Getting Buffed.

[Sbob]

So, what are you waiting for?
The plane is ready and, by now, YOU should be ready.

Get your NAV and CO to hustle down to the OPS building and request a plane.
Bringing an armful of snacks and a pound of ground coffee might help, but be ready to draw a plane that's 12 hours away from some MAJOR maintenance work. You are at the bottom of the food chain and it's time to start working your way up.

Start out on the NORTH parking ramp. Somewhere like N PARKING 12-15. That should keep you far away enough to avoid any major mayhem. Get everything started and on-line then call in to request taxi to the active. If you're using some form of Real Weather, get it running before you request to taxi. Limit you early pattern work to daylight and clear-ish skies. Build up to working at night and/or crappy weather.

The pattern, itself, relies on a lot of guess work. There's minimal info out there about Castle (KMER) and a lot of nothing for Castle AFB. So, I'm making a command decision. Fly a basic Racetrack pattern. Try to keep the downwind stuff to the East of Castle. If you've flown off carriers in FS or DCS, this is the basic idea of what you'll be doing. Your altitude should be 1,000 ft AGL or 1,200 ft Baro.

Remember those early VFR flights around Mather in the "T-37"? Isn't it strange how that worked out..
The more time you spend doing touch-and-go's, the better you'll get.
Speaking of touch-and-go's, you don't always need to touch down on the gear. If you're working on basic line-up in terms of alignment and riding the glideslope, you can transition back to the pattern once you get to 50 to 200 feet above the runway. Its up to you.

One thing to keep in mind for now, on the REAL plane its never a case of an entire crew of Noobs trying to figure how NOT to crash. At a minimum, at least half of the crew already have experience in the B-52 and your first flight would run from 8 to 10 hours. These touch-and-go pattern flights are the best way to get YOU polished up. The IR Route flights are coming, I already have a couple of good ones zipped up and ready to go. Be ready for next week, you'll need it.

You should also notice that the LAST thing you'll be hearing is the STALL alarm. You ALWAYS want to stay inside the flight envelope. That means limiting you BANK ANGLE to 45 degrees (60 degrees MAX) and keeping the attitude close to ZERO. I tweaked the stall and overspeed alarms a little so they kick in EARLY. Not by much, just enough to keep me out of trouble. You'll know that you nailed your landing when the stall alarm just starts to "peep" before the rear mains touch down. Again, depending on weight, if you find yourself in level flight with the nose pointed DOWN a little, that's normal.

I kept mentioning Cross Winds. Trust me, we'll get to it later. For now, get used to working the pattern and HAVE SOME FUN. VFR only, NO autopilot and get used to setting the spoilers while you're level-before you enter the glide slope. You should be spending most of your time in the VC view. BTW, make sure you LOG these flights in FS. I still kick myself because I didn't log my early B-52 flights. Use the comment part of your log to mention what you did right and what went wrong.

 

[Sbob]

Well, dang it anyway.

I forgot to include a small gauge in the B-52 Update Kit.
This is a low-range G Meter that sits next to the Whiskey Compass at the top of the main 2D panel.
Not a big deal, if you exceed 2G's you'll rip the wings off.

Between working on the outline for my posts in this thread and some real-world stuff that was going on, I just missed it when I was putting the "Update" zip file together. I'll fix the upload after doing some Quality Control this weekend.
Just add the included .CAB file to your main GAUGES folder in FS9. If you already have this .CAB file, don't worry about it.
Sorry about that.

 

[Sbob]

Its time for something new.

I've attached a flight program for IR-275 and KMER.
This should take about 4 hours and it is a LOAD of fun.
Set up your fuel so you take off with a GROSS WEIGHT around 400 to 440 K.
This should give you more than enough fuel.
The way I figured out IR routes is to take the old IR/Oil Burner instructions and add some common sense.
Start out by flying under FAA rules. Just before the IR route entry, call ATC and CANCEL flight following.
You'll want some paper handy, make sure to write down stuff like the time you took off, time you entered the IR route, time you got to the IP (especially), and time over the target.
You want to get down to 500 feet AGL before you get to the entry point. Once you arrive at the entry, increase speed to 325 Knots TRUE airspeed.
Use your auto pilot, there will be too much going on to fly manually. On the real plane, it takes everyone working together while you're on your own.
You want to fly the IR routes mostly from the 2D cockpit. Again, there will be too much going on to use the VC.
Adjust your auto throttle and use your GROUNDSPEED display to maintain 325 knots (true).
Adjust your altitude, again, using the auto pilot. Hit the B key to simulate doing a COMBAT ALTIMETER.
MAKE SURE YOU CALIBRATED YOUR RADAR ALTIMETER BEFORE YOU TOOK OFF.
YOUR "HARD DECK" IN THE IR ROUTES WILL ALWAYS BE 500 FEET AGL.
Once you get to the IP, increase speed to 350 knots (indicated). Make sure to note the time when you cross the IP.

