Why NASA Relies On A 1950's Aircraft Design To Track 21st Century Spacecraft

[@parrotraiser6541]

The U-2's very capable,but it's also very fragile. The Canberra's long life is a real tribute to its designers. Considering it was conceived in the 1940s, and was the company's first serious aircraft, it has to be considered a brilliant achievement.

[@atomicskull6405]

The U2 isn't just fragile it's also hard to take off and (especially) to land they don't call it the Dragon Lady and the Widowmaker for no reason. It's essentially a modified F-105 Starfighter airframe already a notoriously dangerous aircraft to fly and then they went and made it worse with extended wings and a minimalized landing gear.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

Also, depending on what you're doing, you don't always want to use the vehicle that is the most expensive to operate. Kind of like when you're planting three rose bushes, you use a wheelbarrow, not the farm tractor with a harvest trailer.

[@oligoprimer]

The original long-wing B-57 (the B-57D) was indeed fragile. 20 were made and all were grounded when one lost a wing and crashed into a schoolyard. The B-57F also has to be flown gently.

[@Istandby666]

​@@atomicskull6405 Your finger hit the wrong key. It doesn't matter. We know what you meant. F-104 not F-105....lol

[@thethirdman225]

⁠@@atomicskull6405At 70,000 feet the difference between cruise speed, stall speed and maximum speed is very small. I think it’s unlikely that many pilots hand fly the U2. So the U2 is probably difficult to fly in pretty much all of its flight regimes.

[@klharvey60]

Scott, the two B-6 Canberra’s (N30UP & N40UP) were my birds. We were going to install 3 Synthetic aperture radar units in each aircraft to map the continental US that would give the synthetic vision on what you see now see on the flight deck EADI's. We had done some really cool experiments with NASA & USGS as they piggybacked on our proving runs.

[@DUKE_of_RAMBLE]

Small world! 😅

[@matmatician7]

Man I love this community. That's amazing! Beautiful pieces of history you had there.

[@DUKE_of_RAMBLE]

@@matmatician7 Yea, *_and_* the OSIRIS-REx CAPCOM/NASA's WB-57 pilot is here, too! 😯 Quite the cool place Scott has created!

[@964cuplove]

I wonder if they will ever fly again ?

[@rogerwilco2]

Thanks for posting.

[@NeilFraser]

One of my coworkers was flying backseat in this aircraft when the power went out. Engines, radio, lights, everything. It was nighttime and they were suddenly in a high-altitude glider. While the pilot concentrated on flying (and attempting to restore power), the navigator pulled out paper maps and used a flashlight to find a runway of suitable length. There was one, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. She circled it, and used a claw tool to pass the map up front to the pilot (the intercom was out too). Shortly afterwards, air traffic control at DFW saw an object appear on the radar with no callsign. It did not respond to radio. It was heading right into one of the busiest airspaces in the US. And most troubling, it didn't appear at the edge of the radar field, but rather in the middle -- apparently re-entering from outer space. They closed the airspace as it lined up on a runway. The plane coasted to a stop surrounded by all the emergency vehicles. The crew popped the canopy. Not having the WB-57's ground support equipment available, they had to winch themselves down from the cockpit, still dressed in their orange pressure suits. The local sheriff approached as they opened their visors and simply said, "Welcome to Earth."

[@cyberista]

Great story. Thanks for sharing!

[@PanduPoluan]

I love the sheriff's greeting 😂

[@railgap]

So there ARE sheriffs with a sense of humor? That's nice to hear.

[@charliehilbrant]

This is one of the coolest stories ever

[@dfwrailvideos]

Glad to know my home airport has a wild story like this! Thanks for sharing!

[@jjwwqq]

In a KZbin world full of waste of time clickbait videos, you consistently provide excellent videos with solid information, presented in an engaging, entertaining fashion.

[@jpdemer5]

You can gradually make the garbage disappear with the BlockTube extension. (Lets you block channels from the suggestion list, and also block imbeciles from your comments list.) No more proof-of-ancient-aliens or AI-generated nonsense - I use it almost daily.

[@gregedmand9939]

You must be missing the good stuff! I've recently fallen in love with farming channels like: Farmer Tyler Ranch and Sheepishly Me. There are some really fascinating tech channels like CEE an Australian company that does a lot machining, welding and overhaul on heavy equipment.

