Pima's Convair B-36 Peacemaker 'City of Fort Worth' with Scott Marchand

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  • Опубликовано: 23 дек 2024

Комментарии • 97

  • @Deltaflot1701
    @Deltaflot1701 8 месяцев назад +9

    The first model I ever attempted t glue and put together as a kit was the 1/72 scale B-36 Bomber from revell. Monster of a model. Between that model and Jimmy Stewart's SAC movie I have a special place in my heart for the B-36 Peacemaker. I've seen the one at the USAF Museum. I got to get out to Pima one of these days and see their's. Thank you for this video.

    • @damcasterspod
      @damcasterspod  8 месяцев назад +1

      I was scared off by the size of the 1/72's box... :)

    • @AirlinerHistory
      @AirlinerHistory 8 месяцев назад +3

      @@damcasterspod I have a tendency to go big or go home on things like that. My first Lego set, at the time I purchased it, had the most pieces of any Lego set. The B-36 was the pride of my collection. Had to dump it since brother didn’t want it when I joined the Navy

    • @daviddavids8218
      @daviddavids8218 5 дней назад +1

      You’re first model!!!!!! What did you upgrade too…….just jealous, ( Airfix Auster, AOP9) was mine lol😅

  • @chucksdesk
    @chucksdesk 8 месяцев назад +5

    I visited this museum in the early 80’s. It has grown a lot since then.

  • @richardh3540
    @richardh3540 8 месяцев назад +5

    The first time I saw a B36 was the late 50’s. It was landing at McClellan AFB. The size of the aircraft made it look like it was suspended in midair.

  • @wardduffield489
    @wardduffield489 5 месяцев назад +4

    Visited the plane in Fort Worth in the early Sixties.
    A very memorable experience for a pre-teen obsessed with military aircaft.
    My father nearly fell out of the blister opening on the port side of the nose, I was able to travel through the tunnel, and I received a nasty cut on my hand while sitting at the Flight Engineer's position, when another visitor, seated in the pilot's seat, slammed the engine control levers forward and back while my hand was on the Engineer's set.
    I followed the aircrafts history after it was disassembled, and always feared it was just too large and that it would ultimately be lost. Thankfully, the efforts of the volunteers in Texas and the visionaries in Pima have had a very happy outcome!

  • @CorrieBergeron
    @CorrieBergeron 6 месяцев назад +3

    Thanks, Scott, for giving credit to the many dedicated volunteers in Ft Worth over the years who preserved the old girl. I was part of the crew that initially disassembled 2827 in Ft Worth in the late 70s for its first move. I remember removing the engines from the nacelles, piece by piece. The wing center section was our biggest challenge, too. I hope to get out to visit someday.

  • @HootOwl513
    @HootOwl513 8 месяцев назад +4

    There are five aircraft in the echelon formation clip at frame [0:38]. Closest to camera is a B-36, then a B-29, and a B-17. The two outboard aircraft are slightly distorted in profile, but I'm guessing they are an A-26 Douglas Invader and a North American P-51 Mustang.

    • @damcasterspod
      @damcasterspod  8 месяцев назад +1

      That is what I made out too, just didn't think there was enough time in the clip to label them all

  • @sparky204
    @sparky204 8 месяцев назад +4

    I pretty much grew up under the "City of Fort Worth"t when it was on display outside of (then) Carswell AFB in the late 80s/90s. My dad took me out there just about every other weekend
    until the museum closed around the time Carswell stood down. Had a lot of great memories at that museum, had a diverse collection of aircraft and it was a sad day when the closure was announced. The organization that had custody of it tried like hell to find it a home, but the city showed absolutely zero interest in supporting the preservation of its aviation history in any shape or form. It left some seriously bitter feelings with a lot of people, myself included.
    They did a good job restoring it at their hanger that Lockheed Martain/General Dynamics had loaned them. They would wheel out the forward fuselage to the Alliance Airshow just about every year
    trying to raise donations for a museum. She was a beauty even in her dismembered state! It was upsetting at the time when the air force took her back, but time had ran out, Lockheed was taking the hanger back for the Joint Strike Fighter program and.. That was it. Hated to see her be taken, and taken so far away.. But it worked out in the end.
    I was finally able to visit the museum last year, and being able to see that old Bird was an emotional experience. It was part of my childhood, it shaped my love of aviation, and damn was
    it good to see it safe and sound. All I want to do is go back and see her again.

    • @damcasterspod
      @damcasterspod  8 месяцев назад +1

      Hopefully she will be getting some TLC soon at Pima.