Here's a quick rundown on how I cheat these routes.
ALWAYS FLY A NEW IR ROUTE FOR THE FIRST TIME DURING DAYTIME, TRY TO AVOID NASTY WEATHER. ALWAYS TAKE NOTES THE FIRST TIME YOU FLY A NEW ROUTE. Remember to ADD 1 with ACS-GPS. Heck, remember all the stuff you did in this thread, that's why I had you do it.
This is how to nail the timing EVERY TIME you fly these routes. Remember when I wrote that good NAVs and RNAVs know how to cheat?
Don't worry about dropping FX files on this first run. Just note the time you get to each way point.
For IR-275, BE READY TO PULL UP AS SOON AS YOU PASS OVER THE TARGET. TRY NOT TO HIT THE MOUNTAIN. You'll also be making a hard LEFT turn once you pass Hawthorne, Nevada. You'll also be slowing back down to 325 knots (true) once you pass the waypoint AFTER the target.

Once you get to the EXIT, call ATC and get back into FLIGHT FOLLOWING with ATC.
At this point, you're flying on YOUR time. Follow FAA guidelines in terms of speed and altitude and head back to Castle.
While you're supposed to spend a couple of hours doing touch-and-go's before you land, try to do one or two T-and-G's then bring it on in.
You'll be flying this same route again, but for THAT flight you'll be on the clock.

IR-275 is one of my favorites (just don't hit a mountain). Take a couple of milliseconds every now and then to enjoy the view.
Fly the route first. If you have questions afterward, ask them once you land and we'll sort them out in detail.
This flight was mostly about getting a good data base worth of notes. The next time, you'll be more busy.

 

[Sbob]

Let's discuss crosswinds and the B-52.

Crosswinds and landing but mostly during takeoffs can be a big deal.
You have a massive tail with a small rudder. The rudder effect doesn't really kick in until about 65 to 80 knots.
Until you get enough speed, that tail acts like a big sail on a boat.
Meaning- tighten your seat belts an extra notch or two.

The real B-52 uses a Crosswind Crab system to turn the forward and rear main landing gear trucks in the same direction.
In the VC view, look just behind the throttles and you'll see the large knob at the back side of the pedestal.
That's the Crab Knob, which we REALLY need but FS doesn't support it.
Because of how the B-52 was designed and built, crosswinds on the ground were always going to be an issue.
The basic idea is to keep the nose pointed TOWARDS the crosswind direction.
The B-52 is the ONLY plane that has that crosswind crab knob, it's the only plane that NEEDS it.

So, how do we deal with ground winds in FS9?
ALWAYS check your BARO setting and wind using <shift> Z before you taxi and before you land.

Let's say we have a 10 knot cross wind at Castle coming from 100 degrees and we're going to line up on runway 13.
Set the wind direction on your HSI using the HEADING bug.
It should look like this:


You can just make out the heading bug next to E.
Notice where I have the nose pointed. This is what I call my Opening Argument for a cross wind take off. I also have the plane sitting to the right of the runway center line. What's going to happen is that as soon as I apply power and the plane starts to move, the tail WILL act like a weather vane and try to push the plane in the direction of the wind. The higher the crosswind, the higher the weather vane effect.
You'll notice in higher cross winds that this effect kicks in fairly quickly. Just hang on and keep going. There is NO way to make a graceful cross wind take off (or landing) without having the actual crosswind crab settings for the main gear.
You'll need to do whatever you can, lots of rudder for the gear, really bend the stick/yoke into the wind, just do what it takes to keep the gear on the runway for as long as you can. Eventually the rudder WILL come into effect. You'll feel the plane gain a bunch of rudder control once you get above 70 knots or so.

For a crosswind landing, I use the heading bug trick again. In the example above, I would line up for the left of the runway, since the wind is going to push me to the right.

Back in the good old days of Real Weather and the NOAA database (2005-2015), I would head over to Minot AFB to practice- knowing I would be dealing with 25-45 knot crosswinds. Today, thankfully(?), VATSIM and IVAO tend to filter (buffer?) these higher winds so it isn't so bad.

 

[Sbob]

Some quick points about ARRCAB and aerial refueling.

If you installed ARRCAB25 or 26, you now have a handy refueling resource.
You'll need to start ARRCAB prior to when you planned to refuel.
Just hit <alt><enter> to minimize your FS screen and click your ARRCAB icon. Hit <alt><enter> again to restore your full screen display.

