B-52

[beefix]

At approx 13:30 today a B-52 overflew RAF Waddington at about 5000'. It was heading Northwest. A rare visitor these days. Anybody got any idea what it was up to?
Rgds
Steve H

[barry lloyd]

Something to do with this, possibly. They've been known to display at the wrong airfield before!Farnborough - Aircraft - Daily Flying Display (http://www.farnborough.com/Site/Content/Farnborough2010/Aircraft/Daily-Flying-Display.aspx)

[Britannia]

Sunderland Airshow today and tomorrow.

[Playamar2]

Icer 69 from Fairford to Sunderland AirShow. FL110 all the way

[cawky]

Flew past heading in a noth direction then turned away further out to sea then turned 180 degrees and started climbing heading back down south about 10 miles from the coastline, a very brief flypast , though spectacular.

[JEM60]

I may be wrong, but I heard, some time after the Farnborough so-called debacle of the B.52 display, that it was not a display at the wrong airfield, but that the aircraft had problems [radar and electronics possibly] that did not allow it to perform it's display.
Now I am well aware that an F.4 once did it's display at Cambridge instead of Duxford, but I think it is carrying credibility too far that our American friends mistook Blackbushe for Farnborough.
Does anyone know the full facts about this please?. My point is that if the aircraft is visble from F'boro,which it was, then it must at that point be in contact with ATC [there is, after all, a major display in the area]. Why, therefore if it is seen to be in the wrong location [if that was the case] cannot a simple radio call be made to rectify the situation. I know the papers etc., made a big thing of it at the time, but I suspect that there was more to this than met the eye.

[aviate1138]

The facts are the B-52 lined up on Blackbushe and flew down the runway and departed, flying over our house South of Farnham on his way back to the USA. A B1 B did a similar routine! Different year. :rolleyes:

American Air Force in the UK seem to rely on Ley Lines and not maps. A-10s regularly flew over Long Marston at around 500 feet back in the 80's despite many protests from our flying club and being clearly marked on UK Aviation maps. Jeppesens too.

[JEM60]

Thanks Aviate.
Any Air Traffic guys out there care to comment?

[JEM60]

It is fact that it overflew Blackbushe. Let me use different phraseology.
What were the reasons behind this. Why did it not reach Farnborough?
You see, we are looking at this incident purely as spectators, as far as I know, without knowing the background. Let me speculate. The aircraft is having comm problems with F'boro radar etc., It would therefore make very good common sense that it didn't go anywhere near F'boro, thereby overflying B'bushe before departing?
Is this what happened?
I appreciate that some of us spectators are/were flyers, including myself, but I think that this incident has become an 'urban myth' in that it displayed at the wrong airfield, when all it did was overfly Blackbushe, and it has been looked at purely from a spectators viewpoint.
I cannot believe that his pre-flight briefing simply consisted of 'go to the South of England, There you will find an airport called Farnborough. Do a fly past there and return.' Perhaps he lost his piece of paperwith all the radar freqs, display joining instructions, headings, etc.etc. Answers from people who know the reasons please. To simply say that he displayed at the wrong airfield is too simplistic for me. Sorry to be a pedant.:)

[Wookey]

I was there. It was a trade day not a public day. The commentator certainly expected it to display at Farnborough and it could be seen in the distance away towards Blackbushe.
I cant believe that it was deliberate as it certainly showed our 'cousins' navigational or communication skills to be left wanting !! Surely not the impression thye would have wanted to have left with the assembled multitude?

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

JEM60... Check your PMs. I really thought all this would have died the death by now. The B-52 crew were NOT to blame.

[Anguskirk]

I was at Farnborough on Thursday. A B-52 was timetabled to make a flypast at 13:02: It appeared dead on time, and I put a photo of it on Flickr.

[JEM60]

HEATHROW DIRECTOR.
With grateful thanks. Another 'urban myth' put to bed!.:ok:

[Liffy 1M]

I remember at the time that an explanation of what happened was posted on one of the forums here and that, yes, it was not a matter of a navigation error by the B-52 crew. It is just not plausible that aircrew whose very mission is to be able to fly thousands of miles IFR and place their weapons in very precise locations would make such a gross error in an radar-controlled enviroment, in daylight and good weather. These guys are not amateurs, as any reading of the story of B-52 ops in the Gulf War/s will, I think, show.

[Ridge Runner]

These guys are not amateurs, as any reading of the story of B-52 ops in the Gulf War/s will, I think, show.

I'm not sure that victims of regular US "friendly" fire would agree!

[JEM60]

RIDGERUNNER.
Every force in the world is guilty of blue on blue, not to mention the many innocent women and children we killed in Sandland. Not wise to single out the U.S. over this.