How much runway does a b52 need

The B-1s boast a swept-wing design. Spreading those wings allows it to take off heavy with weapons and fuel by generating extra lift. But that design is tough to maintain. Since then, per arms-control pacts with Russia, gear that the B-1 needs to carry and launch atomic weapons has been stripped from the aircraft , eliminating its nuclear deterrence capability against atomic-club wanna-bes like Iran and North Korea.

Each of these bombers was like a finely machined box wrench, designed for turning nuts—but only nuts of a single size.

In contrast, the B is more like the adjustable wrench down in your basement: cheap and flexible enough to get most jobs done pretty well. Built in the early s , Wise Guy had been enjoying its golden years sitting in the warm Arizona sun since leaving its frigid North Dakota base in The return of Ghost Rider to active duty in , and of Wise Guy in May, restores the B fleet to 76 aircraft, the ceiling negotiated with Russia.

Take Wise Guy, for instance. Bs had a major role during the Cold War, where they sat on alert around the clock for eight years straight. They also played bit parts in the U. The downside is more drag during the take-off run, since the wing produces more lift, but this could be tolerated in a strategic bomber with air refueling capabilities. B on approach with gear down and drag chute deployed picture source. Note the outriggers between the inner pair of engines - those were needed to keep the aircraft level on the ground.

B in flight with gear down picture source. Here the forward and aft gear of the B have been replaced by pairs of gears to distribute the load over eight wheels and the outriggers are positioned outside of the outer engine pair, but the general gear configuration is fairly similar. The Russian design bureau Myasishchyev found a different solution for their M supersonic bomber in the mids. They also had to put the bomb bay into the center fuselage and the main gear had to be placed so far aft that the M could not be rotated the usual way with the elevator.

To solve the problem, the engineers devised what they called the "galloping bicycle". Myasishchyev M with extended front gear strut picture source. The two open doors under the cockpit were for the pilot and navigator: Their downward-ejecting seats would be lowered on cables for the crew to be strapped in at ground level, then winching themselves into place.

Adding to the excellent Peter's answer who explained why for this particular model the wheels are placed far behind the centre of gravity CG , I would like to clarify why this makes impossible to rotate at take off. A standard aircraft takes off right after the rotation, increasing the angle of attack and the lift. Before and while performing the rotation the lift produced by the wings is not enough to raise the position of the CG.

Still, with the wheels placed right behind the CG, a small raise of the CG is required during the rotation. This is accomplished with the down force produced by the elevator and its big leverage. If the wheels are moved backwards, then such lever becomes much less advantageous: the force produced by the tail on the CG is weaker, because the fulcrum is closer to it and farther from the CG.

The maximum elevator down force and the structural strength can then make the rotation impossible. The angle of attack of the wings of a B is positive.

The leading edge of the wing is higher than the trailing edge. So when you see the aircraft takeoff it seems to not rotate, but when the fuselage is level, the wings are at a positive angle of attack. When the B is in level flight, the nose is down, you can not see the nose from the cockpit and it is like you are sitting on a cloud. The B52 does "rotate" on takeoff just not to the degree of what seems normal for such a large jet.

This means unless the lift exceeds the weight an airplane will never leave the ground. The answer is it only appears the B52 is not rotating. The pilots are applying "up" elevator and increasing the angle of attack of the wing, thus increasing lift. Examples of things which would change an airplanes CG are fuel burn off, bomb dropped, or a cargo shift.

When the elevator is moved the airplane "pitches" up, because the tail horizontal stabilizer is producing "negative" lift it pushes down on the tail , and rotates the airplane along the CG. The placement of the landing gear actual opposes the rotation of the airplane in most designs.

The change in "angle of attack" of the wing due to the pitching up increases the lift produced by the wing. The placement of the landing gear is a compromise based on the design of the airplane. The B52 and its tandem wheel set is a compromise because of the wing and body design of the airplane. When an airplane "rotates" for takeoff the force or weight of the horizontal stabilizer must be greater than the weight of the airplane in front of the rear most wheels for the airplane to "pitch up.

Most if not all large transport type large airplanes the whole horizontal stabilizer compared to just the elevator on smaller airplanes is trimmed for take off to provide a "neutral" force for the desired takeoff speed. If the stabilizer trim is set incorrectly there may not be enough "elevator" to either pitch up or to prevent a spontaneous un-commanded pitch up of the airplane.

Both are disastrous and the results of which can be found on youtube. I may have missed it, but it seems none of the answers addresses the main issue: why it does not rotate and climbs out in a nose-down attitude?

All of this will be clearer if you remember that lift depends, mainly, on angle of attack and speed. The main way for any conventional airplane to take-off and land without rotating in pitch is by making the angle of incidence of the wings approximately the fixed angle with which the wing attaches to the fuselage equal to the take-of angle of attack with the aircraft parked on the ground.

This way when the B reaches its design lift-off speed it will takeoff in the same parked attitude. AS it accelerates it has to reduce the angle of attack from max lift to climb lift, which is lower due to higher speed and the upwards help of the engines,so it has to pitch down.

When it reaches its cruise speed, it needs a very small angle of attack for the same lift and, to reach it, the nose must be pitched down even more. This increases the drag of the fuselage, tail etc. At max speed the B flies with the nose markedly down, which can be seen when it flies in formation with faster aircraft. B Technical Specifications. Modified to carry air-launched cruise missiles and Miniature Air Launched Decoy.

B Gallery. Feature Stories. B program continues path toward radar modernization October 22, in Defense The preliminary design review is another step forward as the U. Learn More.

Air Force Learn More. Upload Successful January 21, in Defense A recent upgrade transforms the weapons launcher in the B weapons bay so it can deploy GPS-guided "smart" bombs for the first time.

B Customer. B Quick Facts. Boeing engineers designed special landing gear that could align with the runway allowing special takeoffs and landings. The original design of the B placed a gunner in the tail of the aircraft.