ARRCAB simulates refueling in two (accurate) modes- 500 GPM (probe and drogue) and 1,200 GPM (flying boom).
The B-52 ALWAYS uses the flying boom.
Since we always measure fuel in pounds, that translates to 8,000 pounds per minute.

Since we can't use an AI tanker, just understand that you'll need to stay stable at a given altitude and airspeed.
In other words, use the autopilot. This corresponds to how the actual aircraft operates.

To simulate accurate conditions, I use an altitude between 24,500 and 27,500 feet and an indicated airspeed of 275 knots.
Refueling starts out with an ARIP (air refueling initial point) that is dictated by the tanker.
This AIRIP is not only a point in space, but also a point in time. You want to arrive at your AIRIP within +/- 10 to 15 seconds.
Use your A/P to arrive at the ARIP at around 285 knots, indicated. Establish the course for your refueling TRACK.
At this point, you would be in visual contact with your "tanker".
To simulate holding on the boom, here's a trick I worked out-
You would normally have your baro set to 29.92. Change that to 29.94, it will make the A/P drop your actual altitude by about 20 feet.
Close on the "tanker" by slowing to 275 knots, indicated. Once you're on-speed and stable, you can start taking fuel.

<shift> F5 starts and stops the fuel transfer. You should see a banner at the top of your screen that tells you that you're taking fuel and at what rate.

<shift> F7 controls the rate at either 500 GPM or 1,200 GPM/ 8,000 pounds per minute.
<shift> F6 controls venting fuel HOWEVER, be aware that while the B-52 can do a LOT of things, VENTING FUEL IS NOT ONE OF THEM.
The only way a B-52 can vent off fuel is if someone else with a cannon or SAM also has a good aim.

You'll also want to take note of the time when you started taking fuel. Taking on fuel at 8,000 pounds per minute may sound fast, but you have a LOT of space in your tanks. A typical fueling OP may require 25 to 35 minutes and something on the order of 250,000 pounds of gas.
A B-52 crew who can't do this like it's routine doesn't stay a crew for very long.

Pay attention to the time and you can also monitor your RCB fuel gauge on the CO's panel plus the FUEL PANEL and the main fuel gauge.
I should also mention something about those External Tanks under the wing tips.
They look like drop tanks, they aren't.
In reality, those tanks are permanently bolted to their pylons and aren't even (really) fuel tanks.
The main wing of the B-52 was designed to flex A LOT. Something on the order of 8 feet up and down at the tips.
While having that much flex is good for the wing, it isn't that great for the FUSE and everything that's inside it.
The EXTERNAL TANKS on every B-52 are used as counter-weights to damp down all of that wing flex.
You'll want to ensure you keep the externals at 90% to 95% full as long as you can.
Check your main fuel menu from time to time and transfer fuel into the externals (from your other tanks) as needed.

OK, so you're close to to finishing up with the "tanker". Use the <shift> F5 keys to stop the on-load.
Disconnect from the "tanker" by dropping the speed in the A/P to 265 knots.
Give it a couple of minutes then slow down to 250 knots and draw clear.
At this point, cycle to your next way point then reset your altimeter to 29.92, get back on speed, then begin your climb.
Remember to hit <alt><enter> again to shut off ARRCAB.

Easy peasy, nothing to it. Just be aware that you're a LOT heavier. Also, pay attention to your timing again. Get a feel for how long the total operation takes and how much distance you may have lost. Use this info for your flight planning. Refueling is almost always a part of the game, just don't over-do it.

 

[Sbob]

Something else we need to cover.
The B-52 was designed, mainly, to do one thing. Dropping things on stuff.

The real plane uses a BNS (bombing and nav system) that's mostly controlled by the RNAV/bombardier.
The BNS uses Radar data that is interpreted by the RNAV coupled with the Track data that is provided by the NAV.
It is important that the RNAV and NAV can work together as a well-oiled team.
Normally, the BNS data would be input directly to control the Autopilot.
This setup is known as a Synchronous Bombing Solution.
In reality, it was discovered that a B-52 could produce more accurate results when the AC and CO stayed in the loop.
Think of this as a semi-synchronous bombing solution. The AC and CO would closely monitor the airspeed and altitude while keeping an eye on their PDI display.

It should be noted that the non-FLIR turret B-52 models already have a PDI gauge HOWEVER this gauge can only track data from an FS9 FMC flight plan. Think the magenta line on the stock FS9 GPS. It isn't anywhere near accurate enough to "drop" FX files on targets.