  • @glennweaver3014
    @glennweaver3014 4 месяца назад

    Visited Pima in 2014 mainly to see the B-36. The whole museum is very impressive with a large collection of aircraft. I'm due for another visit. A big thank you to Scott and his staff for an excellent job of keeping all the aircraft preserved

  • @johnbrandon5493
    @johnbrandon5493 7 месяцев назад +3

    I had the fortune to see her at the end of a runway in Fort Worth in the mid 1970s while going to a band contest at Six Flags Over Texas.

  • @ernestimken6969
    @ernestimken6969 8 месяцев назад +3

    In 1950 my father took me to Mitchell AFB on Long Island. It was Memorial Day, and the B-36 was on display, but it was roped off. I could walk around it, and that was all. Later when they took off everyone within 5 miles could hear them, they were so loud.

    • @glennweaver3014
      @glennweaver3014 4 месяца назад

      My father was in the Air Force stationed at Mitchel in the 1950s. I was a small child, but I vaguely remember a B-36 sitting on the ramp at a Mitchel Airshow. This would have been the 1954-56 time period. It left an impression on me. The B-36 has been my all time favorite airplane since.

  • @butchs.4239
    @butchs.4239 8 месяцев назад +1

    I always enjoy spending time visiting the museum there when I'm traveling through the area. I've found the shade provided by the Peacemaker's wings is a welcome respite when wandering among the aircraft kept there outdoors.

    • @damcasterspod
      @damcasterspod  8 месяцев назад

      Certainly plenty of shade provided by the Magnesium Overcast!

  • @silphium
    @silphium 8 месяцев назад +3

    Played in this in the mid-'60s at GSW Airport. Rode the tunnel many times, 'flew' many a bombing mission as an 11 y.o. American Airlines trained their pilots at this same, largely unusedcairport during this period. It was weird to see a shiny new DC-10 at an airport with not a single other flyable aircraft around. Love Field in Dallas was the main airport, DFW Airport was -6 years away and would cause the final closure of GSW because their patterns conflicted.

  • @vietvet6670
    @vietvet6670 3 месяца назад +1

    I don't know if this is the same plane but I saw a B-36 on static display at what was then Greater Southwest Airport in Tarrant County back in the 1960's. I also got to go inside one at Lowrey Field in the early 1950's but I was only about 5 years old so my memory is fuzzy, I do remember getting to go through the tunnel from the flight deck to the crew area. Good memories!

  • @AirlinerHistory
    @AirlinerHistory 8 месяцев назад +3

    Great video. While I run an Airliner channel on youtube, the overall collection Pima rivals those I have seen anywhere else. Kind of wish they were all inside though, like at the National Air and Space Museum, or for the most part at the USAF Museum, but Pima makes due with what they've got. Hopefully, when I am able to go out to Pima to do one of my airliner videos, I can spend some quality time wth the rest of the collection.

    • @damcasterspod
      @damcasterspod  8 месяцев назад +1

      Given the size of the collection, you'd need a building like Boeing's facility at Everett to fit them all in! Have subscribed to your channel. Let me know when you head out and I'll let the team know you're going.

    • @AirlinerHistory
      @AirlinerHistory 8 месяцев назад +1

      @@damcasterspod that’s awesome. Thank you. And you’re right building something big enough for that collection would be prohibitive without a major sponsor

  • @robertspence831
    @robertspence831 8 месяцев назад +1

    I saw that one in Ft. Worth as a child. It was huge, and in pretty ragged condition. I'm glad it's preserved in it's current state, better than chopped up for scrap.

  • @darringraham2613
    @darringraham2613 5 месяцев назад +2

    The last time i touched that beautiful bird was in the early 80s in FW,TX ✈️♥️

  • @dave20thmay
    @dave20thmay 8 месяцев назад +1

    Around the early 1950's I came out of my private school in Ruislip in the UK and saw one flying low towards me as I walked down Windmill Hill and I expect that it was going into Northolt Airport. Does anyone know about flights of this plane in the UK and even have access to flight records. It would be great to find out when it could have been. Best Dave

  • @vrosi1963
    @vrosi1963 8 месяцев назад +1

    can you get access to the restoration shop mainly the me-109

    • @damcasterspod
      @damcasterspod  8 месяцев назад

      We did head in for a look, mainly to see the Viggen and the Camel replica but didn't have time to film there on this trip unfortunately. Next time!

  • @Nick68S
    @Nick68S 8 месяцев назад +2

    Back in pre-internet days, I mind seeing Jimmy Stewart in "Strategic Air Command" and one of these. I also had a 1/72 scale model kit I built up and it was big.....sure I had to add a chunk of weight to the nose so it would sit on it's wheels, instead of using the clear plastic prop

    • @damcasterspod
      @damcasterspod  7 месяцев назад

      There is a great film about the Hustle Jimmy made called "B-58 Hustler Champion of Champions". You can find it on RUclips and well worth watching if you haven't already.

