The us military probably self insures. I worked for a city that did this as it was cheaper to pay for it themselves then it was to insure their entire fleet.
I forget which contractor/ DYI home improvement help podcast it was, but the constant catch phrase always by the moderator is "water always wins"... 😂 but to think this incident could have been possibly been prevented if they just listened in the first place... is disappointing... for the lack of a nail a kingdom was lost.
I think the B2 program largely served its purpose over its 30 year career, similar to Blackbird. I was NOT prepared for how big the B2 actually is standing near it, what an aircraft!
@@slashteam8440warplanes? I think a lot of people would be puzzled about how small some fighters are. Remember, everyone today has seen at least a 737. Now, if you've seen a lot of fighters, then I'll agree!
I would argue the XB-70 Valkyrie would be the most expensive. Each one cost about $7.5 billion in 2024 money. $700 million in 1961.... The crash of the prototype was crazy.
I was on Anderson AFB in Guam that day. Was stationed with my family there 06-09. B2 was my favorite, always making sure to look up when I’d see them pass over. I was getting a basketball trophy that day at the youth center on base. Had someone come running into the gymnasium saying they seen a big black ball of smoke coming from the airstrip area. Like others mentioned my dad and me loaded up in our car heading that way. Got to the closest we could to the airstrip, holding right on the edge the perimeter gate of the airstrip. I don’t remember exactly how long we are there at least 10 minutes though, eventually some military police came up to the crowd that gathered on the fence and told us we had a dispatch because of the chemicals being released from the B-2. It’s honor to be part of the most expensive crash in history and to see the only one ever go down. Nothing is like seeing that silhouette go over you while you’re on the beach I miss that plane.
@ I don’t know if they were allowed to fly again, but I do know one was seriously injured on ejection with the spinal injury. He ended up getting sent to Hawaii to a rehab rehabilitation place. And the other guy from what I know walked away with less life altering in injuries not 100% on him. This is all speculation from this point what I’m saying, but if I had a guess, the guy with the spinal injury would sadly be retired from the injury sense from what I remember it was pretty serious spinal injury. The other guy might’ve been able to continue on. Appreciate the question it makes me wonder deeper. Guam was a beautiful place, didn’t quite fully grasp it at the time. I was age 10 at this time. The conditions in Guam are tropical with thick humidity, so anything mechanically you gotta maintain constantly. Another wild plane crash was on the national holiday of Guam in 2008. A B-52 with 6 crew members crashed. We found out one of the crew members was my sisters friends dad on board. Went to the funeral on base for that one.
_A Dorito chock full of vital iron minerals and supplements!_ (Iron, to reference the “black ball“ ferritic coating of the SR-71 -- which admittedly is not the B-2; “Supplements“ to reference the bomb load of the craft, up to and including thermonuclear weapons.)
The 2 billion dollar price includes all of the research and development and periodic Depot Maintenance that refurbishes the plane to better than new condition. If the originally planned number of planes had been built, the cost per plane would have been significantly lower.
Techs in 06: hey so these sensors get pissy when wet if we install heaters it would solve the issue. Air Force brass: absolutely not B2 crashes because sensors failed -2billion Air Force brass:😮 AHHH INSTALL HEATERS
I don’t think he’s actually right. My understanding is the heaters existed, but were manually engaged (I.e. bad weather.). But the pilots had no idea water was the issue in this case. They were normally not needed because they are almost always housed in hangers in Missouri when not in flight, and not on tropical islands. And no procedure written for the plane mentioned using the heaters when the sensors were mismatched. Also IIRC, there were techs in Missouri that knew about using it, but it was never put into print , so it wasn’t available to the blokes out on the island.
So Engineers had identified the problem and found a solution, but their recommendations weren't acted on, I wonder if some bean counter had claimed the heaters were too costly?
That is absolutely what happened they looked at service life and previous maintenance records said nah it's been fine so far why add costs to an already insanely high cost machine.
Every time I’m reminded of the challenger disaster I wonder if there were any other engineers also writing strongly worded memos about problems that turned out not to matter. Like, in hindsight it’s obvious they should have actioned the one issue that ended in catastrophe, but at the time maybe it was an ocean of over-cautious engineers crying wolf, and it’s less a case of bean counters being reckless and more a case that if we listened to literally everyone with a concern nothing would ever get done. I have no idea whether that’s the case, and I have no idea how someone would even investigate to find that out. It just wouldn’t surprise me if the nice neat story of “bean counters be ignorant” is an oversimplification of the truth
The stealth bomber that is virtually invisible, is instantly recognizable! Good one Simon! (Young Frankenstien-!- " W(h)ere wolf, there wolf!) Lol Marty Feldman, iconic actor.
