That plane was huge. The flight engineer had a lot of gauges to monitor. The R4360 engines were massive.
That plane was huge. The flight engineer had a lot of gauges to monitor. The R4360 engines were massive.
One of the greatest flying movies with one of the greatest soundtracks, lead by one of the greatest actors! I love that the clip dispensed with most of the dialog and showcased the real star of the movie What I wouldn't give to hear a B-36 in flight. I suppose the closest I'll ever get is the An-22 or the Tu-95.
America never stopped being great.
That actually does sound very similar to the audio clip used when the B-36 buzzed the baseball diamond at the beginning of the movie! (The pitch seems almost spot on. I'd probably consider it a good substitute for experiencing a Peacemaker!) I've always wondered if they had microphones set up to get a clean sound when the B-36 flew over and then used the actual sound in the clip. I've always wished a Tu-95 would come to EAA. They've been in the U.S. before.
Are my ageing eyes deceiving me or was I seeing right? Watching the B-36 start up and take off and land I noticed that when taxiing the aircraft turned to the right and when turning left it moved to the right. Shots of it banking in flight it appeared to do the same. Am I correct or was it just an illusion?
Cheers
Pat
"Some people might say that freedom is being alone in the bush with the only sounds being the murmurs from the birds ... but I believe freedom is at 5000 feet with no other sound than the engine roaring."- William Hutchison, a young man taken from us far too young (16).
Hey Pat,
I think it may have just been the camera work. When taxiing I noticed the camera slewed to the side as the aircraft turned.
"Try to stay in the middle of the air. Do not go near the edges of it. The edges of the air can be recognized by the appearance of ground, buildings, sea, trees and interstellar space. It is much more difficult to fly there".
AussieMan is right. If you stop it at around 1:54 you'll notice the rudder is to the right and the front gear is slightly to the left.
Could it be related to its size? Something to counter balance it length. Anyone know why?
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
The video clip of the B-36 was better known as "6 turnin' and 4 Burnin'" One of my favorite Jimmy Stewart movies.
Charlie Awaiting the new Microsoft Flight Sim and will eventually buy a new computer. Running a Chromebook for now!
I'd never noticed that! My guess is that the rudder is simply blowing with the wind or swinging freely with momentum. A rudder as large as the B-36's would probably require either hydraulic power or a control tab arrangement to allow an average pilot to move it during flight. I doubt the B-36 had a hydraulically powered rudder, which leaves only the control tab option.
For those who don't know, some aircraft move their primary flight controls using control tabs. For example, the rudder is attached to the airframe only with hinges and can move freely. The pilot's rudder pedals are connected via cables to a tab on the trailing edge of the rudder. So, if you were to stand outside the aircraft and move the rudder by hand, the rudder pedals in the cockpit wouldn't move in response. But if you moved the rudder tab by hand, the pedals would move. In flight when the pilot applies left rudder pressure, the rudder tab deflects to the right and applies a force that moves the rudder itself to the left. Right rudder causes the tab to deflect left, moving the rudder right.
The DC-9/MD-80/717 use control tabs on all primary flight controls except the rudder (although there is a rudder tab that unlocks if the rudder loses hydraulic power). That's why you'll quite often see them sitting at the gate with their elevators deflected at different angles. They're literally blowing with the wind!
I don't know if this is the answer to our question about the B-36. In photos there appear to be two tabs on the rudder: a small one near the top and a larger one below. My guess is that the larger one is the control tab and the small one is the trim tab. Does someone have access to a manual?
America never stopped being great.
Depending on the model, the crew size was `15/22 personnel.
Back in its day, it was also known appropriately as "The Big Stick"
Found a link for a few downloadable B36 flight manuals - hope that helps.
https://www.usaf-sig.org/index.php/r...tegory/40-b-36
Yes, Gray-Eagle, that was the link I needed! Here's the answer, from the Flight Control System section of the RB-36 manual...
"The movement of the ailerons, elevators, and rudder in response to their controls is conventional; however, the method of moving the main surfaces is unique. The control are mechanically linked to flying servo tabs. When a control is moved to deflect a tab in one direction, the air load on the displaced tab causes the main surface to be deflected in the opposite direction. Even though an extra stage of action is involved between the control movement and the main surface movement in this method, response time is less than one-tenth of a second."
So all flight controls work via control tabs, which means that in SAC (the movie) we're seeing the rudder swing freely with the wind or the aircraft's momentum. Thanks for the links!
Last edited by nagpaw; March 24th, 2021 at 08:51. Reason: Added text because the copied graphic was too small.
America never stopped being great.
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