Interesting or unusual planes?

[sg37409]

Or a post maintenance certification flight ?

[Thor]

I'm not sure the Airbus came off much better.

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/vulture-bird-strike-plane-madrid-b1946849.html

[pcolbeck]

Oops. It'll buff out.

That's the weather radar cover which is only thin fibreglass unlike the rest of the aircraft's skin.
I've seen quite a few pictures of these with severe dents in them due to various unfortunate circumstances.

[Bicycle Repair Man]

Bit of gaffer tape, it'll  do a trip😁😁

[mrcharly-YHT]

What are the bits sticking out of the side? Pitot tubes?  They look a bit skungy and diy epoxied in place.

[pcolbeck]

What are the bits sticking out of the side? Pitot tubes?  They look a bit skungy and diy epoxied in place.

From an answer on StackExchange

• Ice detector
• Multi-function probe 1
• Static port
• TAT probe
• Side-slip vane
• Pitot probe
• Angle-of-attack vane

[TimC]

That photo is one of the development A350s. Early production models had a roughly similar number of probes and sensors, but they've been rationalised a bit on later versions. Most of them exist on other types, but Airbus has chosen to group them all on the nose of the A350, whereas on most aircraft they are a little more widely distributed.

[TheLurker]

Rumour of "fleet"* B-52 deployment to Fairford.  Via the Wilts & Glos Std, "...USAF B-52H Stratofortress bombers from Minot AFB, North Dakota will deploy to RAF Fairford, United Kingdom as part of the Bomber Task Force mission strategy." 

*Could just be journos over-egging the pudding or mis-reading "flight of" for "fleet of".  Last time there was a significant number here was during the Balkan wars 20 years ago. 

[spesh]

Rumour of "fleet"* B-52 deployment to Fairford.  Via the Wilts & Glos Std, "...USAF B-52H Stratofortress bombers from Minot AFB, North Dakota will deploy to RAF Fairford, United Kingdom as part of the Bomber Task Force mission strategy." 

*Could just be journos over-egging the pudding or mis-reading "flight of" for "fleet of".  Last time there was a significant number here was during the Balkan wars 20 years ago.

Rumour? Four BUFFs arrived at RAF Fairford yesterday:

Four B-52s from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., deployed to RAF Fairford, U.K., on Feb. 10 for a notional three-week stay, during which they will exercise with NATO allies and partner nations.
...

A U.S. Strategic Command spokesperson said the bomber task force was “long planned” but not previously announced. Such deployments typically last about three weeks, she said, but “could move to the right or left” depending on the security situation. ...

Neither USAFE nor STRATCOM linked the bomber deployment to the unfolding security situation in Ukraine.

https://www.airforcemag.com/b-52-bomber-task-force-deploys-to-raf-fairford/

ITV's report suggests there could be up to eight B-52s deployed.

https://www.itv.com/news/2022-02-10/american-b-52-bombers-arrive-in-uk-amid-fears-of-russian-invasion-of-ukraine

[Hot Flatus]

No B-1Bs though...

[TheLurker]

Rumour? Four BUFFs arrived at RAF Fairford yesterday:

Only 4? Pffh.  Much as usual then. It would explain the racket I heard late afternoon yesterday.  I put it down to the U2 which makes a hell of a din on take-off.

> No B-1Bs though.
There were a couple here late(ish) last year.  Sept? Oct? Can't remember exactly when.

[TimC]

No B-1Bs though...

There aren't that many serviceable of the 45 left in service, but they do appear at Fairford from time to time. They're apparently meant to go on to 2036, but I think they might struggle with that. The B-21 can't appear soon enough.

[spesh]

No B-1Bs though...

There aren't that many serviceable of the 45 left in service, but they do appear at Fairford from time to time. They're apparently meant to go on to 2036, but I think they might struggle with that. The B-21 can't appear soon enough.

The latest I read regarding the B-21 suggests Northrop Grumman are making steady progress and remarkably, the project is still on time and under budget! Six aircraft are already under construction, with the rollout of the first one to fly due to take place before the end of the year.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/44235/a-sixth-b-21-raider-stealth-bomber-is-now-being-built

I'm tempted to ask what Northrop Grumman's getting right - the merger of the two original companies appears to have combined the best of both, whereas Boeing (currently making a complete mess of the KC-46 tanker) now seems to be a combo of the worst aspects of the Seattle giant and McDonnell Douglas.

(Lockheed Martin would have been the obvious comparison, but to be fair - only a smidgen, though - the F-35 is a case of trying to produce three different aircraft at the same time, when hindsight suggests it would have been better to have had a separate competition for a low-observable jump jet.)

[TimC]

I don’t think Boeing ever originally thought they’d get to make the KC-46 as the A330 MRTT was already well established and won the contract on capability and cost. Then the pollies objected (U!S!A!) and won the overturn, and so they had to make it work. There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with the 767 as a base; it’s just a very old design. Add to that the quality control problems that the company brought on itself, and which came to a head with the 737-Max, and Boeing really doesn’t look good.

NG may be much, much smaller, but they’ve made some great (if incredibly expensive) aeroplanes over the postwar era.