Can we all agree that this is typical bureaucracy? The higher ups never care until the problem costs a lot of money. And then quickly try to take credit for the solution...
I will never understand youtubers and their editors fixation on adding the "scratched film" filter to footage that was obviously shot digitally. Why do you guys do this? The footage is from 2008!!
The next video will be in black and white haha I love visual variety. Oh, you don't know what I'm talking about? Look it up, sweet heart 🌈 @@melendezab1
These specialty craft tend be at the very limits of engineering. A bit more boom, a bit more fuel. Really the B2 is a dream compared to some other craft. U-2 pilot probably could have salvaged this B2 somehow, they can land a U-2 after all.
Man I remember this day. We were guests at this home in Dededo…it was nuts. What a way to take me back to memory lane. Thank you. It was a fun journey.
The b2 has two pilots for long missions, and also comes equipped with a bathroom for the same reasons. Imagine dropping one off while your co pilot was dropping guided bombs off ... future ..
Fun fact, if you go to Whitman Air Force Base (home of the B2) on google maps or google earth (as of 2024), you can see a B2 sitting on the side of the runway where it had skidded off for some reason. Not sure which of the mishaps mentioned were the reason for that.
@higgsboson1028 its an active air base housing one of the most impressive and secretive aircraft on earth. You think they'd let a google maps 360 camera car drive around on the base for the whole world to look at????
The money isn't really going on upgrading those antiques. Sure they'll get a lick of fresh paint but the real money is being syphoned off into black projects
@shardovl586 The B-21 isn't an upgrade though, it's a new plane meant to replace the B-2 and B-1. It's using improvements on the B-2's technology, and is going to be cheaper, in part because there will be more built rather than a very limited run like the B-2.
How did you fail to get 10min through a 13min video. He said exactly what caused it. Leadership wanted to pinch penny’s for heaters and lost a $2B aircraft for an already identified and troubleshooted issue. Also, this crash happened 10 years after development, hardly bleeding edge at this time.
I believe this is the first time I've heard engine thrust expressed in kilograms. More typically it is in kilonewtons (kN), The installed thrust on the B-2 is 85 kN x 4 = 340 kN, or 76,000 lbf.
In the mid 90's, I was driving West on I-96 toward Lake Michigan, unaware there was an air show just North of there. All of a sudden, a shadow covered my car, from what was a cloudless sky that day, so I was all ???. then one of these slowly, and very silently, pulled out ahead, it was flying low and slow, following the highway. i had to remind myself to look at the road every now and then instead of open-mouth staring in awe at the majestic beast floating overhead.
A new B-21 Raider's production is nearly complete and almost operational status. Then the USAF also still uses the B-1 , B-52 bombers. With the B-52 getting retrofitted with a new engine ; the upgrade is expected to let the B-52 flying for at least another 20 to maybe 30 years.
This crash cost as much as an entire Arleigh Burke destroyer. It's insane to think any aircraft could cost as much as an entire navel vessel, much less a giant one.
Even though the F-35's and F-22's are " Stealth " planes ; they can be configured and used in a more conventional manner similar to non-stealth planes. There are a lot of options that can be implemented if needed.
I wouldn't be suprised if they also made changes to the fly-by-wire system that they didn't mention on the report. In a situation where a plane is taking off and isn't climbing as much as it's supposed to, that indicates the onset of a stall (either from a faulty airspeed or problems with wing surfaces). To save the plane from falling out of the sky, the opposite reaction is needed- the nose needs to be held as close to level as possible without hitting terrain to unload the wings and build airspeed.
It really looks like an alien UFO. No surprise in the US everyone declare a first type encounter of some sort. Truly a beautiful machine, if only it wasn’t designed to kill people!
You could look at it another way. If the stealth capabilities allow it to reliably take out military equipment, it may cripple the opponent, reducing the number of deaths significantly. Precision air strikes are probably much less deadly than all-out war, despite sometimes being equally effective. Does it actually pan out that way? No idea. Just a potentially interesting thought.
