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For all the FE's on board


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Thaks, Bob. Now that's an FE panel!!! I just spent 90 minutes of my Saturday morning roaming around that cockpit. One thing that confused me was that all the engine instruments and controls were numbered from right to left.

We had an FE at Dyess years ago that used to be a B-36 FE at Biggs AFB in El Paso, TX. Some old Dyess guys may remember him -- Noley Rumble.

Don R.

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Thaks, Bob. Now that's an FE panel!!! I just spent 90 minutes of my Saturday morning roaming around that cockpit. One thing that confused me was that all the engine instruments and controls were numbered from right to left.

We had an FE at Dyess years ago that used to be a B-36 FE at Biggs AFB in El Paso, TX. Some old Dyess guys may remember him -- Noley Rumble.

Don R.

F/E controls numbered rt. to lft. Pilots numbered lft. to rt.HMMM. Took me awhile to find the jet throttles.

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Nice - Thanks for posting.

150 gallon oil tanks, 10 engines, 336 spark plugs, and I don't even want to think about the cable rigging - Any maintenance guy feeling sorry for himself needs to take a look at this.

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Nice - Thanks for posting.

150 gallon oil tanks, 10 engines, 336 spark plugs, and I don't even want to think about the cable rigging - Any maintenance guy feeling sorry for himself needs to take a look at this.

When I was flying recips, and since it seemed like we used more oil than gas, I'd usually fill the engine thanks from the aux oil tank and then just fill the aux oil tank when I was refueling x-country. Fuel truck, ADI truck, oil truck, and having to move from side-to-side..... Saved some steps and time, especially for an RON. No flying crew chiefs just the FE. It was a frowned upon practice since the oil in the aux tank was diluted some with fuel. If I remember correctly the aux oil tank on the C-118 was 26 gallons, don't remember what it was on the Convairs.

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When I went thru C-141 performance school at Sheppard in the early 70's the school Super was an ex B-36 FE. He told us the B-36 had 3 FE's and one out of 3 was an officer. (him) Toward the end of the B-36's career they went to an all officer FE crew. As far as the throttles being numbered backward if you pull the picture of the FE panel in close you can see the leading edge of the vert stab in the window. He is looking aft. Bill

Edited by Spectre623
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  • 1 year later...

I joined the Air Force in August 1955. Started Tech School at Sheppard in March 1956. Went to school on the B-36 that was on the Sheppard flight line. First assignment after Tech School was to a B-36 Bomb Wing that was TDY to Ramey AFB Puerto Rico. Rode in the jump seat on several long missions on the B-36. The AFSC at that time was 43151B for multi engine recip. We had to go to jet engine classes along with recip engine classes. I tried to become a Flight Engineer on the B-36, but ended up as an FE on the C-124 instead

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I was in SAC during the Lemay years and he did not care for enlisted Airmen being flight engineers. He wanted all flight crew to be in the officer ranks. Most officers I spoke to during the year I was assigned to B-36s did not like being a Flight Engineer because as a Scanner they had to crawl all over, in and around the aircraft. It was too dirty for them. Eventually even SAC went to all enlisted Flight Engineers. I was a mechanic on B-36s, then went to FE school.. My first assignment was the C-124. Eventually I flew as FE on C-130, C-141, C-5, B-727 and the B-747 with UPS after retiring from the Air Force in 1981

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  • 1 month later...

I have a very fine book on the B-36, quite large it is, like the aircraft-several times pilots are quoted as stating the B-36 was the most "overpowered" aircraft they had ever flown-some had fleeted up out of B-29's and indicated that the B-29 could be sorta iffy at times power wise. As a boy in far North West Florida on the farm (NavalAviationCountry SNJ'S by the dozen) I saw many Peacemakers, medium altitude to waaay up there (only recip aircraft I have personally seen leave a contrail). They were always flying east to west or verse vici, many times one engine would be feathered. A trademark, the sound, only from the B-36, a drone, gaining in clarity, heard for miles, announcing the approach of a BIG bird. I have a cassette about the Bird, it shows the engineer station on takeoff-when the FE advances the throttles, that distinctive great drone brings back the memories. I also was greatly surprised at the FE being officers-the aforementioned book states many of them were freshly minted from Sergeants-IronAss Lemay. I wandered around a Living/Active B-36 in or around 1955 at Eglin, Armed Forces Day, what a day that was for a farm boy with love of airplanes. Then the one in AF Museum, one at Chanute before they cut it for transporting, and the XC-99 at San Antonio (twas shamefully derelict in early 90's). I recall there was an outfit in Texas that wanted to put the one at Carswell back in the air in the 70's (may still have a sticker from them) until the Air Force squashed the idea. Similar to the bug that wanted to crawl around the world-that was an "Ambitious Idea"! In addition to lots of Spark Plugs, the aircraft's corncobs carried a lotta cylinders (168). Good thing everything ran well on 115/145 or whatever avgas in the early days-no mixed fuels.

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When I was flying recips, and since it seemed like we used more oil than gas, I'd usually fill the engine thanks from the aux oil tank and then just fill the aux oil tank when I was refueling x-country. Fuel truck, ADI truck, oil truck, and having to move from side-to-side..... Saved some steps and time, especially for an RON. No flying crew chiefs just the FE. It was a frowned upon practice since the oil in the aux tank was diluted some with fuel. If I remember correctly the aux oil tank on the C-118 was 26 gallons, don't remember what it was on the Convairs.

At Mtn. Home AFB my neighbor was a KC-97 crew chief.

At one point my B-47 and his KC-97 were parked but a few spots apart so we checked out each others acft. I remember being quite surprised seeing a 55 gallon drum of engine oil strapped to a cargo compartment bulkhead. Attached was a hand pump with a flex line to the engine's aux. oil tank. He allowed that on long duration sorties it was not unusual to consume much of the oil contained in that drum. Thinking about it now, am guessing that just on start up alone those 4360s burned a gallon or two. I was blown away by this because on my jet, after flight, I would add three or four quarts each engine.

Servicing a B-47 sometimes involved a great deal more work than it should have. Two lox converters; one on each side of the fuselage with the service/buildup and vent valve about eight feet above the ground. To reach the valve the lox cart had a B1 stand platform affixed to it. This, in turn, made the cart very heavy and therefore difficult to move. Next, servicing water/alcohol-two 300 gallon tanks located one in each wing root. Tanks filled like a Goony Bird, hose pulled over the leading edge of the wing. After filling the first tank the truck had to be moved to the opposite side. And don't get caught allowing the nozzle to touch the leading edge. And don't forget the brake chute. Weighed about 60/70 lbs., and had to be lifted chest high into the chute compartment. And watch out for the shackle as it could smack you in the kisser. The airplane did have single point refueling but required a person at the SPR and one in the copilot's seat with a piece of support equipment controlling the tank refueling valves.

Not much, if any, maintenance involvement in aircraft design in those days.

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