Quote:
Originally Posted by tcar
Thank you. I see they didn't want to chance a belly landing.
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I was there when the B-47 landed at Castle in '86. The old general they got to fly it popped the drag chute on final, the way you're supposed to in the B-47, but he pulled the power off too soon and she dropped-in from about 50 feet. When it hit it looked like it had been mortally wounded--the mains compressed and the wings flapped as if a duck hunter with a flak cannon had scored a direct hit. There were more than a few gasps from the assembled crowd. The outrigger landing gear on each wing actually bounced off the runway as the wings flapped from the impact.
Those old engines spooled-up slowly so the slick B-47 needed that drag chute so the pilot could slow the jet to final approach speed while keeping the engines spooled up enough to enable a go-around if needed.