Tenerife airport disaster destroyed two 747s and killed 583 people. Given the cost of 747s, and that a human life is valued at ten million dollars when certain government agencies are considering safety measures, Tenerife seems to have cost more by a big multiple, not even including reputational damage to the airlines and to the island as a tourist destination. Considering other incidents like those on 9/11, and the crash that terminated the Concorde program, and their financial consequences, the Guam crash might barely make a top five list, or not, depending on your definitions and categorizations. Transportation accidents can be expensive. Car crashes cost America USD 340 billion in 2019, according to a government safety agency. As an American senator said, a billion here, a billion there, sooner or later you're talking real money. I'm glad that there were no major injuries or deaths in the Guam crash.
In the mid '80s I was part of the team at Allied-Signal Garrett Engine Division that designed the Auxiliary Power Units (APUS, the GTC131-3A, later the 131-3A) used on the B-2. Specifically I designed the 7:1 single stage centrifugal compressor stage. It was interesting in that I had no security clearance. A security clearance was not necessary as we did not know what the application of the APU was until after the aircraft was shown to the public. That itself was interesting as it was rolled out of the hanger and photographs were only allowed to be taken from the front and none from the air to hide the zig-zag rear of the plane.
Like the SR-71 Blackbird, the B-2 Spirit has had an impressive 30-year career, redefining stealth technology and strategic airpower. It’s an aircraft that truly changed the game, just as the Blackbird did in its era.
I love how many times engineers have fixed issues but the dumb ass bean counters determine them to be "not cost effective" and then are bitten in the ass. Quite literally the story of my life as an engineer lol.
A good engineer is able to make a convincing argument that justifies a fix. More often than not the engineers thinks it is below their dignity to have to explain things to the people controlling the pursestrings, then criticize them for deeming the project unnecessary.
The 24 air speed units is interesting to me. I work in cyber and doing quite a bit of microcontroller tinkering I've seen several groups within research sciences across the world start creating single small planes (as in flat areas) and attaching 32 or 64 time of flight sensors then having them poll each other for data...creating something with the sensitivity that you wouldn't be able to export to many countries around the world. I would almost bet that's what they did here with the B2 as I've offended wondered where this idea came from exactly bc it has been around for a long time but only recently can you do it for less than 60$. On a plane no bigger than a dinner plate. So it's also kind of scary when considering the applications.
The 2008 B-2 Spirit crash, while not causing any casualties, resulted in a massive financial loss. It serves as a reminder that no matter how advanced technology is, risks are always present.
The B-2 would have cost less per aircraft if Northrop had been allowed to build all 75 of them. I spent 20 years in flight test at the AFTC (formerly AFFTC) I started at about the same time they rolled out the first B2. I can say during my time leadership got better at listening to input from the field. Not perfect, but better. BTW - B52s are still on the schedule with new engines !
If you look at Whitman AFB on Google maps right now, you can see a view of a B2 accident from a few years ago with the response team standing next to it on the runway
I find it particularly shocking that this is the only aircraft written off due to an accident during its 30-year service life. Given that it’s a small fleet comprised of experimental, almost hand-built aircraft, where each one is slightly different, referring to them as serial production feels like a stretch. In fact, they were still figuring things out by the time the last ones were completed. Consequently, the most likely fate of the other damaged aircraft is one of several possibilities: either ground training, systems testing, or harvesting spare parts for the rest of the fleet. The U.S. does not discard stealth technology if it remains useful.
To be honest 1 complete loss of an airframe is pretty good going. Take the F105 Starfighter for example. 283 of these aircraft were lost during the Vietnam war. Which was nearly half of the 833 produced. Puts it into perspective.
You should do an episode on the Pacific Island of Tinian. Its history during WW-II and why the USAF is investing large amounts to resurrect the base to counter China.
As a side note, Whiteman AFB had to close down flight ops for 10 days after an emergency B-2 landing Dec 10, 2022 because their only runway was fouled. Seems like a very serious national security issue when all it takes to disable your best strategic bombers is to shut down 1 runway!!!
Meh the B1 lancer "Bone" is better in almost every way, bigger payload, super sonic, not stealth but has very low observability and it can fly super low to the ground so its not picked up by radar in the first place.
Go to surfshark.com/mega for 4 extra months of Surfshark
Insurance company: You crashed a WHAT???
The us military probably self insures. I worked for a city that did this as it was cheaper to pay for it themselves then it was to insure their entire fleet.
@classic.cameras you mean they self insure on the taxpayers money
@@alfredshort3I get it. It's not local taxes, it's just the city who needs some insurance fees financed 😂
Yeah, we are going to deny your claim, due to... flooding! Yeah. You don't have flood coverage
Hey, hey, hey... everybody knows that the US government can't afford US insurance rates.
