NASA's WB 57F Long Wing
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.พ. 2025
- We had a special visit from one of the low key aircraft that live at Ellington Field in Houston with us. They usually live in the hangar, & while they're not a classified aircraft, we don't normally get to spend much time with them.
Used for high-altitude research & deployed around the world, this was one of the rare occasions that one of the 3 remaining airworthy WB-57Fs (all owned by NASA) was sitting out side, so I wanted to capitalize on the opportunity to take you on a quick tour. I hope you enjoy!
*Disclaimer: this channel is NOT an official NASA media outlet*
one of my favorite planes ever made. Glad it's still getting some respect!
Absolutely- we love that aircraft! Thanks for watching!
Found your channel looking up WB-57 info to show my wife. Saw one fly in Tuesday, and took a look at it this morning parked. It's such an odd beast by today's standards.
Took my kids to the first and second Artemis-1 scheduled launches. While we didn't get to see the rocket leave the pad, the WB-57 was a highlight. The pilot did a left pattern after takeoff, putting him over the Titusville crowd just after sunrise. Helluva neat old plane. I've been looking for a good youtube video to show the kids, and here it is. Thanks!
Wow just found YOUR version of OUR plane, the canberra, glad to see there are still Canberra flying and your version is ace like you did with the av88, the harrier, your version are far superior and nice to see them appreciated. Thanks
Thanks so much for the kind words; I’m glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks for watching!
In the early 1970’s I was in the Air Force assigned to the 1976 Communications Sq at Albrook AFB, Panama. We provided Communications Support to the 58th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron which was flying RB 57F models out of Albrook AFB and Mendoza Argentina. They were doing radiation sampling out over the French Polynesian Islands of French Nuclear Bomb tests that were conducted there.
Oh wow, that’s cool! Thanks for sharing & thanks for watching!!
My dad worked on these, he was stationed at Kirtland AFB, NM, he's been TDY to Mendoza a few times. He retired in 1974. This is his absolute favorite plane. A few years ago, (maybe longer) we saw the last one at the Bone Yard at Davis-Mothan AFB in Tucson were I live being prepped for NASA. The tail number brought back memories for him, as that was "his" plane. He was happy its still in service. He has a framed photo of "his" plane on the ramp at Kirtland AFB, his pride and joy. Great video.
Wow, that’s really cool! So neat to hear about people’s parents stories about these aircraft.Thanks!
I was also stationed at Kirtland AFB from 1966 until 1970. Some of my tdy’s were to Panama, Mendoza and Fairbanks Alaska. For the most part I enjoyed working on this plane, it was my first experience out of tech school at Rantoul afb , Illinois. It’s definitely a unique aircraft with a unique mission I have some good memories from that time.
I actually got to see one of these depart from Langley AFB, VA when I was stationed there for a very short period of time in 1995. Now I'm SERIOUSLY considering an R/C aero-tow sailplane version of this. At 1/8 scale the wingspan would still be over 15'!
Wow- that would be REALLY cool!
Thanks for the comment!
Back in the early 80s, had two of them land at McClellan AFB while I was assigned there. Truly a neat looking aircraft.
Never saw one that close, very interesting for 1968. FL600+!! Very long high bypass engines. Bet that’s a real handful on the ground! Thanks for sharing!
Been trying to find what FL600+ means, could you give a explanation.
@@felixcosty In aviation, at and above 18,000 feet altitude is expressed as Flight Level. FL600 would be 60,000 feet. FL615 would be 61,500 feet, FL32 would be 32,000 feet. Commercial aviation usually flies in the 30's, some private jets in the low 40's generally speaking of course. Military aircraft are classified. Hope that helped.! --gary
Thanks for chiming in, G!
That’s so cool! Thanks for the comment & for watching!
And yes, there is an excess of thrust as sea level just taxiing. With those long, low-slung wings you can only taxi at 5 knots ground speed to avoid bouncing a wing tip off of the ground. By the way, the 122 foot 5 inch wing when fully laden with fuel has less than 18 inches of ground clearance.
Its wingtip is like an entire aircraft in itself!
LOVE this vid and wish I'd found your channel sooner! Great work
Fantastic :) just built the Mach 2 1/72 kit 😮
Nice video :)
I went TDY to Ellington for the first mission of the USAF/ NASA, WB-57F Earth Resources bird tail #501 in July 1969. With the additional J-60s engines hanging under the wing (for extra altitude) we walked wing out to the runway to ensure we didn't hit any taxi light fixtures.
We still have the practice of wing-walking today when we visit unfamiliar fields. Ellington is familiar enough by now we no longer require the walkers.
How the hell have I not seen this channel yet? I love your content man. You make amazing videos. Please keep up the awesome content!