  • @AVhistorybuff
    @AVhistorybuff 7 месяцев назад +2

    It is good to learn the B-36 will soon undergo some TLC to correct years of baking in the sun. Hopefully at that time the gun sighting blisters will be removed and replaced with the plugs that are stored inside the airplane. A full set of blisters was made at Fort Worth by the B-36 restoration team from the original molds and were to be shipped to the Air Force Museum to be installed on the B-36 there. Unfortunately, the B-36 was moved from Fort Worth to PIMA Museum with the new blisters still stored inside the airplane. All B-36J airplanes had no sighting blisters.

  • @robertsanders6463
    @robertsanders6463 8 месяцев назад +1

    I was in Fort Worth taking training AT Bell Helicopters. The engines were being run at that time. Big round engines! Glad it was saved in one piece.

    • @damcasterspod
      @damcasterspod  7 месяцев назад

      A glorious noise I bet!

    • @FiveCentsPlease
      @FiveCentsPlease 7 месяцев назад

      +@robertsanders6463 The USAF Museum removed the engines and mounts when they learned they were thinking of trying to fly it. The plane still belongs to the museum.

  • @dwmzmm
    @dwmzmm 8 месяцев назад +1

    Would love to visit that place in the near future, definitely on my bucket list after I retire soon. Always wanted to see a real B-36 all my life as well as the other aircrafts on display there.

    • @damcasterspod
      @damcasterspod  8 месяцев назад +1

      You should! Pima is overwhelmingly good fun.

    • @dwmzmm
      @dwmzmm 8 месяцев назад

      @@damcasterspod My question is transportation from a good hotel near the Tucson International Airport to Pima and back. What do you recommend?

    • @damcasterspod
      @damcasterspod  8 месяцев назад

      Taxi probably best if you are just doing a day trip.

  • @tedthoman6580
    @tedthoman6580 4 месяца назад +1

    I think it was SAC that made a weekly non-stop flight w/ the massive B36 from Texas to Alaska,
    flying over the big urban areas along the way, to show the most citizens possible that their taxes were
    indeed going to a program that would protect the US from any Russian Communist threat.
    In the SF Bay area [CA], one flight would be over the Peninsula and SF; the next flight would be
    over the East Bay and Oakland, perhaps for maximum program visibility.
    I can still remember the "approaching" deep-pitched ROAR of those Huge props and the Six Massive
    supercharged Three-row "Corn-cob" engines, a sound that transitioned to Even More prop Roar,
    combined w/ the Scream of the four jet engines that hung under [and ahead of ] the wings, near the
    wing-tips, as the Big Bird passed over, headed for the Arctic Circle and the DEW Line... It was LOUD ;
    it was a Show ; And Not at any great altitude; the windows rattled, and the leaves on the trees trembled...
    That was in the 1950's; we were kids playing ball in the street, after school...

  • @JungleYT
    @JungleYT 4 месяца назад +3

    Great presentation... I saw that same aircraft when I flew home fresh out of Basic Training in the 1980s... It was so big that you could easily spot it from the plane as it flew over its then outside display. Saw her sister at Chanute AFB in tech school. That plane was dismantled after Chanute closed in the mid 1990s by a wonderful father and son team and railroaded out to Castle AFB in California... Note: If anyone sees this message, PLEASE ORCANIZE A TEAM TO HELP WORK ON THE CASTLE BIRD? Last time I saw, it was getting in really bad condition and needs some help!

    • @homerfry9234
      @homerfry9234 27 дней назад +1

      Got a picture of me standing next to the Chanute aircraft when I was at tech school. I was assigned to Castle in 1977, the Chanute aircraft followed me there many years later!

    • @JungleYT
      @JungleYT 27 дней назад

      @@homerfry9234 *Same... Got a picture next to the Chanute bird in the early 1980s. Looks like she followed us both out to California! Hope somebody starts to tend to her... Saw an update video the other day and I think part of it fell off or something...*

  • @tatumergo3931
    @tatumergo3931 8 месяцев назад +2

    The American Bear! If only it could be restored.

  • @44WillysMB
    @44WillysMB 8 месяцев назад +3

    I did 250 volunteer hours on the restoration of this aircraft when it was at Fort Worth.

    • @damcasterspod
      @damcasterspod  8 месяцев назад +1

      There must be some tales from that!