To get around this, I wound up using two GPS systems. ACS-GPS does a great job in calculating the effects of wind drift and WILL place you directly over the waypoint (you can program something like 99 waypoints with ACS-GPS) . The downside is that the ACS distance and time displays don't have enough precision. The other GPS is labeled "INS" although I did this gauge repaint a LONG time ago and it should really be labeled as "BNS". This gauge also has its issues, BUT when you use both of them together you can achieve some VERY decent results. That INS/BNS gauge also a habit of getting "lost", the small PDI carrot at the top of the gauge will tend to "wander off" after making some turns but there's a way to avoid this. That INS/BNS gauge also has a distance display that's accurate to 1/10th of a nautical mile, more than accurate enough to "drop" FX files.
Use both gauges together, and their individual inaccuracies cancel out. Its also a fairly accurate method of simulating a B-52 synchronous bomb run.

For the Conventional bomb effects I included in the Update download, you can drop them 0.3 miles in front of the target (from 500 feet AGL) and get some good results assuming you are ON TRACK and holding steady at 350 knots (IAS).
Remember the stuff I posted about getting a "Shack"? Its REALLY tough to score a hit within 12.5 feet of the target. In reality, the Air Force uses the concept of CEP (Circular Error Probable/Probability) and considers anything within a 100 foot radius of the target as a "hit".

The last concept you need to understand is the Initial Point, or IP. EVERY bomb run starts at an IP. The IP is defined as a (Radar) significant point of land (actually two points of land) within 30 miles (or so) of the intended target. These points of land need to be immovable, think mountains, rivers, large buildings, etc. In theory, you could start a stop watch above the IP, get on course, and drop your bomb(s) after enough seconds tick away. BTW, cheap stop watches work just fine. Your local grocery store or Big Box store should have those mini timers you can stick on your stove (or PC tower). Most of them have count-up and count-down options and are more than accurate enough for FS use.

The IP is so important because most of what SAC targeted was classified as "no-show" targets. Imagine trying to spot an underground ICBM silo or some tanks at night from 500 feet.

(con't)

 

[Sbob]

So, let's put all of that info I just posted into something YOU can use.

You're somewhere in an IR/Oil Burner route and you're getting close to the IP.
Actually, before that, you have already set the co-ords for your target in the INS/BNS.
Its usually a good idea to do this well before you enter your low-level route (like during your pre-takeoff checks).
The one BIG trick to using the INS/BNS gauge is to set the numbers (and cross check them with the NAV GPS) and toggle the N-S and E-W to the wrong setting. For example, your target co-ords are N 35 42 15 and W 128 53 00. Set the INS/BNS to S 35 42 15 and E 128 53 00. The INS/BNS is ALWAYS ON and calculating, it will NORMALLY start to drift as you fly to your low-level entry point.

Let's jump back to when you're getting close to the IP. ALWAYS fly your low-level route with the A/P ON, auto throttle, altitude and heading SET.
The waypoint before the IP is usually a good time to run your Pre IP Checklist. Your NAV GPS (ACS) will do a good job keeping the nose pointed in the right direction. Just before you cross the IP, go into SET mode with the INS/BNS gauge and change the S back to N and the E back to W.
Once you hit the IP, do a quick cross check between the INS/BNS and your GPS display. You should see a one mile difference in the displays and the PDI carrot in the INS/BNS should be close to centered. Believe it or not, this is pretty close to what actually happened before the B-52 got upgraded to an all-digital BNS. Make sure you set/cross check the correct altitude in the A/P for the target and change the airspeed from your TAS numbers to 350 knots.
This tends to be a pretty hectic time, if you've ever worked a "Coding Gig", imagine its 30 minutes to a deadline.
You're almost there. Keep an eye on that INS/BNS PDI. if its slightly off but steady, that's fine. If it starts to slide to one side or the other, you have to make a quick decision. This really comes down to practice and Real Weather, you could quickly set the NAV (ACS) GPS to STANDBY and set some "english" using the A/P heading display or just gut it out and watch the INS/BNS distance display while keeping the PDI steady. There's never a right answer, every bomb run is always going to be different. This is what makes it FUN.

You want to open the bomb bay doors about 10-15 seconds prior to BOMB'S AWAY. Either "go manual" and hit the <shift>W keys or click the BOMB BAY indicator light (second from the left) above the FLIR CRT. Put your finger on the I key and get ready.