I don’t know, man!! I keep asking the same question!! Seriously though, I sincerely appreciate the compliments. Thanks so much for watching; I appreciate it!!
Im still amazed that it can taxi on the ground without outriggers with those long wings
Good stuff, Matt! And STILL the orital tracker used today (just a few days ago!). Although, I think it's time for an upgrade.
Ha! Thanks, Bob!
Beautiful plane
Even without those wings the Candberra particularly the PR9 could achieve amazing high altitudes.
Photographic PR by RAF Canberras was vital in Gulf War 2. RAF retired PR9 Candberra in 2004.
One of these flew out of Ellington airport today, I couldn’t believe my eyes lol
Slope at the wing tips and elevator tip is unusual, opposite of what we normally see.
Absolutely- the wing is designed to be efficient at FL600+. Requires a very different design.
Thanks for watching & commenting!
There’s some very unsettling about it.
I don’t know how to explain it but it has that same otherworldly look as the SR-71.
Rifle Shooter Channel It is pretty creeeeeepy! LOL
The "slope" known as dihedral (upward slope) or anhedral (downward slope) are there for two very different purposes. The wing anhedral is there for structure. The 122 foot 5 inch wingspan droops as the structure required to keep the wings level on the ground would probably add so much weight it might likely not get airborne. During flight, the wing is level with no anhedral or dihedral. The dihedral on the horizontal tail is a much more complicated story that speaks to the high-altitude nature of the vehicle. There is a phenomenon known as Mach tuck that all high-Mach aircraft are susceptible to. While the WB-57 does not look like a "high-Mach" vehicle, as you climb higher and the true airspeed increases, so does the Mach number. If the horizontal tail reaches the critical Mach number where there is supersonic flow, then the elevator will begin to lose effectiveness and the aircraft will nose over. As the aircraft noses over, the Mach number will increase and the elevator will continue to lose effectiveness causing the aircraft to further nose over...and so on until the vehicle structure fails. By placing the horizontal tail at a 10 degree positive dihedral, we are keeping the horizontal tail out of the accelerated exhaust flow of the TF-33 engines which increases our Mach limit.
Adam Klein very interesting, great explanation.
Man, thanks for sharing. I got to take a tour of the facility thanks to a friend of mine a few years ago, and came away a little enamored by the WB. What a cool mission. What I wouldn't do to get that job! Keep up the good work, man. We'll have to catch up some time.
That’s awesome! Yeah, most people don’t get very close to the WB, & it is such a neat plane! I wish I could’ve spent a little more time with it & gotten in there more, but I’ll take what I can get! Thanks for watching!
The Canberra built by the British was in the 50’s the only aircraft that could fly high and long over the USSR undertaking photo reconnaissance missions - which the RAF undertook on behalf of the USA.
The USA liked the Canberra so much that they acquired the rights to build it under license, Martin developed the ‘big wing’ versions (bit like the US development of the British Harrier)
In the UK various experimental versions of the Canberra existed like the “prone position’’ flying position , the off set cockpit and others.
I just came across your channel from Reddit r/WeirdWings. Your content is awesome! What I wouldn’t give to have an opportunity to wrench on the birds you are around!
Ah- cool to see I showed up somewhere! Thanks for the compliments! They’re always looking for mechs out here at Wallops Island- if you’re qualified, google Yulista Tactical & hit up the Careers page.
Thanks for watching!!
Oh wow, they are hiring in Virginia! I am in Richmond. I’ve got 4 years under my belt and I’ve worked with JPL at a previous employer, and DoD DCMA/ISO9100 at that same place. I always feel apprehensive about applying for positions like this because I feel like they always want the guys coming out of the military.
Well, I’ll tell ya, the requirements ARE pretty specific, but my biggest personal life lesson thus far is ‘don’t tell yourself no; let them do it!’ Apply for the damn job! No harm, no foul. What’s the worst that can happen?
I think they are only looking for A & P mechanics, but I COULD be wrong!
The Air Force really retired the B-57F in 1974. The last squadron closed on 30 June 1974. I was there.
Is that the canopy of an F-14 that they added when they rebuilt the airframes for NASA?
AWESOME.. This just became one of my favourite channels. Liked, subbed. Going to binge watch the rest of your vids.
My Grandad worked for English Electris/BAC And worked on the Canberra production line. I have worked on a couple of Canberras too.
No kidding- that is sooooo cool! Thanks so much for watching! I sincerely appreciate it!
@@UnusualAttitudes
Managed to get my hands on a model kit of this aircraft, on the lookout for some NASA decals to go on it. Re-watched this for inspiration/details. Going to do a series of kits of NASA aircraft including.