  • @dirtyshame2444
    @dirtyshame2444 8 месяцев назад +1

    As a kid, in the 50s, I was hoeing in our cotton field in NW Texas. I would watch the B-36s flying over our cotton field, at various time. One day, I heard this big boom, I looked up and could see smoke coming from one of the engines. I thought I was going to witness a crash. The plane continued to fly.

  • @b43xoit
    @b43xoit 8 месяцев назад +1

    Could it cruise without the jets?

    • @damcasterspod
      @damcasterspod  8 месяцев назад

      Yes, the jets were for better take-off performance and were usually shut down in flight to save fuel.

  • @timtimm9199
    @timtimm9199 8 месяцев назад +1

    I think there was one at Chanute AFB when I went to tech school. Can anyone confirm?

    • @damcasterspod
      @damcasterspod  8 месяцев назад

      There was, it is now at the Castle Air Museum.

    • @nicholasbaranet3798
      @nicholasbaranet3798 8 месяцев назад +1

      There was, I was in tech-school fall and winter of 1982. Believe it was called "Aly-oop". Marched by it every morning before sunrise. Lol

  • @toddcooper2563
    @toddcooper2563 8 месяцев назад

    On 2-19-24, I stood in that very spot. Until you physically stand next to this beast, and many others there, you can't fathom just how big these planes really are and to think these are propeller driven and they were designed and built 70 years ago. No computers, just brains, slide rules and determination.

    • @damcasterspod
      @damcasterspod  8 месяцев назад

      I often wonder if one of the engineers at Convair got one of his conversations on the slide rule wrong and that is why it is so big

  • @stephenhudson8739
    @stephenhudson8739 8 месяцев назад +1

    Is president eisenhower's plane still there? I think it was called Columbine

  • @MartinVintherMørk
    @MartinVintherMørk 8 месяцев назад +1

    Surely it can be restored to Flight if you wanted to.

    • @damcasterspod
      @damcasterspod  8 месяцев назад

      Anything is possible, but the cost with be eye watering as would the insurance.

    • @FiveCentsPlease
      @FiveCentsPlease 7 месяцев назад

      +@user-ib6wc6eo5w Considering the hours of maintenance per hour of flight it's not economical. And the USAF Museum legally still owns it and they're not going to even consider that.

  • @Patrick-od2zc
    @Patrick-od2zc 8 месяцев назад +2

    I saw and, went in the front section, forward of the wings at the Alliance Air Show many times back in the early 90’s. I know she has a good home. But I want her to come back to her true home in FT Worth, she belongs in Texas. Also I wish she could fly. Screw that pesky treaty with have with Russia. Pima, Take care of the old gal form me and, others. 👍🏻👍🏻

  • @jamesharrison6201
    @jamesharrison6201 8 месяцев назад +1

    Jimmy Stewart, Strategic Air Command

    • @damcasterspod
      @damcasterspod  8 месяцев назад

      Odd film with great aerials of the B-36 and B-47

  • @christians6734
    @christians6734 8 месяцев назад +1

    6 pushing, 4 pulling,.... nice project

    • @tatumergo3931
      @tatumergo3931 8 месяцев назад

      Now imagine if they had continued developing it, and put in turboprops. A more modernized tail section and improved winds. We could have ended up with the American Tu-95 and it would probably be still flying, like the B-52.

    • @tedthoman6580
      @tedthoman6580 4 месяца назад

      And 6 turning, 4 burning...

  • @kenanderson-q7q
    @kenanderson-q7q 2 месяца назад +1

    This is the lightweight J version, stripped of guns except tail guns, and reduced crew.

  • @tatumergo3931
    @tatumergo3931 8 месяцев назад +2

    Ofcourse they're never going to let it fly again. It's still current, just a bit of modernization with turboprop engines and you have a potential contender.

    • @44WillysMB
      @44WillysMB 8 месяцев назад

      During it's restoration in Fort Worth, all of the wires,and cables were removed,and not replaced.

    • @tatumergo3931
      @tatumergo3931 8 месяцев назад

      @@44WillysMB . What a shame, and I suppose there are no diagrams around to replace them, or the cost so high that discourages most from even attempting it.

    • @44WillysMB
      @44WillysMB 8 месяцев назад

      @@tatumergo3931 It was being restored for static display at a museum at Alliance Airport that never happened. Instead of replacing the damaged skin of the top of the wing it was covered with fresh aluminum.

    • @tatumergo3931
      @tatumergo3931 8 месяцев назад

      @@44WillysMB. What a shame, are there anymore of them laying around somewhere?

