'Ghost Rider': B-52 resurrected from desert Boneyard

[US Conservative]

(CNN)For the first time, the U.S. Air Force has resurrected a B-52 bomber that had been in long-term storage at the Boneyard, the portion of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base near Tucson, Arizona, where the military sends aircraft that have been retired from the fleet.

The 53-year-old Stratofortress, tail number 61-1007, nicknamed the "Ghost Rider" had been in storage at the desert in the care of the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) since 2008. Thousands of aircraft are stored at the Boneyard, where the dry desert environment helps preserve them. Some are scavenged to supply parts to planes still in the fleet. Others are brought back into service. Ghost Rider, after upgrades, will become the first B-52 to return to duty from the Boneyard.

'Ghost Rider': B-52 resurrected from desert Boneyard - CNN.com

Ghost Rider. Glad to see it back in the sky.

When I was a kid I worked at a local AFB museum, inside a B52 I found a 1950's playboy.

 

[chad1389]

I'm actually more interested in what has happened to that Playboy. You still got it?

 

[US Conservative]

I'm actually more interested in what has happened to that Playboy. You still got it?

When I found it (in the back of the 2-level cockpit) I of course checked it out :lol: And later let the museum curator know-it now resides in the museum, but is not on display.

 

[chad1389]

When I found it (in the back of the 2-level cockpit) I of course checked it out :lol: And later let the museum curator know-it now resides in the museum, but is not on display.

Might have been worth some money.

 

[US Conservative]

Might have been worth some money.

Thats true, it had old drawings in it. I wasn't thinking that at the time, I was honestly more stoked playing around in the cockpit of a B52! They gave me the combination for the padlocks on all the aircraft.

Whats funny is the bombsight actually had an "eyelid" that could be opened, and you could look around from the cockpit. So when people would come up (especially with kids) I'd "open" the eye and look at them. Always funny for a lol. Still funny. :lol:

 

[chad1389]

Thats true, it had old drawings in it. I wasn't thinking that at the time, I was honestly more stoked playing around in the cockpit of a B52! They gave me the combination for the padlocks on all the aircraft.

Whats funny is the bombsight actually had an "eyelid" that could be opened, and you could look around from the cockpit. So when people would come up (especially with kids) I'd "open" the eye and look at them. Always funny for a lol. Still funny. :lol:

Sounds like you had a great job. My grandfather built and worked on the engines of war planes in ww2. He'd talk about them all the time. Never really paid attention. Wish I had though.

 

[US Conservative]

Sounds like you had a great job. My grandfather built and worked on the engines of war planes in ww2. He'd talk about them all the time. Never really paid attention. Wish I had though.

I was actually there to restore a B17, but also worked on a B25. Those were great old war birds.