How Long Can the B-52 Continue in Service? 

air force general in 2050: meh, slap an ion cannon on it and keep it flying! 🤠

The year is 2100, the B-52 has been converted to a spacecraft, with a light speed drive recently being added

How can a 58 year old airplane still be relevant in the age of stealth fighters? How can a 10,000 year old flint knife still cut meat in the age of laser beams? The answer to both is the same: Because the original use-case hasn't changed very much, and new tech is overqualified for the job.

50's designers..."Make it to last 100 years." 2000's designers..."Make it as expensive as possible."

Year 2340: The B-52-Z has retired.....welcome B-52-Z-A

B-52 Stratofortress. The Colt 1911 of military aircraft.

Imagine being able to say, you, your children, and your children's children, all flew one single aircraft.

My father was a navigator on the B52s in the 1960s. I remember him saying “they were old then!”

B52 to F35: "Boy, I've been flying long before you were here and I'll still be flying long after you're gone."

Friend: Why haven't you bought a new car yet? Me: Gonna run it til the wheels fall off. Air Force: Say.. that's not a bad idea.

Year 2520: Sir! Multiple enemy hovertanks approaching! AF command: Send in the B-52s, they'll still work.

My Grandfather first flew B-47s then spent the majority of his career flying the B-52. R.I.P. Grandpa, and fly that eternal B.U.F.F. in the sky.

Textbooks “BUFF: Big Ugly Fat Fellow” B-52 pilots: “That’s not the F word we use”

It's hard to improve upon the mousetrap, or the hammer.

"Imagine if you can, a Sopwith Camel biplane..." Snoopy: "Done!"

"How Long Can the B-52 Continue in Service?" "Yes."

We'll see if it outlives the Queen. Clash of the immortals.

Engineer: how long do you want these B-52 to last? USAF: Yes

You're 58 years old? You look great dude.

It amazes me that the planes I worked on fifty-five years ago are not only still flying but their as relevant today as they were then. *Dance the Skies*

Who can last the longest..... B-52: Yes Tu-95: Yes

Brazilians have a saying that goes like: “when the team is winning, you don’t change the players”... if it’s working, why bother

Back in the 80's I often heard this saying about the B-52 "if it's good enough for my father it's good enough for me" I guess they must include grandpa and great grandpa now.

I saw the B-52's in concert. They were a lot of fun... :)

When I was in Guam, there was a B-52 there, piloted by a guy who's dad flew the very same plane out of the very same base back when he was in Vietnam.

Us airforce “The a-10 is too old and outdated, GET RID OF IT” Also Airforce “the b52 should stay for 100 years 😃”

_"How long can B-52 stay in service?"_ *B-52:* ...How long ya got?

The B-52 is such a beast and an icon I personally don’t think it will be retired for at the *LEAST* another 100-150 years

The designs were done when slide rulers, log tables, rows of drafters, and human computers were a thing... a testament to good engineering as a team

Yeah.....that last F in B.U.F.F. Definitely stands for fellow. You are are classy dude Paul.

My father served as a B-52 maintainer during the Vietnam War. It's great to see these aircraft still going strong all these decades later.

Lest we forget that the wheel has been around for millenia

I've had this broom 60 years, it's had 409 heads and 100 handles.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the last "F" in BUFF doesn't stand for "fellow". :p

B-52 Stratofortress is the equivalent to the Excelsior Class from Star Trek.

my late grandfather loved flight and airplanes so much, that be became a pilot (license signed by one of the wright brothers) an engineer and a patent attorney reviewing aircraft designs. his leisure time was spent building and flying scale models and kites. he won the 1976 Smithsonian kite contest trophy for his revolutionary war kite. i’m 54 now and still trying to find a passion like his. i love what he loved, but not like he loved it. great channel. great stuff.

My immediate thought to the opening question: You can’t hack an analog plane with a computer virus.

Well, if this isn't the ultimate of the saying, "They don't make them like that anymore."

Speaking of age, I don't care how old I get but I'll never not sing "Kill the Wabbit!" whenever I hear Ride of the Valkyries

200 years from now, The Space Force will be flying B52s over enemy moon bases on Titan.

Analog airplane doesn’t care about your digital warfare.

EMP: I wreck everything electronic B-52: *laughs in analog*

I didn’t know how to fly a B-52. Then I watched did a course on Brilliant and am now an RAF pilot. This comment is sponsored by Brilliant.