    • @44WillysMB
      @44WillysMB 8 месяцев назад

      There is one at the bottom of the lake on the north end of the runway at Carswell AFB. That is where one of the side blisters on this one came from after several failed attempts to mold a new one.

  • @SimonWallwork
    @SimonWallwork 8 месяцев назад +1

    Great looking aeroplane, but painting the glass neuters it.

    • @HootOwl513
      @HootOwl513 8 месяцев назад +3

      You have no idea how intense the Tucson Sun is. If they left the plexiglass uncovered, it would not only deteriorate in the solar radiation, but rays reflecting inside would melt and distort components. At the DMAFB boneyard across the road, the Air Force puts an adhesive-backed white opaque plastic sheeting over all the plexiglass to prevent this. Aircraft on display inside the hangars at PASM don't have their glazing covered, but the B-36 is too big for any current hangars at the facility.

    • @damcasterspod
      @damcasterspod  8 месяцев назад

      I have a video coming out soon on the NB-52A 'High and Mighty One' at PASM, trust me, the painted up windows as needed as even with them, in February, it gets mighty hot inside those aircraft.

    • @tatumergo3931
      @tatumergo3931 8 месяцев назад +1

      @@damcasterspod . That aircraft was not built for that climate. It was meant to fly the high skies of the Artic regions in glorious splendor!

  • @kenneysmith105
    @kenneysmith105 8 месяцев назад +1

    She was only bismamntel 2 times

  • @echohunter4199
    @echohunter4199 4 месяца назад

    Just sad that after all the work they did on this plane it was wasted by sitting outdoors for years and now it’s out in the desert and basically back to the condition it started in.

    • @damcasterspod
      @damcasterspod  4 месяца назад

      As Scott says in the video, they are planning to restore the aircraft soon.

  • @v1-vr-rotatev2-vy_vx31
    @v1-vr-rotatev2-vy_vx31 8 месяцев назад +1

    Another Waste of money..

    • @damcasterspod
      @damcasterspod  8 месяцев назад +4

      Depends on your point of view. When commisioned there was a realistic need for an intercontinental bomber, then there was the need for a nuclear bomber. Jets just put the kibosh on that need. As a works program, it kept a lot of americans employed at Convair too, something that we see again today with the procurement of the F-35.

    • @FiveCentsPlease
      @FiveCentsPlease 7 месяцев назад

      @@damcasterspod It was the only platform capable of long-range strike into Russia at the start of the Cold War. It was also a boondoggle for Secretary of the Air Force Stuart Symington who took a cushy job at Convair after bludgeoning Jack Northrop for not merging with Convair and killing his flying wing program out of spite.

    • @Eric-kn4yn
      @Eric-kn4yn 4 месяца назад

      ​​@@damcasterspodf35 is cutting edge tech can be upgraded will be around for 30+ years not the b36 obsolete when in service.

  • @donkeylong7707
    @donkeylong7707 8 месяцев назад +1

    Needs to come back to ft.worth

    • @damcasterspod
      @damcasterspod  8 месяцев назад

      I think I'm contractually obliged to disagree!

    • @FiveCentsPlease
      @FiveCentsPlease 7 месяцев назад

      +@donkeylong7707 Legally it is still property of the USAF Museum. It was on loan to TX and it wasn't housed properly or taken care of.

    • @AVhistorybuff
      @AVhistorybuff 7 месяцев назад

      @@FiveCentsPlease You seem to forget the airplane received a full restoration at Fort Worth before going to PIMA. It exists today because of that restoration.

    • @FiveCentsPlease
      @FiveCentsPlease 7 месяцев назад +1

      @@AVhistorybuff The USAF Museum repossessed the B-36 in 1974 after learning that the Peacemaker Foundation was attempting to make it flyable. The museum even negotiated a one-time flight but the conditions were not met, although it was also made clear that no B-36 would fly again. It was disassembled and moved to Carswell. Yes, Lockheed donated hangar space in 1990s for the B-36 to receive a restoration by volunteers and former Convair employees. Afterward it was decided that there were insufficient resources to display and maintain the aircraft in TX and it was moved to PIMA.

  • @crissy214
    @crissy214 25 дней назад +1

    Shame on FT Worth

    • @damcasterspod
      @damcasterspod  25 дней назад

      It would have been a huge undertaking for the city, it is understandable why the move was made.

  • @donkeylong7707
    @donkeylong7707 8 месяцев назад +1

    It’s because we had a crappy mayor who didn’t care about it so they made no effort to find a home…. We the ppl of ft worth want it back 😡

    • @damcasterspod
      @damcasterspod  8 месяцев назад

      Totally understand your anger. The aircraft is in safe hands though.