TU-95 Bear on eBay!

[Warbirdnerd]

Holy Cow!

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ebaymotors/TU-95MS-S ... 974wt_1275

[kalamazookid]

NMUSAF needs this. How awesome would that look in the Cold War Gallery along with the B-36, B-47, etc.?

[The Inspector]

I think it would look really good doing 'crash and continues' @ KPAE with a certain MiG-29

[davidwomacks]

Kinda an odd story. Why is a company that deals in raw materials selling a bomber that can carry nukes on eBay?

[airnutz]

NMUSAF needs this. How awesome would that look in the Cold War Gallery along with the B-36, B-47, etc.?

Sounds like the last thing the AF needs...they've got enough historics taxing their resources. That sucker would look and sound excellent in the air on the airshow circuit! The Bear has been tops on my "if I won the lottery" list for years now...tho I was thinking more of it as leasing one for a year or so for sh*ts and giggles.

Given the political climate, I wonder about the perils of getting it out of the Ukraine these days?

[wendovertom]

Wow - I can only imagine the amount of effort it would take to get that into the US, let alone get it operational - but it would certainly be 'one of a kind'

Tom P.

[maxum96]

I'm not a fan of Russian aircraft. But the TU-95 is a d*mn good looking airplane! I bet they sound awesome with those contra rotating turboprops.

[m50a1ontos]

The Bear is one of the loudest airplanes I've ever heard. A flying example here in the US would certainly violate every noise ordinance around along it's flight path below 5000'

We got buzzed by one in the North Atlantic....ear shattering to put it mildly

Of course they might have been playing with prop pitch and engine sync just a tiny bit too

[Jeremy S]

I just finished reading Gordon Page's Book "Warbird Recovery" again. With all of the problems he encountered purchasing a wrecked pane and getting it to the US from Russia, I imagine that this one would be a "bear" to import.


http://www.amazon.com/Warbird-Recovery- ... 1583484876

[Pat Carry]

NMUSAF needs this. How awesome would that look in the Cold War Gallery along with the B-36, B-47, etc.?

I remember years ago at the museum way before the Cold War building was built, they had a line on getting a Tu 95 for inclusion in the Cold War building when constructed. I remember thinking, wow how neat that would be. Obviously the plans changed after that.

[kalamazookid]

NMUSAF or a national museum is probably the best bet for it coming to the US. I can't imagine a private collector having the resources not only to purchase it, but to maintain it. Parts for those can't exactly be easy to come by. Nothing wrong with dreaming though!

[Cherrybomber13]

The only Tu-95MS listed in Ukraine is at the Long Range Aviation Museum - Poltava, st. P. Yurchenko

Hold on to your hats here - The Tu-95 /144 holds roughly 25,100 gallons of fuel @ roughly $7.00 a gallon for Jet A = $175,700 to go about 9000 miles. Yea you will need a ride program to off set the fuel costs... but at least you can bang 570+ mph...

Last edited by Cherrybomber13 on Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[SaxMan]

To say it would be wild to see this plane on the airshow circuit would probably be the understatement of the year!

[Chris Brame]

If not the NMUSAF, this would be a natural for Pima. What concerns me (besides the probability of a scam, of course) is the photos seem to show several different aircraft and only one of them in decent shape.

[Invader26]

Rod Lewis is in the oil business.....and likes fast prop jobs>>>