Never defeated by the enemy, but destroyed by humidity. That's engineering for you.
I forget which contractor/ DYI home improvement help podcast it was, but the constant catch phrase always by the moderator is "water always wins"... 😂 but to think this incident could have been possibly been prevented if they just listened in the first place... is disappointing... for the lack of a nail a kingdom was lost.
Umm... never beat the enemy either
@@bradsanders407 It's not a fighter and has bombed the hell out of enemies. 1.5 million pounds of bombs in the gulf War.
Wasn't one shot down in Serbia?
@@cyh6092not a b2. We've lost a f117a nighthawk &a f16
I think the B2 program largely served its purpose over its 30 year career, similar to Blackbird. I was NOT prepared for how big the B2 actually is standing near it, what an aircraft!
They have one at the air force museum in Dayton Ohio I don't think most people understand how big warplanes are
Yeah, same with when I saw an F22 at an airshow a couple of years ago. Also got a picture next to a B2 and it was amazing.
@@slashteam8440warplanes? I think a lot of people would be puzzled about how small some fighters are. Remember, everyone today has seen at least a 737. Now, if you've seen a lot of fighters, then I'll agree!
The main purpose was to earn the developers huge sums of money as always.
@@slashteam8440is it the Spirit of Kansas?
All of these stories are basically the universe screaming "stop cutting corners and listen to the engineers, you're not smarter than physics"
Engineering projects are always about cutting corners. It’s a matter of knowing which corners you can cut and which ones you can’t.
They added extra corners on the back of the plane.
I would argue the XB-70 Valkyrie would be the most expensive. Each one cost about $7.5 billion in 2024 money. $700 million in 1961.... The crash of the prototype was crazy.
Wow! 😮
I think the Saturn V for a Moon mission was 'only' 6 billion.
That was the first thing I thought of too.
@@12pentaborane but that was made by former nazis that did not dare to ask for more money 😅
@marcbeebee6969 yeah, hooray operation 📎
I was on Anderson AFB in Guam that day. Was stationed with my family there 06-09. B2 was my favorite, always making sure to look up when I’d see them pass over. I was getting a basketball trophy that day at the youth center on base. Had someone come running into the gymnasium saying they seen a big black ball of smoke coming from the airstrip area. Like others mentioned my dad and me loaded up in our car heading that way. Got to the closest we could to the airstrip, holding right on the edge the perimeter gate of the airstrip. I don’t remember exactly how long we are there at least 10 minutes though, eventually some military police came up to the crowd that gathered on the fence and told us we had a dispatch because of the chemicals being released from the B-2. It’s honor to be part of the most expensive crash in history and to see the only one ever go down. Nothing is like seeing that silhouette go over you while you’re on the beach I miss that plane.
do you know if the pilots were allowed to fly again? or were they removed from flight status? i cant find any info on that detail
@ I don’t know if they were allowed to fly again, but I do know one was seriously injured on ejection with the spinal injury. He ended up getting sent to Hawaii to a rehab rehabilitation place. And the other guy from what I know walked away with less life altering in injuries not 100% on him. This is all speculation from this point what I’m saying, but if I had a guess, the guy with the spinal injury would sadly be retired from the injury sense from what I remember it was pretty serious spinal injury. The other guy might’ve been able to continue on. Appreciate the question it makes me wonder deeper. Guam was a beautiful place, didn’t quite fully grasp it at the time. I was age 10 at this time. The conditions in Guam are tropical with thick humidity, so anything mechanically you gotta maintain constantly. Another wild plane crash was on the national holiday of Guam in 2008. A B-52 with 6 crew members crashed. We found out one of the crew members was my sisters friends dad on board. Went to the funeral on base for that one.
"Flying black dorito" 💀💀
The F-22 has a similar moniker
@@Noone-jn3jp with a much spicier flavor.
_A Dorito chock full of vital iron minerals and supplements!_
(Iron, to reference the “black ball“ ferritic coating of the SR-71 -- which admittedly is not the B-2; “Supplements“ to reference the bomb load of the craft, up to and including thermonuclear weapons.)
@@Noone-jn3jpthe f-22 is the mach 2 bumblebee
A spicy dorito
The most expensive crash is the one you’re involved in 😂
All the best to everyone
Well said. I couldn't agree more
The 2 billion dollar price includes all of the research and development and periodic Depot Maintenance that refurbishes the plane to better than new condition. If the originally planned number of planes had been built, the cost per plane would have been significantly lower.
