B-47 52-0166. Castle Air Museum. (Image heavy)

[Spectre_I]

Greetings WIXers. We're doing a bit of work on our B-47, and I had the occasion to be inside it today. This was my first time in a B-47, and all I can saw is "Wow'! So enough about me, I know how ya'll like pictures, so here we go. I apologize in advance for the shots. It is extraordinarily tight inside there, so pictures were hard to get at all.

The door.



Going up!



Beneath the cockpit, bomb bay access. The bombardier would have to crawl through here to arm bombs.



First view of the cockpit. Forward is navigator / bombardier station, up is pilot's seat.



Navigator / Bombardier station.



Pilots seat.



Sittin' in the pilot's seat.



Looking back to the co-pilots seat. Yes, it is as tight as it looks!



Copilots console.



That's it! Thanks for viewing, and come see us Sept. 6th for our next open cockpit day!

[T J Johansen]

Thanks for sharing these photos. I gotta admit that the B-47 is one of the top 5 aircraft I'd like to look inside. And this is as close as I'm likely to get!

Here is a short article about this B-47's last flight, which coincidentally is the last flight of any B-47, back in 1986.
http://www.thisdayinaviation.com/17-june-1986/

T J

[peter]

Nice to see her so complete.. can you do one of the Vulcan next?

[sandiego89]

Thanks so much for the behind the scenes shots Spectre- keep 'em coming! Great stuff!

[DH82EH]

Thanks for the tour.
Quite the time capsule.
Sorry to see that someone had to swipe the caps from the control columns.
Ah well, such is life. Very complete otherwise.

Cheers

Andy

[Spectre_I]

Nice to see her so complete.. can you do one of the Vulcan next?

It's on my list. The planes on display rarely need work, so usually I'm in the restoration hangar which is across the base from the museum proper. I spend surprisingly little time out on the display grounds. When I do get out there, I'm usually real busy and it's real quick. I always try to bring a camera, but that doesn't always work out either. I try to share pics of all of them as I get the chance.

I've actually been in the Vulcan many times, I've just never had a camera on me. Doh! It's in great shape, and as complete as they come.

Our next Open Cockpit day is Sept. 6 (shameless plug). I'll try to get over there and get some pics.

[Spectre_I]

Thanks for the tour.
Quite the time capsule.
Sorry to see that someone had to swipe the caps from the control columns.
Ah well, such is life. Very complete otherwise.

Cheers

Andy

First thing I noticed. LoL Well, sitting for 20 years at China Lake pretty much assured they were long in someones collection. Other than that, it had to be complete as it was restored and flown from China Lake to Castle, so everything had to be in it for it to get here. It had been de-milled long prior to that.

[T J Johansen]

Our next Open Cockpit day is Sept. 6 (shameless plug). I'll try to get over there and get some pics.

What aircraft would you normally have open on such days?

T J

[JohnB]

Years ago, I got the chance to go inside the Dyess, B-47.It's similarly complete.
Being in one made me appreciate the work the crews did and really appreciate what the maintenance people did. They were hot in the summer, cold in the winter and always too small if you're trying to work on something.

[Spectre_I]

Our next Open Cockpit day is Sept. 6 (shameless plug). I'll try to get over there and get some pics.

What aircraft would you normally have open on such days?

T J

It's a very big list! We've got 62 on display, and most of them get opened up. Basically we open anything that can be looked into from the outside from the ground or on a stand, or large enough that it can be walked through. If it's practical (and safe) to give people an inside look, we do it. Are there any in particular you are interested in? I can answer that question much more easily.

[Chris Brame]

Something I forgot to ask last time: Is the bomb bay of the B-18 accessible, or were the doors sealed?

[Spectre_I]

Something I forgot to ask last time: Is the bomb bay of the B-18 accessible, or were the doors sealed?

It's not permanently sealed, but it's not easy to get to. We never open the outer doors.

[T J Johansen]

It's a very big list! We've got 62 on display, and most of them get opened up. Basically we open anything that can be looked into from the outside from the ground or on a stand, or large enough that it can be walked through. If it's practical (and safe) to give people an inside look, we do it. Are there any in particular you are interested in? I can answer that question much more easily.

I would say that my top 5 list of aircraft to "have a peak inside" might surprise those who know of my interest in WWII birds (ie. P-51D, A-26, P-38). Without referring to availability nor possibility these 5 would be (in no particular order):

B-36
B-47
B-58
XB-70
TU-95

Which means that you have 40% of my list within your premises...

T J

[UC61K]

I remember climbing through all those planes when the Air Force started checking the instruments for Radiation. I spent many hours sitting and sweating in the California sun as my mind drifted into flying missions. That was back in the late 80's and early 90's. I am so glad you are doing interior shots now. I had a trusty Cannon 35mm and took a couple pictures of the interiors of the planes I was working on the museum grounds, during recovery and in the restoration hangar.

I think my most fond memory is the B-45A (45-0008) The stories that plane could tell!
Let me see if I can dig any up and scan them in if Spectre_I doesn't mind me tagging into his post

Jim C
Midwest Aeronautiques LLC
Ret. USAF MSGT
93rd Bmbwing Castle AFB
93rd Antique Maintenance Squadron

[Spectre_I]

It's a very big list! We've got 62 on display, and most of them get opened up. Basically we open anything that can be looked into from the outside from the ground or on a stand, or large enough that it can be walked through. If it's practical (and safe) to give people an inside look, we do it. Are there any in particular you are interested in? I can answer that question much more easily.

I would say that my top 5 list of aircraft to "have a peak inside" might surprise those who know of my interest in WWII birds (ie. P-51D, A-26, P-38). Without referring to availability nor possibility these 5 would be (in no particular order):

B-36
B-47
B-58
XB-70
TU-95

Which means that you have 40% of my list within your premises...

T J

We have the B-36 and the B-47. The B-36 is always open. The B-47 never is.

Our RB-36, the only of it's kind (it could fulfill either mission) is always open. It is easy to walk through and is one of the highlights of the day. If you ever do make it to Castle, whether on an Open Cockpit day or not, message me. I'll see that you get in. It is complete.

The B-47 is just not practical to get people in, so it's never opened.