B-52 Flyby of USS Ranger

Family friend 'N.T.' | Today | Me

[Fury]

I ordered the report they did on the accident (the part releasable via the FOIA). I read that and wondered how the hell the guy was even flying. He was an accident waiting to happen.

Someone also got canned for allowing them to do aerobatics below flight minimums or something like that. I'd have to pull out the report.

For a good synopsis on what happened, you can review this:

http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=3405833376942&lang=en-US

The site is not available, but the cache version is still accessible...

[exit82]

The Ranger, a BUFF, and the Loch Ness monster.

All we need now is Beerman from New Orleans during Katrina.

[condi2008]

I think you must've been at our spring air show.

[NCC-1701]

With the cards we have here @ FR, it won't take long for LooterGuy to show up in the pic. Question is, where will he be?

[ForGod'sSake]

....that even the harshest of the FReepSkeptics' would stand down.

Have a look at this. It's a 7 frame gif I made just for the occasion:

It doesn't necessarily "prove" anything but the similarities are, well, striking. That is to say, the angles and lighting(such as it is) are virtually identical with one of a landing buff I pulled off the web. Resized and flipped horizontally yields the exact(except for some apparent trimming in a photo editing program off the bottom of the "original" buff. The physical size difference of the original pic and this one could account for some random fuzziness/lighting/detail.

Also note, that overlaying the pic off the web shows the buff in a "landing" attitude(just before flaring one would suspect), just off the deck, er, runway. I left the landing gear(barely visible) on the overlay.

FWIW, comparing the second, smaller pic posted on the thread yields identical results; exact angle and lighting. What are the odds? I say they're fakes ;^)

Also, I spent quite a while(God only knows why!) looking for a pic of USS Ranger that may have been used for the original. The only candidate I found didn't exist any more and all I had to look at was a thumbnail, that when zoomed in lost most of its detail.

Another aside; I probably looked at several hundred pics of buffs in flight and found several that would suggest the fuselage is virtually parallel to the horizon when in straight and level flight. Like when on a bombing run, etc...

FGS

[Quix]

THANKS MUCH.

What an awesome amount of very clever work! Impressive.

Have a blessed weekend.

[ForGod'sSake]

;^)

[JRios1968]

A very good friend of mine provided me the pic...

[exit82]

Yes, Looterguy, not Beerman.

Maybe we can get your handle, USS Enterprise of Star Trek reknown, in the picture too?

[NCC-1701]

Not a bad idea.

[NCC-1701]

The picture makes it look like the BUFF was shot of the slanted part of the deck and the catapult didn't have enough umph to fling it aloft. As a result, the BUFF is going into the drink.

Neat picture though. Two fine examples of US power projectors.

[RunningWolf]

There is a lot there to talk about for later more esoteric abstract discussion (or not)

Is that the kind of thing that should petitioned to a private thread?

Wolf

[Wolfstar]

No offense, but it doesn't look real. The BUFF looks way too low and the size doesn't seem proportional.

Agreed. Besides, I didn't think a B52 could fly that low and still remain aloft (except for landings and takeoffs).

The outline of the plane in the above photo is correct, though.

These photos help to give a sense of scale. They are huge aircraft.

[JRios1968]

I'm game. I went to a school during my active duty days (1998) where we spent a few hours discussing Bud Holland.

[JRios1968]

The Buff is huge...for a bomber. Still, though, the B-52 is "only" 159 feet long. Compare that to the USS Ranger's length of 1046 feet.

[Fury]

Agreed on your last post...

[Rokke]

The Fairchild AFB B-52 incident has been made a case study in poor leadership at Air Force professional military education schools. What a gross embarrassment.

[Red6]

I like it whaen the MSM told us what "BUFF" meant, of course the PC version. :)

The B52 is another marvel of US arms development. As old as it is, it STILL is a viable platform that serves a purpose within the airframe mix the USAF has!

[lawgirl]

http://www.dumpalink.com/media/1129710400/B52_Crash

You can see the film of that Fairchild AFB/ Bud Holland crash here-- I know next to nothing about planes (except that I love them) and even I can see what a dumb move something like that was. Wow how sad.

[cva66snipe]

This one was real although many think it isn't. Camera angle and lense mean everything. To confirm search USS AMERICA +F-14 +Snodgrass. The man standing on the flightdeck with hands behind back is an Admiral.

F-14 Fly-By USS AMERICA