bomber
five
P&W J57
8 x 17,000 lbs ea.
185,000 lbs.
488,000 lbs.
70,000 lbs.
159' 4"
185' 0”
525 mph
650 mph
6,270 fpm
50,000 feet
8,800 miles
4/15/52
1955
We have seen some fantastic scratch built rc Boeing B-52 airplanes, but don't know of many kits for them.
Pictured above is the rc Boeing B-52 scratch built by Gordon Nichols. It has a 23' wing span and weight is about 320 lbs.
In the first picture below is the rc Boeing B-52 slope soarer scratch built by David Cairns. It is primarily of blue foam construction with balsa obechi sheeted wings. Wing span is 11 feet and length is 9 feet. Weight is about 25 lbs.
The next picture below is of the rc Boeing B-52 built from a kit for sale by Green Air Design. It has a wing span of 36". Materials used to construct
it are Depron foam, and wood. The kit includes a brushless pusher motor.
The third picture below is of a nice looking rc Boeing B-52 slope soarer scratch built by Joe Yap of RC Groups. Unfortunately we do not have any details about it.
We received the following email from master builder Sergio Vergara:
"I usually built my own radio control airplanes, but I recently had an opportunity to build and test fly a rc Boeing B-52 from a well known Chinese manufacturer who is developing a kit. This is my experience with the prototype.
The rc Boeing B-52 kit comes very complete and almost ready to fly. It is made made primarily from foam that is fully painted. I understand that it will be available with a full set of decals. To give the model some "character" I put my own decals on the tail. All control surfaced come hinged. The wings have a carbon-fiber tube mounted in them.
There are recesses already made for the servos. A wooden spar runs through each aileron and flap for strength. The fuselage has a wooden support structure on both sides and contains a battery tray. Four ducted fans in the inboard engine positions power the rc Boeing B-52. These are included in the kit.
The illustrated instructions are very clear and the model was ready for its first flights in just a few short hours.
At the flying field a range check was performed on the rc Boeing B-52. All controls responded properly and it was ready to fly. A very gentle wind was blowing straight down the runway. The model was placed at the far end. The rc Boeing B-52 moved out the instant I added throttle. The sound the four electric ducted fans made was terrific!
She rolled straight down the runway and lifted off just before full throttle. Like the real aircraft, the rc Boeing B-52 needed quite a lot of up elevator to establish a decent climb rate. However, it was not underpowered. It moved along at a very good pace and I had to throttle back for more scale-like flight.
Once the rc Boeing B-52 was up "two mistakes high" I tested stall response. The airplane was very stable at low speeds as I kept adding up elevator. The stall was indicated by just a straight ahead slight droop of the nose. To recover, all that was necessary was adding throttle.
Although lots of power is available from the four EDF units, it does take a while for the rc Boeing B-52 to build up flying speed after the stall. This is a big airplane.
There is enough power for loops and rolls, but that isn't how a rc Boeing B-52 flies. It looks terrific making "bomb runs" and flying a low pattern.
When it was time to land I was anticipating that the rc Boeing B-52 would pitch down when the big flaps were dropped. While there was a slight change in flight attitude, it was small and I did not have to compensate for it. The rc Boeing B-52 slowed beautifully while floating down over the end of the runway.
After my knees stopped shaking I realized that this is one of the easiest of all my rc airplanes to land! The rc Boeing B-52 is such a stable flyer that I don't have any problems recommending it as a first large multi engine rc airplane project.
Boeing B-52