1:56 wow flying 24/7 for 8 years it's something

They’ll be a B52 flight at the dedication ceremony for the USS 1701 Enterprise. A, B, C and D

02:39 •B-52 crashes• •Coughs• “I was 10 years away from my 4th retirement”

The fact that the TU-95 And B-52 are both still in service is insane

0:55 you see, in the age of digital warfare, those with less digital tech may actually have an advantage, as their stuff is harder to hack.

Aliens invade earth in 4057 US airforce: B52 Aliens: *mommy im scared*

Same thing with the Russian TU-95. As it turns out, the technology for building a big truck full of bombs hasn't really improved since the 60's.

Dear Paul...to be able to watch the “ads” leading to your actual video...I want to share the experience of Okinawa with my wife. I was last in Okinawa in 2001, prior to 9/11. I have listened to your voice since coming into my current career field and I must say...in the dumpster fire that is 2020, truly, I have appreciated both the the Crown and your service to science. Please continue your videos...they truly are gems to be discovered. 🇬🇧

Wow, youtube has recommended me something that isn’t 11 years old

The B-52’s wide wingspan makes it look so oddly proportioned and I love it.

I wish more non military products were built as well as the B-52.

I was a B-52G Aircraft Hydraulic Systems Technician at Castle AFB, Ca 1989-1993. Proudly maintaining and keeping these aircraft in the air, in defense of our Nation.

Retired USAF B-52 Com/Bomb Nav here... BUFF still going strong, so are the tight spots behind those component racks and the LA heat. Hold the flashlight well boys.

The term I've heard thrown around is "Century Bomber".

Now, boys, we got three engines out; we got more holes in us than a horse trader's mule; the radio's gone and we're leakin' fuel, and if we's flying any lower, why, we'd need sleigh bells on this thing. But we got one little bulge on them Rooskies, at this height, why, they might harpoon us but they dang sure ain't gonna spot us on no radar screen. - _Maj._ _King_ _Kong_

13:03 Dude the flex from heating by the sun on those wings tho. Damn that's cool too see.

I was an enlisted electronic warfare/countermeasures technician (chaff, flares, radar and radio jamming, etc.) on the B-52H from 2001-2007. This meant that I and my coworkers drove out onto the flightline in a work truck with tool chests and tool boxes, climbed on/into/beaneath the plane, and troubleshot and repaired mechanical and technical issues, not unlike glorified car mechanics. Most of our work involved identifying malfunctioning parts, uninstalling them from the plane, sending them off to be fixed or scrapped, then installing new replacement parts and ensuring they worked properly. If only I could show you how ancient that technology really was. You could sense its age. It all looked, and felt, like you'd stepped fifty years into the past, and was large and heavy. For example, there were outdated computer programming cases (repair tools, not part of the plane) as big and heavy as a packed piece of luggage, with memory cartridges the size of lunchboxes, both with hardly more computing power and memory than a cheap calculator. The plane also broke constantly, in the sense that at least one thing (and usually several things) had to be repaired after every single training flight, let alone real sorties. There is a price to pay for being old without being entirely replaced by something 100% new.

My thoughts for the future: Boeing Releases B52MAX

B-52's time in service is longer than its wingspan.

FIA: Oh yeah let's make regulations to the Formula One to reduce emissions because of global warming. B-52: Hold my rolling coal.

0:43 It has so much lift that it is practically aiming at the ground with flaps down, unloaded at low altitude.

It’s bedtime here in Australia, your timing couldn’t be better!

This shows how aircraft engineers from the 50's and 60's were way ahead of their time.

Someone said “Keep it 100” and the Air Force took that to heart

I worked on KC135's in the AF and those are just as old, made in the 50s and early 60s. the 135R model was the most recent upgraded version of the airframe. It is projected to be in service until at least the 2050s even with the new 46 models being produced right now. Amazing planes both by Boeing, they know how to engineer aircrafts

The hangars they keep them in are called, "The Love Shack".

