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Newbie Joined: May 28, 2005 Posts: 7 Status: Offline

There's a weird-looking ACFT hanging out at the DoE building on Nellis AFB. Now, I like to think I'm pretty well-read on various jets, but this one has me stumped. Unfortunately I'm doing this w/out a picture, so I'll have to stick to a description.

It's painted white on top, grey on the bottom with a black radome. It has two GIGANTIC turbofan engines and a ridiculously long wingspan. It almost looks like a huge U-2. It's really quiet too. Based on the appearance, I'd assume it's a spy plane of some sort, probably high-altitude.

Sorry I'm not leaving you with more, but that's about the best I can do. Considering it's probably a DoE plane, it's probably super-duper top secret, but who knows?

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Elite 1K Joined: Jan 31, 2004 Posts: 1535 Status: Offline

Possibly a WB-57. NASA research jet based on the B-57. DoE might use it for high altitude sniffing. Whistle

The airplane may be called a WB-57, but it and 24 others were built in the early 60s as RB-57Fs by General Dynamics in Fort Worth. It was based on the Martin B-57, a license built copy of the English Electric Canberra light bomber. The mods included a 2000 sq ft wing, TF-33 engines (similar to B-52G & H), a larger vertical tail, and a longer nose for recon equipment. It could also carried auxiliary engines under the wings on removable pylons. I think they were J-85s. My first assignment right out of school in 1963 was structural testing of the first airplane.

Newbie Joined: May 28, 2005 Posts: 7 Status: Offline

That's the one! Thanks for the quick reply, that was amazing. Wonder what she's doing at Nellis???

If it's NASA, it's stopping for gas.

When I was stationed at Kelly AFB, that baby was brought in for a paint job...there are very few paint hangars around that can support that wingspan (Kelly was the C-5 depot at that time...).

I always thought the wingspan on that baby was unbelievable...then I worked Global Hawk Smile

I remember an RB-57F coming in to Duluth when I was there in the 87th FIS. When it took off it climbed like nothing I'd ever seen before. That jet's climb rate (and angle) matched the U-2's. Quite an evolution for the old English Electric Canberra, if you ask me!

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Forum: Other Military Aircraft

Aircraft ID please