Techs in 06: hey so these sensors get pissy when wet if we install heaters it would solve the issue.
Air Force brass: absolutely not
B2 crashes because sensors failed -2billion
Air Force brass:😮 AHHH INSTALL HEATERS
Morris mutual insurance. We expect the unexpected.
Human nature. We like to dismiss expert opinion.
"Note to self: don't employ electronics engineers from AZ"....
I don’t think he’s actually right. My understanding is the heaters existed, but were manually engaged (I.e. bad weather.). But the pilots had no idea water was the issue in this case. They were normally not needed because they are almost always housed in hangers in Missouri when not in flight, and not on tropical islands. And no procedure written for the plane mentioned using the heaters when the sensors were mismatched.
Also IIRC, there were techs in Missouri that knew about using it, but it was never put into print , so it wasn’t available to the blokes out on the island.
@@marcbeebee6969 Not this, lol
I was told by an engineer on the B-2 program that the fuel capacity is greater than the weight of fully loaded and fueled Boeing 737.
Well they like storing fuel in the wings, and this thing has a lot of wing.
So Engineers had identified the problem and found a solution, but their recommendations weren't acted on, I wonder if some bean counter had claimed the heaters were too costly?
That is absolutely what happened they looked at service life and previous maintenance records said nah it's been fine so far why add costs to an already insanely high cost machine.
Every time I’m reminded of the challenger disaster I wonder if there were any other engineers also writing strongly worded memos about problems that turned out not to matter. Like, in hindsight it’s obvious they should have actioned the one issue that ended in catastrophe, but at the time maybe it was an ocean of over-cautious engineers crying wolf, and it’s less a case of bean counters being reckless and more a case that if we listened to literally everyone with a concern nothing would ever get done. I have no idea whether that’s the case, and I have no idea how someone would even investigate to find that out. It just wouldn’t surprise me if the nice neat story of “bean counters be ignorant” is an oversimplification of the truth
The solution was probably quietly implemented later
Booing was involved. All went as expected
@@TastySlowCookerthis is the sort of garbage someone writes when they have never done engineering in their life
“It may be the shelf life of the stealth bomber is reaching its end”.........
B21 Raider........”hold my beer”. 😎
Ask Yemen how well they are working lately……with the US stealthy crater maker swinging thru
He didnt mean stealth bomber in general. He ment the B2 stealth bomber progam
Do you just spam use period in every comment you make???
@@lonniesmith352 Buff/Franklin 2024?
The stealth bomber that is virtually invisible, is instantly recognizable! Good one Simon! (Young Frankenstien-!- " W(h)ere wolf, there wolf!) Lol Marty Feldman, iconic actor.
Can we all agree that this is typical bureaucracy? The higher ups never care until the problem costs a lot of money. And then quickly try to take credit for the solution...
1:15 - Mid roll ads
2:30 - Chapter 1 - The B2 Bomber
6:40 - Chapter 2 - The accident
9:55 - Chapter 3 - Cost & later problems
I will never understand youtubers and their editors fixation on adding the "scratched film" filter to footage that was obviously shot digitally. Why do you guys do this? The footage is from 2008!!
Visual variety. It’s a thing.
Because the average person is stupid and thinks everything in the past needs to look like that.
Probably helps copyright infringements..
The next video will be in black and white haha I love visual variety. Oh, you don't know what I'm talking about? Look it up, sweet heart 🌈 @@melendezab1
Some of the footage could be as old as 1989. The footage isnt entirely of the crash.
It’s crazy how much a different 20kmh an hour is between flying and not
These specialty craft tend be at the very limits of engineering. A bit more boom, a bit more fuel. Really the B2 is a dream compared to some other craft. U-2 pilot probably could have salvaged this B2 somehow, they can land a U-2 after all.
I would love to see a video on the 1956 Venice canals draining and cleaning.
The wing span of a B2 is probably too long to use as an effective drain cleaner.
Man I remember this day.
We were guests at this home in Dededo…it was nuts.
What a way to take me back to memory lane. Thank you. It was a fun journey.
The b2 has two pilots for long missions, and also comes equipped with a bathroom for the same reasons. Imagine dropping one off while your co pilot was dropping guided bombs off ... future ..
The “bathroom” is extremely minimal. No stall, no doors. Light enough to carry by hand to service it.