747 + shuttle
WB57
P3 Orion
DC3
C130
Starfighter
Jetstar
T38
Viking
UH1 Huey
Superguppy
Learjet
Boeing 737
Boeing 757
U2
TR1a
SR71
Valkyrie.
And a few more as I locate the kits.
Thanks for these vids, they are awesome.
Elegant plane
Thanks! Love the Canberra.
Knew an RAF pilot who flew them. Great planes.
That’s awesome! Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!
My dad flew these back in the day 😊
Wb57 and a u2 today flying around town maybe i will see sofia 747 later tonight?
Engine placement: weird
Wings: weird
Nose: weird
I like it. Now I'm going to go track down videos of this thing in flight. I bet it glides forever.
Everything about it is weird. LOL Especially that it’s ceiling is FL600+.
@@UnusualAttitudes The last few years I've wondered why some relatively easy mods weren't made to WWII aircraft, two for instance:
("Canberra Lightning") Pressurize a P-38 cockpit, lengthen wingspan: Voila a 55,000' / 17,000m recon platform.
(Spooky B-17) Armor plate a B-17's starboard or port side for ground ops, add 20mm barrels, incendiary rounds.
Beautiful aircraft...Canberra is fun to say...😁
Nice to see some Canberras still flying. Not bad considering the type had it's first flight in 1949, 70 years ago! Some of my earliest memories of aircraft are of RAF target towing Canberras flying over the military ranges near my home town. They had distinctive black and yellow stripped undersides.
Would I be right in thinking that long wing could be a bit of a problem in a cross wind?
You only get 3.5 degrees angle of bank before striking a wingtip so the margins are pretty thin!
Our WB-57's were capable of 14 hr flights without refueling. They had two small jets on the underside of the wing just outside of the main turbo fans. Once to altitude, they would turnoff the large turbo fans and just cruise at altitude (or higher) with the smaller engine designed for higher altitude cruising. I was able to work on them only because my classification was for "jet over two." i.e. jets with more than two engines.
Interesting; I never knew that, as ours don’t have that. Now I need to do some more research! Thanks for adding that, I appreciate it & appreciate you watching!
@@UnusualAttitudes I have pictures.
Would LOVE to see them, if you want to email them to unusualattitudesinflight@gmail.com
Canberra fans say hi here.
I had no idea this thing existed.
Of course its true specs are still kept hush ... In the late 50s a brit took a Canberra up to over 70k feet (level flight) ! - And this was with just the normal wings. .. The stats on her state . 60k+ feet , but it has been written that this bird can get to over 80k ft! .. She can give the U-2 a run for its money, and carry more whilst doing it.
All true facts, my friend. That is for watching & commenting.
It would be so fun to trace the history of this bird, Because I worked on B57s at Phan Rang AB in Vietnam in 68 and 69. I just wonder if this was one of our aircraft .
I agree! And it might be something I do, since they're getting very scarce these days!
@@UnusualAttitudes One of our B57s that was at Phan rang is in the AF Museum in Dayton Ohio, and some of my photos I took should be on desplay also.
@@racerd9669 If you have the USAF serial number of the aircraft you worked on I could tell you if it matches any of ours.
@@t34t45fa18 I,m sure the AF museum must have it on file. The placard in front of the B57 , tells you it was at PhanRang AB during the time I worked on them.
kind of makes you wonder with modern composites and engines what would this airframe be capable of
My Brother pilots the WB-57, he's sent me a lot of cool video, that he's yet to post on TH-cam
don't forgot the 7407th support squadron
Was with them two years.
Gotta be some of the largest ailerons on any aircraft anywhere.
Gotta make up for that lack of air mass at FL650 somehow!!
Thanks for watching!
@@UnusualAttitudes We actually use a combination of ailerons and spoilers. The ailerons are purely mechanical with no hydraulic assist. With as much wing area and mass in the wings (fuel, engines, sometimes payloads), we need all of the mechanical advantage we can get to muscle the airplane through a turn. The spoilers will assist with roll performance, however you do not want to use too much spoiler at altitude as that will limit the climb performance of the vehicle.
Of note...did you see any flaps on the walkaround? The answer is nope! This 2,000 square-foot area wing takes off and lands with no flaps.
I want to put something under those wings to support them!
Superbe 👍👍
Thank you so much!
Thanks for watching!!
I'd hate to be the one to change the de-ice boots on that baby.
"U2 I am your father!"
Nice video friend. I have subscribed your channel
Thanks Art- I appreciate the sub!
It's Can-bra not Can- bear-ah
I love the Pratt and Whitney TF33 P11’s. Fly higher. Good gas mileage, Not So!!!
✅🙂👍
It's an albatross !
gliders 🥰
Esta aeronave parece com o U2
Very similar!
Look like u2 spyplane
Learned very little.