convair B-36

[Kyleb]

Unless I'm reading the charts wrong (a possibility, I don't have any 10-engine time ) I'm rather surprised to see the runway lengths.
Less than most would have thought.

Add a huge wing, 20,000 HP, and 4 jets and you get a relatively low stall speed and pretty good acceleration, which manifests itself in a relatively short takeoff roll.

Remember, in the B-36J Featherweights, they got that big old bridge of an airplane well over 50,000' with some regularity.

[hercules130]

Wonder what the VMCA's were like!

[Cherrybomber13]

So a Basic mission used 28,654 Gallons of gas if my math is right so at 6.35 a gallon that's $182,000 for a tank of gas.... You can buy mint Stearman or a T-6 for that... I wont even guess the oil consumption... You can see why nobodys in a rush to restore and fly one

[P51Mstg]

That tank lasts a long time though.......

Mark H

[JohnB]

So a Basic mission used 28,654 Gallons of gas if my math is right so at 6.35 a gallon that's $182,000 for a tank of gas...

My father was a career Air Force pilot and maintenance offier. In the mid-60s we were filling up the family car at the base Texaco station and I noticed rail tanker cars coming onto the base so I asked him what jet fuel cost.
He said six cents a gallon.

[K5DH]

Well that settles it! The B-36 did have a fat wing.

The XC-99 cargo plane used the same wing as the B-36, if I recall correctly. The XC-99's wing was thick enough that there were crawlways leading out to all six engines for mechanics to work on them in-flight. I've been up inside the XC-99's wing. Plenty of room in there. Yep, they were fat wings!

[Jack Frost]

I asked him what jet fuel cost.
He said six cents a gallon.

That was for the JP-4. But those Corncobs had to have 115/145 and it was 10 cents a gallon in the mid 50's!

I don't know what the R-4360s on the B-36 burned per hour but on the KC-97 (four engines) we flight planned ours at 500 GPH.
Jack