Thursday, September 22, 2016

Oh, yes! Convair B-58 Hustler


5 comments:

  1. One of the more beautiful aircraft ever to be built.

    AND it was fast...and drank a LOT of fuel.

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  2. Singer John Denver's father, Colonel Henry J. Deutschendorf, Sr., USAF, held several speed records as a B-58 pilot

    trivia

    BaconLover

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  3. When I was a teenager in El Paso, Texas, I watched the B-58 "Hustler" occasionally fly into and out of Biggs Air Force Base.

    The main aircraft that were based at Biggs Air Force Base (back then, i.e., 1959 - 1962) were the B-47 "Stratojet" bombers, the F-100 "Super Sabre" jet fighters, and the F-86 "Sabrejet" fighters.

    There were also B-52 "Stratofortress" bombers, but mainly, Biggs Air Force Base had B-47 "Stratojet" bombers.

    In retrospect, I'm guessing the B-47s were in the process of being replaced by the B-52.

    The B-58 was seldom seen, but I did see it flying by a couple of times.

    As I understand it, the former Biggs Air Force Base is now an Air National Guard Base, and part of El Paso International Airport.

    Another interesting thing I remember about El Paso International Airport was seeing a Continental Air Lines commercial jet airliner skyjacked on the runway by father and son, Leon and Cody Bearden.

    As events unfolded, I would alternate between watching it live on television, and watching through binoculars from the patio of our military housing located high up on a hillside overlooking suburban El Paso and Fort Bliss.

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  4. I remember my uncle who was in SAC telling me it cost 1 Million dollars in 1958 dollars to fly that thing every time they cranked it up. It was made of Stainless Steel and ate fuel like a fat kid eating Hershey bars. It was obsolete the day the rolled the first one out, BUT BOY WAS IT FAST. Pretty too----Ray

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  5. Number 1 Nuke transport. Pretty little thing. The name: "Hustler" was appropriate in 2 ways....speed & shamelessly leaving a destroyed victim behind.

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