JohnB wrote:
Neat stuff!
Although the system is "simple", just look at the number of parts it required and I"ll guess it didn't make access to the power plant or accessories easier.
Somehow, I always imagine the plight of the poor mechanics working in tight quarters in the boiling sun of El Paso or the bitter cold of Rapid City (to say nothing of TDY to Alaska), probably a result of my dad's post flying days when he was a maintenance squadron commander/maintenance group chief.
Also, great original post. Every time I go to Pima or the NMUSAF, I try to spend some time to really study airframe. Many times I'll notice something like this and wonder what it is or how it works. I try not to get so wrapped up in taking photos or so excited to see a new exhibit that I pass up the chance to really get to know an airframe.
It was 108 at my house in El Paso yesterday. Only 104 today. I can only imagine how brutal it was working on maintenance pigs like the B-36, C-124, or B-50 out in the open. And it gets cold in the winter!
The sun beating down during so much of the year is why the 95th BW at Biggs and the 6th BW at Walker (Roswell, NM) painted the area over the crew cabin white on their B-36s and B-52s. It would help to keep that part of the plane a little cooler:
_________________
Had God intended for man to fly behind inline engines, Pratt & Whitney would have made them.
CB
http://www.angelfire.com/dc/jinxx1/Desrt_Wings.html