When my air guard unit retired the old A -7, we had a little air show. Aircraft from all over came and you could look at the aircraft and get food, it was a great time. One of the visiting aircraft was a big old B52 painted black. The next day the aircraft began departing back to their home bases. I was assigned the task of checking out the after burner on an F16 for cracks another defects. As I crawled into the tailpipe of the airplane the B52 rumble down the track and lifted into the air. As the aircraft departed most of them buzzed the tower, a-la Top Gun style. I didn't know it because I was up in the tailpipe of the F16, but the B52 heeled around and headed straight for the field at low altitude. I remember hearing this horrific, rumbling sound, like satan's bowels ready to explode, it just got louder and louder until my equipment shook, the F16 I was in shook. I heard things dropping off the walls. I heard people scrambling around. When the plane passed overhead it was the most terrifying noise I had ever heard. I stumbled out the aircraft in a daze, went and got a coffee, spilled it.

You want to know something funny, my best friend is currently serving in the same B-52 bomber that my dad served on, which is also one of the bombers built by my great grandma. This thing has outlived the people that build it and their children.

Outstanding. Great research. A lot of hard work was done to produce this video.

Yes, Paul: 'fellow'... That's definitely what the second F in BUFF stands for...aha ha...

The Tu-95 Bear could be considered the B-52's counterpart, as the Russians intend to run those for a long time too

A real simple explanation is it was designed a the perfect time. Designed to carry big, heavy weapons intercontinental distances. The weapons got smaller and lighter. This gave the B-52 extraordinary capability that no one wants to throw away. It is cheaper to put a new engine in the old, but well maintained, bus than to scrap it and buy 4 new station wagons.

I watched this because today I saw 2 52's fly over Denver. What an AWSOME sight.

BUFF: I desperately need an upgrade... AF: come back in twenty years... BUFF: okay, here I am, it's been twenty years... AF: not now, come back in thirty years...

I thought this was going to be about why we still hear "Love Shack" on the radio at every fast food restaurant in America over 20 years later.

I was born in 1961, fast forward 45 years, I started working for the USAF repairing/rebuild TF 33 engines. That was 14 years ago. Somewhere today, a baby will be born, grow up, and become a machinist , as I did. Do the something I did, rework TF 33 engine parts. But they pay will be double what I make now. I love my job!!

Nice way of talking. Not everybody can talk non stop. And stil keep a clear voice and hold your attention. It’s a gift. So yes I like watching and listening to this channel

I was born in 1961 in Sacramento California. My house was just 10 miles from Mather Airforce base. When the Buffs were headed out the house shook and all of us kids rushed out side to watch. You could tell what was was going on somewhere by the color of the various plans. White and silver for nuke armed SAC planes and Green camo for those headed to south east Asia to give Charlie hell. Shock of shocks was when we saw Green Buffs armed with white Hound Dog missiles during Tet. Yeah even a 6 year old can see the difference.

The SR-71 Still holds the record for the fastest plane ever @ Mach 3.2 set almost 60 years ago. This was a golden age of avaition.

Just a couple days ago, I found out we still use b52s. I was in disbelief when I found out they are still in service to this day. Great vid!

Totally love the Big Bad Buff. we just had six visit us here in the UK for exercises with other Nato countries. I am currently making resin upgrades in 1/72 scale and am doing a D version as a beginner build on my channel right now. I can't wait to make some resin B-52J engines in 1/72 scale.

**heavy dreadnought breathing** Even In Death We Still Serve

They should upgrade those engines... those plumes are darker than my soul ffs 😂😂

Just saw this - Had a client who grew up on a B-52 base, he went on to fly, but search/rescue choppers instead. His memory of HIS father's job- was "Blue Eraser" (ala old pencil/pen erasers which were red & blue) "when somebody upstairs wanted it erased from the map, they erased it from the real world"

Interesting video! Also, a very smooth segue into the promotion, good showmanship.

Designed and engineered with slide-rules. How many know what a slide-rule is? How many have one? And they still work without batteries!!!

All of a sudden Trek's idea of having Kirk era ships still active 100 years later didn't seem that crazy.

Nice and thorough. Very nice listen

This makes me want to watch Dr Strangelove again!

Just when you thought your day couldn't get any better; a curious droid upload to top it all off. Love your content mate.

Despite her age she is still a beauty.

Brilliant presentation, Curious Droid! Best I've ever seen.

Sir, your all videos are excellent with unique information

Age is no barrier, as I keep telling myself and I was born in 1961!

The only thing i can’t forget about this video: ARE YOU 58 YEARS OLD???

How have I never come across this channel before; it's amazing!

Another well researched video Paul!