Nasa's WB-57 takes to the air again after 41 years grounded.

[BEagle]

I think it was Beags who mentioned the thing not made in Switzerland.

'twas not I! The Aurora to which I may or may not have made reference wasn't a black project of the US and hasn't ever flown from Machrihanish or Groom Lake. Neither does it fly at hypersonic speed.....

[dragartist]

Sorry Beagle It was Low Observable and I thought he was referring to the Diamond DA42. My Geography is rubbish. they are Austrian. I know nothing. We did have one operating out of Cambridge a while back. I think it was a pure civilian machine. I know they fly quite high.

Further digging shows it was discussed on PPRuNe in 2008

Back to the B57 Weather research machine should we?

[LowObservable]

Before anyone gets further confused, when I said something about "things that sound Swiss and are not", think what Swiss Germans call themselves...

[Newforest2]

Swizzers?

Schweizer Aircraft - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[chopper2004]

WB-57 at EGUN

I took these shots late last year, sans markings and sans pressure suits





Cheers

[awblain]

what does the B-57 platform do that a modified Drone can not?

Cost little to acquire and operate.

Fly high(ish) with plenty of space and weight for custom instruments, while needing neither a satellite link like the Global Hawk nor incurring the high operating cost of their U2, which needs its hours saving for doing what it can do uniquely.

I don't think the air above Kandahar is of any more interest to NASA than the air above anywhere else, notwithstanding the cheeky U designation/civilian operation of the U2 from the 1950s.

[thing]

We did have one operating out of Cambridge a while back. I think it was a pure civilian machine. I know they fly quite high.

Are you referring to the DA42? If you're lucky you might see FL180 in one on a good day. Not pressurised either so you need tubes up the hooter.

[Wander00]

Just shows the huge development potential of the original Canberra airframe. Maybe we should see what could be done with any Canberra airframes lying around. just remember "MRCA".............................hat, coat, I'm going.........

[chopper2004]

Speaking of Djibouti, saw this on Helihub yesterday , and notice the nice piece of Swiss engineering parked next door?

cheers

[ian16th]

Have a look on Google Earth at:

34°35'14.71"N 32°59'9.25"E

The image date purports to be 2015!

[GlobalNav]

Nice catch!

You, sir, are observant!

Let's see, NASA research in the Mediterranean. Yeah.
Hmmm, global warming in Syria?

[KenV]

Now I just have to pose a question.....just what does the B-57 platform do that a modified Drone can not?

The drone with the closest performance to the WB-57F Canberra is the RQ-4 Global Hawk (and its derivatives). It carries a 2000 lb sensor payload to 60,000 ft. The Canberra carries a 6000 lb sensor payload to 70,000 ft. Also, the nature of the Global Hawk design makes sensor integration complicated and limits aperture size/placement for those sensors. The Canberra carries its sensor package in a flexible "pallet" with much more flexible aperture size and location. This means highly "custom" sensor packages can be fitted and integrated quickly and (relatively) easily. The Canberra's engines are also capable of producing far more electrical power than the Global Hawk's. This additional power is required for some of the highly customized sensor packages. The Canberra has a two man crew. Having the sensor operator "in situ" can be highly advantageous (or outright required) in many scenarios. And finally, being crewed, the Canberra can fly anywhere at anytime, including commercial airspace, in and out of commercial airports. and over highly populated areas. Drones are limited to where they can fly. And it is a (relatively) simple task to deploy a Canberra over long distances anywhere. It is VERY complicated to deploy an unmanned drone (and its large logistic/command and control tail) over long distances to many places.

[GlobalNav]

At KenV: Thank you for the excellent insights.

Glad to see this beautiful airplane being used productively by our "NASA" pilots.

Not to hijack the thread, but to add on to KenV's points, the very reason why it was dumb as dirt to retire the SR-71, and thinking it could be replaced by an unmanned vehicle.

[WASALOADIE]

Have a look on Google Earth at: 34°35'14.71"N 32°59'9.25"E The image date purports

Ian16th

I think that shape may be another aircraft.

Whilst it has not been widely admitted, it has been based in that location for a considerable amount of time.

That aircraft has a different tailplane shape to the Nasa aircraft.

A southern Irish rock band shares the same name as the aircraft in your post. Goes by the nickname of "Dragon Lady"

[P6 Driver]

A southern Irish rock band shares the same name as the aircraft in your post.

You could just write U2 and have done with it!


(Ooops!)

[ian16th]

I think that shape may be another aircraft.

Ja, well, no, when I was last there, we had B15's, B16's and PR9's.

[barnstormer1968]

To offer an alternative viewpoint to Ken V's technical post:

The difference is the WB57 can do the task with style and looks a lot nicer.
It's still a Canberra after all (well, kind of).

[LowObservable]

It's a weather balloon....

[ORAC]

Nobody mention the B15 bomber.......

[gr4techie]

Originally Posted by rafengo

Plenty of articles on the internet about the BACN equipment it can carry:

The Aviationist » NASA?s WB-57F BACN ?flying gateway? once again heading to Afghanistan

Monster Machines: Why Are The Most Vital Aircraft In The USAF Arsenal Owned By NASA? | Gizmodo Australia

For anyone that is interested, there is lots of info and some great pics on the official NASA website:

WB-57 Home

Keeping one of those loitering looks like an expensive way to have a radio repeater. (If that's what it's really doing?)

You think it would be cheaper to have a common comms standard that works between platforms.

Talking of expensive flights, I always wondered how much avtur the continuous B-52 Chrome Dome missions went through?