I seem to recall $2000 toilet seat. To be fair it had to hold the poo in while flying inverted......
2:27 the B2 bomber
6:33 the accident
9:49 cost and later problems
Thank you 👍
The frontal view of the burned wreck of the Spirit of Kansas kind of gives it the appearance of a crashed alien spacecraft and not a B-2 Spirit.
You sure? Ever seen a crashed alien spacecraft?
@@cplcabs No (obviously). I'm just saying that the front view of the Spirit of Kansas wreck resembles those classic, flying saucer-type UFOs in a way.
There are reasons why the USAF is practicing flying the B2 out of a couple of AU RAAF airfields; those are hot but generally dryer.
It's where some airline companies stored their planes in AU during COVID
Where please?
I’m due for a holiday and I like driving. Longreach? WA?
Tell me you haven't looked at a map without telling me you haven't looked at a (weather) map
Fun fact, if you go to Whitman Air Force Base (home of the B2) on google maps or google earth (as of 2024), you can see a B2 sitting on the side of the runway where it had skidded off for some reason. Not sure which of the mishaps mentioned were the reason for that.
@higgsboson1028 its an active air base housing one of the most impressive and secretive aircraft on earth. You think they'd let a google maps 360 camera car drive around on the base for the whole world to look at????
Yes! I saw that about two weeks ago. Apparently it's from the 2021 incident.
@@KseggOne1it's satellite images not street view 😂
The Idea that the B2 is to be considered obsolete soon is kinda 🤯
Looking forward to a fleet of B21 Raiders
The money isn't really going on upgrading those antiques. Sure they'll get a lick of fresh paint but the real money is being syphoned off into black projects
@shardovl586 The B-21 isn't an upgrade though, it's a new plane meant to replace the B-2 and B-1.
It's using improvements on the B-2's technology, and is going to be cheaper, in part because there will be more built rather than a very limited run like the B-2.
The houthis aren't
It's almost like building tech at the bleeding edge of our abilities comes with some risk...
How did you fail to get 10min through a 13min video. He said exactly what caused it. Leadership wanted to pinch penny’s for heaters and lost a $2B aircraft for an already identified and troubleshooted issue.
Also, this crash happened 10 years after development, hardly bleeding edge at this time.
Skip ad button --> 2:27
Thanks!
Thanks for your revanced advice 👍
Hate ads especially on a 10 minute video
thanks
Recognized the plane's build immediately from the thumbnail. Made me sad, knowing how special it was.
Imagine the ones who's taxes funded it , the things worth while gets destroyed
9:43 closing the barn doors after the horses have bolted. Classic
"Sure is quiet around here lately" ~ Gulf of Aden
"Yeah dude, same here..." ~ Red Sea
"uh huh..." ~ B-2
02:52 oh, boeing. Now we know why it crashed 🤣
Unfortunately boeing is just the one that gets the highlight right now. EVERYONE wants to spend less and make more
@@Pr0toPoTaT0 its the one that is messing up spending less.
@@cplcabs fax machine
Nice video Simon. Great work by production team as always 👌👏
Always look forward to watching your content😌
Despite budget cuts every operable B-2 is still in service except for one damaged a few years ago.
I believe this is the first time I've heard engine thrust expressed in kilograms. More typically it is in kilonewtons (kN), The installed thrust on the B-2 is 85 kN x 4 = 340 kN, or 76,000 lbf.
If Simon says kg, then it's kg.
He is a typical youtuber....dumb AF
@@TheOsfania only in your ill educated mind
I think the tenerife incident was more expensive when considering life lost, fuel lost, the planes (duh), the airport damage, ect.
In the mid 90's, I was driving West on I-96 toward Lake Michigan, unaware there was an air show just North of there. All of a sudden, a shadow covered my car, from what was a cloudless sky that day, so I was all ???. then one of these slowly, and very silently, pulled out ahead, it was flying low and slow, following the highway. i had to remind myself to look at the road every now and then instead of open-mouth staring in awe at the majestic beast floating overhead.
Had to be amazing and a tad scary😮.
The spicy Dorito!!
A new B-21 Raider's production is nearly complete and almost operational status. Then the USAF also still uses the B-1 , B-52 bombers. With the B-52 getting retrofitted with a new engine ; the upgrade is expected to let the B-52 flying for at least another 20 to maybe 30 years.
I would call it damn good that after 30 years, we have lost so few. These are combat vehicles.
None of the losses were in combat.
