James,
Yes,we were always around the published maximum B-17G take-off weight of 59,000 lbs in the tankers.It made for a few tense moments on some runways on hot days,but we always had the option to make the airplane about 16,500 lbs lighter within a few seconds of finding a clear area to jettison the retardant in an emergency.On a 100 degree F day at Alamogordo which has an elevation of well over 4,000 ft,the rate of climb was practically non-existant unless you resorted to sailplane techniques.As to landings,the airplane tends to float a bit at lighter landing weights,but is still quite stable.There is a great deal less stress on the airframe at lighter weights.When you land at maximum landing weight,no matter how gently you touch down,the stress loads are very much more detrimental to the airframe and show up in skin cracks and working rivets over time at the very least.
With the B-17 tankers,we would use 59,000 as our landing weight until Aero Union came up with a document from the U.S.Air Force dated 1957 that gave a landing weight of 54,000.Coincidentally? this paperwork appeared just as Aero Union had retired their last B-17 tankers in favor of DC-4's.We suddenly had to jettison half of our load of retardant to land where the DC-4 could land fully loaded.At that time,retardant cost around 50 cents per gallon and we carried 1800 gals in the B-17 vs. 2000 in the DC-4.Working with the CDF it wasn't unusual to land loaded several times a week,so this made quite a difference.
Our contracts with the Oregon Department of Forestry pretty much require us to land empty in the DC-7.The newer Fed tanker contracts read the same way for the P-2's and P-3's.We've had lots of problems with skin cracks and working rivets from making routine loaded landings for 20 years in the DC-7's and the P-2's and P-3's are worse,if anything when it comes to this.A careful maintenance program keeps everything within safe limits,but making only empty landings helps considerably.The main drawback being that retardant costs are now anywhere from $2 to $5 per gallon and we carry 3000 gals in the DC-7.That's a lot of money to throw away if we are cancelled once airborne.
As far as sailplane techniques go,Alamagordo has some mountains just east of the airport that usually supply a fair amount of lift if you stick a wing as close as possible to the hillside and drone back and forth north and south until you find some lift.I'd watch for orbiting buzzards and chase them out of their traffic patterns until the lift gave out.These pictures are looking past the Alamogordo Airport pretty much down Runway 03 from Tanker 22 in 1983.The angle doesn't show how quickly the mountains rise.The tops are close to 10,000 ft.Note the nasty thunderstorm,which is another feature of being based in New Mexico in the spring and summer.
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