Your perfect release point will be when the INS/BNS shows 0.3 miles and the PDI is centered. Hit the I key. This will drop a bomb and turn on the CHAFF dispenser. Hit the I key again to turn off the CHAFF. Worst case, watch the distance display if it continues to count down then stalls or starts to count up, at that point drop your bomb. You're "off" due one of hundreds of reasons, but at least you were close. Remember to close the bay doors. At this point, make sure the NAV GPS is steering the A/P, dial in the next altitude, and maybe you'll have enough time to cycle over to the external view to see your handy work. Get back to TAS once you're clear of the target area (figure the next waypoint).

Getting all of this right just takes practice. Its also why I was harping about keeping notes. What you're doing is beyond the limits of FS9.

I've also included a Nuke bomb effect. Play around with it if you want to by editing the entries in the [smoke] section of the aircraft.cfg file. The CEP is MUCH larger (go figure..). While it was meant to be dropped at high altitude, you could also simulate a "lay down" nuke drop where the bomb deploys a parachute or inflates a ballute to slow it down and also uses a timer before it detonates (figure "about" 15 minutes so you don't get cooked). Just make sure your wings are level when you drop it or you might wind up with a "woozy" mushroom cloud.

 

[Sbob]

This seems to be a good time to introduce the B-52H.

The H model is mostly the same as the G. If you found yourself waking up in a B-52 cockpit (for some reason) the easiest way to figure out which model you were in would be to look at the center console between the AC and the CO. The H model (only) uses an adjustable Throttle Stop bar. One of the things that was learned when testing the TF-33 turbofan engines was that they could produce too much thrust. This excessive thrust could produce a Nose High condition during take off that would induce a stall at low altitude.

In reality, the B-52G was supposed to be the end-of-the-line model. Two things led to the B-52H:

- Introduction of the TF-33 turbofan engine.
-Cancelation of the B-70 Valkyrie.

It should also be noted in the film, above, that the B-52H is called a missile bomber. We'll get into what this means in a later post.

 

[Sbob]

BTW, I updated the B-52G and H Upgrade Kit to include the missing G meter gauge.
The download in post #142 is no longer needed.

 

[stoney]

Thanks Sbob!

 

[Sbob]

He's back!
My medical thing wasn't as important as yours. I hope you're feeling better.

 

[Sbob]

While the video quality isn't that great, this is a really neat PSA from 1980.

Gen. Ellis was the CINCSAC when this was filmed. Watch this several times and you'll find plenty of nuggets to ponder.
Global Shield was a SAC "all swim" exercise. These large exercises would come up once a year or so, more of a test for the general staff at Offut.
Note that the film makes a big deal of stating that (by this time) SAC bombers DID NOT carry actual nukes during exercises.
That stuff ended in 1968 after an armed B-52 crashed near Thule AFB.

By the mid-1960's, SAC was figuring out that if something had a one-in-one hundred probability of going wrong, that probability was additive/cumulative if you kept repeating it. In other words, not that big of a deal the first ten times. A MUCH bigger deal after you've done it 90 times.

That bright metal thing with the red nose cone is actually a "shape". Its a dummy of the B-61 variable-yield bomb that looks the same and weighs the same. Mostly, Shapes were used by ground crews to practice transporting, loading and unloading of the real thing. Bombers could also carry them so the bomber crews had some experience in hauling them around.

Note who owns that SR-71. The SR's and U-2's at Beale AFB were SAC property and were expected to fly after the missiles and bombs. Partially to see how bad the other folks got it, mostly to see how bad we got it.

Finally, dig that funky Disco groove.

Compare Global Shield to this puppy from 1958:

Things changed between these two films. If I had to guess, Power of Decision was more like one of those "Blood on the Highway" movies we had to watch for Driver's Ed back in the good old days. Still, check out those routes on "the big board". There is plenty of information you can dig out of this film.

 

[Sbob]

One last assignment for Film Day.

Pay attention to this one, replay it or ask questions if you need to, take notes.

At this point, you are pretty much ready to move on to your chosen Bomb Wing and base.
I have some "wrap-it-up" posts to conclude the thread unless any of you have any questions.

I can also, if you want, send you your PRIVATE EWO/SIOP target list. Just send me a private CONVERSATION that includes the Bomb Wing you want to fly for, AFB assigned, and what Era you want to fly in. If you opt for this, the info I'll send you will be UNCLASSIFIED but based on Open Source Intel. It will be YOUR information and is NOT meant to be shared. If you want, I can also cobble together some textures for Bomb Wings I haven't re-painted yet as well as Scenery and AFCAD file recommendations. These last couple of posts were a little Nuke Heavy, but recall why this plane was designed in the first place. I'll cover the Conventional Stuff before I wrap up the thread.

 

[Sbob]

This is cool beans, but I didn't find it until today.

My numbers worked out pretty close, but note those engines on the KC, its an A model with smaller engines.