And the BUFF will outfly everything 😁
Fore another comparison the Cost of a B2 is the same as a Burke class destroyer with a full weapons load.
😮 I can just imagine their CO saying slowly, through gritted teeth, I'm. Just. Glad. YOU. GUYS. survived.
It used to be that you overwhelmed your enemies with numbers and not the number of dollars.
This crash cost as much as an entire Arleigh Burke destroyer. It's insane to think any aircraft could cost as much as an entire navel vessel, much less a giant one.
Thank you Simon. From the Bronx.
Even though the F-35's and F-22's are " Stealth " planes ; they can be configured and used in a more conventional manner similar to non-stealth planes. There are a lot of options that can be implemented if needed.
Beatufully told. Feels like one of the older videos, done with genui e care and no forced content.
It's crazy that one of the best pieces of technology the military has right now, was built in 1987.
You should do a video on the f117 nighthawk
already done.
He did.
th-cam.com/video/bG_4z8x46B0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=lljGLipOKaOkDmUw
F117 is in my opinion copied from Ufos
Ufo airplane
I wouldn't be suprised if they also made changes to the fly-by-wire system that they didn't mention on the report. In a situation where a plane is taking off and isn't climbing as much as it's supposed to, that indicates the onset of a stall (either from a faulty airspeed or problems with wing surfaces). To save the plane from falling out of the sky, the opposite reaction is needed- the nose needs to be held as close to level as possible without hitting terrain to unload the wings and build airspeed.
It really looks like an alien UFO. No surprise in the US everyone declare a first type encounter of some sort. Truly a beautiful machine, if only it wasn’t designed to kill people!
You could look at it another way. If the stealth capabilities allow it to reliably take out military equipment, it may cripple the opponent, reducing the number of deaths significantly. Precision air strikes are probably much less deadly than all-out war, despite sometimes being equally effective.
Does it actually pan out that way? No idea. Just a potentially interesting thought.
Looking forward to Mat Armstrong getting his hands on this.
Were you born in a barn??
That open door in the background is doing my head in 😅
Obviously not an outside door...
Oh, I know, war plane, blah de blah de blah, but that is a beautiful aeroplane - in the Concord class.
Tenerife airport disaster destroyed two 747s and killed 583 people. Given the cost of 747s, and that a human life is valued at ten million dollars when certain government agencies are considering safety measures, Tenerife seems to have cost more by a big multiple, not even including reputational damage to the airlines and to the island as a tourist destination. Considering other incidents like those on 9/11, and the crash that terminated the Concorde program, and their financial consequences, the Guam crash might barely make a top five list, or not, depending on your definitions and categorizations. Transportation accidents can be expensive. Car crashes cost America USD 340 billion in 2019, according to a government safety agency. As an American senator said, a billion here, a billion there, sooner or later you're talking real money.
I'm glad that there were no major injuries or deaths in the Guam crash.
In the mid '80s I was part of the team at Allied-Signal Garrett Engine Division that designed the Auxiliary Power Units (APUS, the GTC131-3A, later the 131-3A) used on the B-2. Specifically I designed the 7:1 single stage centrifugal compressor stage. It was interesting in that I had no security clearance. A security clearance was not necessary as we did not know what the application of the APU was until after the aircraft was shown to the public. That itself was interesting as it was rolled out of the hanger and photographs were only allowed to be taken from the front and none from the air to hide the zig-zag rear of the plane.
Like the SR-71 Blackbird, the B-2 Spirit has had an impressive 30-year career, redefining stealth technology and strategic airpower. It’s an aircraft that truly changed the game, just as the Blackbird did in its era.
The B-2 and F-117 are 2 of my all time favourite aircraft. They're so cool
Omg finally another person!
1.2 billion!!!😳😳😳
I remember this! Defensor Fortis was all over the place!
I love how many times engineers have fixed issues but the dumb ass bean counters determine them to be "not cost effective" and then are bitten in the ass. Quite literally the story of my life as an engineer lol.
A good engineer is able to make a convincing argument that justifies a fix. More often than not the engineers thinks it is below their dignity to have to explain things to the people controlling the pursestrings, then criticize them for deeming the project unnecessary.
This crash really puts the costs of aviation safety into perspective! 😢
When you look up and see the sky is missing a few pixels, you know someone's gonna have a bad time
"It cant be that bad" "it was a B-2" 💀
The 24 air speed units is interesting to me. I work in cyber and doing quite a bit of microcontroller tinkering I've seen several groups within research sciences across the world start creating single small planes (as in flat areas) and attaching 32 or 64 time of flight sensors then having them poll each other for data...creating something with the sensitivity that you wouldn't be able to export to many countries around the world. I would almost bet that's what they did here with the B2 as I've offended wondered where this idea came from exactly bc it has been around for a long time but only recently can you do it for less than 60$. On a plane no bigger than a dinner plate. So it's also kind of scary when considering the applications.
The 2008 B-2 Spirit crash, while not causing any casualties, resulted in a massive financial loss. It serves as a reminder that no matter how advanced technology is, risks are always present.
Formerly from Missouri. Whiteman AFB was right down the road. You see a B-2 take off at night with landing lights on? Words escape you.
The B-2 would have cost less per aircraft if Northrop had been allowed to build all 75 of them.
I spent 20 years in flight test at the AFTC (formerly AFFTC) I started at about the same time they rolled out the first B2. I can say during my time leadership got better at listening to input from the field. Not perfect, but better.
BTW - B52s are still on the schedule with new engines !
Part of me feels like the pilots lobbied HARD to stay in hospital and avoid that first meeting with the CO 😂
you should do one on the tks tankette
They have B2 and F22 stationed in Australia at the moment, there were some photos floating around of one taking off in Queensland and flying low
nope, nothing to see here. Just a few C-17s doing touch and go's.
Imagine having to tell your insurance company you crashed the billion dollar stealth bomber
If you look at Whitman AFB on Google maps right now, you can see a view of a B2 accident from a few years ago with the response team standing next to it on the runway
I find it particularly shocking that this is the only aircraft written off due to an accident during its 30-year service life. Given that it’s a small fleet comprised of experimental, almost hand-built aircraft, where each one is slightly different, referring to them as serial production feels like a stretch. In fact, they were still figuring things out by the time the last ones were completed. Consequently, the most likely fate of the other damaged aircraft is one of several possibilities: either ground training, systems testing, or harvesting spare parts for the rest of the fleet. The U.S. does not discard stealth technology if it remains useful.
To be honest 1 complete loss of an airframe is pretty good going. Take the F105 Starfighter for example. 283 of these aircraft were lost during the Vietnam war. Which was nearly half of the 833 produced. Puts it into perspective.
I'm surprised that it has such a low top speed, but as I'm typing this I'm realizing that being quiet is part of stealth lol
I got the chance to walk around a B2 back in the early 90's at an airforce base in Kansas. An amazing piece of technology!
missed opportunity for a Horton shoutout :(
You should do an episode on the Pacific Island of Tinian. Its history during WW-II and why the USAF is investing large amounts to resurrect the base to counter China.
Please do a megaproject about the Square Kilometre Array
Call: our records show you have been involved in an accident recently
😆😆😆
Imagine crashing a plane worth more than Kansas.
Imagine having planes that cost more than their namesakes
US gov't: For You, The B-2 Spirit of Kansas crash was the most expensive crash ever. But For Me, It Was Saturday.
As a side note, Whiteman AFB had to close down flight ops for 10 days after an emergency B-2 landing Dec 10, 2022 because their only runway was fouled. Seems like a very serious national security issue when all it takes to disable your best strategic bombers is to shut down 1 runway!!!
$4 billion as a part of the US budget, isn’t a turd on a sheet of toilet paper
From the stealthy crater maker to the skid mark of Kansas.
If you look at Wayman Air Force Base on Google maps you can see a B2 involved involved in a runway excursion
"No loss of human life"
yeah, but those pilots are _never_ going to live it down
If you look at old photos of Whiteman airforce base in Missouri, there's a wrecked B2 on the runway surrounded by support vehicles and fire trucks.
It's still on the current version of Google maps.
Meh the B1 lancer "Bone" is better in almost every way, bigger payload, super sonic, not stealth but has very low observability and it can fly super low to the ground so its not picked up by radar in the first place.
Ah well a billion here a billion there. You've gotta break some eggs to make an omelet
The Collier award is ridiculous. How can they give an award to new Sheppard for reuse and not Falcon 9?
does that 4 billion price tag include the spare parts you mentioned earlier in the video?
i'm still awed by how such massive machines can achieve flight
You’ll freak when you hear that a 200tonne airbus A380 commercial passenger jet can fly and do it at close to 1000km/h
There's a B2 off the runway with firetrucks on google maps at Whiteman.
Aviation safety is built on hindsight. It's not important, until it is.