[@SC-sf8xt]

Totally agree so refreshing and full of facts and history

[@Streaky100001]

Just to give a little correction, Vulcan to the Sky are not trying to restore a Vulcan to flight, not any more. They did in fact restore a Vulcan to flight, it flew under their ownership from 2008, but sadly in 2015 they had to retire the aircraft from flight for a number of reasons, and it's extremely unlikely it will return to flight again. VTTS's current goal is to preserve the aircraft, and use it as the center piece of a STEM focused education center. At present (and I believe the plan is to keep it this way) they still do engine runs and taxi the aircraft.

[@grahamepigney8565]

One of the problems many preserved aircraft have is the they cannot get flight-certified parts to keep these aircraft flying.

[@Streaky100001]

@@grahamepigney8565 Indeed. As I understand it, the engines were a particular problem for the Vulcan, I believe they were close to end of life, with no spares to be had. Although if I understand it correctly their main problem that stopped her flying was that her certificate of airworthiness was contingent on support from some of the original manufacturers, I believe mainly Rolls Royce (engines) and BAE (Airframe, having taken over Avro) ajnd they decided to pull that support, hence the Vulcan's CofA was pulled.

[@richardvernon317]

@@Streaky100001 The VTTS crowd were only going to get 10 years of flying max out of the aircraft. They had 8 Zero hours lifed Engines at the start of the project which could only be run for 800 hours before a major overhall. Rolls Royce would allow the engines to be run for that length of time and no more. Seeing that the engine for aircraft use was no longer supported, that gave the aircraft a maximum of 1600 hours of flying time. First problem they had was one engine failed a chip detector test which meant a high level of metal particles were picked up in the engine lubrication system, most likely from a failing bearing. Then due complete incompetence, one of the maintainers' forgot to remove a couple of large bags of silicon desiccant from one of the air intakes used to protect the engines from corrosion. The bags stayed in the intakes during start up, but as soon as the pilot pushed the throttles to full power to take off, the bags got sucked into the engines and trashed both of them on one side of the aircraft. As soon as the rest of the engines reached 800 flying hours Rolls Royce pulled the plug. UK Airworthiness Rules count most Jet powered aircraft like the Vulcan a complex aircraft. Without maintenance support from the Aircraft's manufacture, it don't fly.

[@awuma]

@@richardvernon317 This is also why the Concorde was permanently grounded after its retirement, with no chance of a potential future operator being able to fly it. Again, BAE and Roll Royce not wanting to support it (no doubt not a money-maker...).

[@richardvernon317]

@@awuma Not surprising with Concorde, what you had was a civil aircraft which required military levels of maintenance per flight. Airbus and Air France wanted rid of it (Airbus was the design authority not BAe). Likewise Rolls were not the sole DA for the engine.

[@hornorama]

Great video Scott - passed link to this to an ex-RAF pilot friend of mine, now in his 80s as he flew Canberras. Turns out he flew XH567 on many, many occasions 1969 - 1971. Also flew WK163 many time at Pershore. (He also had 6 years on Vulcans in the Cold War carrying the deterrent!!) He was delighted to see the aircraft again.

[@peterharrington3717]

I love every one of Scott's videos, but this one seems special. Take a random encounter with aviation history and turn it into a fascinating blast of knowledge. I never knew about these aircraft and it's a treat to learn something new. Side note: shout out to all the commenters with "When I was..." and "My dad..." anecdotes. This comment section is a forum full of aviation enthusiasts with amazing stories. Thanks Scott for creating that. Peace.

[@DUKE_of_RAMBLE]

I think what might've helper spark this video was the recent asteroid return capsule was being tracked by the NASA ER-57. There were some comments pointing out it was a very old bird, and surprise that it was so being used. But if not the impetus behind Scott's video, it's a nifty coincidence then!

[@MonkeyJedi99]

I got a kick out of "Kerbal" being used as an adjective.

[@SearTrip]

I used to be a center controller on the East Coast, so I didn’t get to work many of the cool things that flew way up high, which tend to be out West. The RB-57 was the second-highest flying aircraft I ever talked to. It used to come through my area occasionally, and it was nice to work, because flying at a block between 47,000 and 55,000, it wasn’t in anybody else’s way.

[@woestewouter96]

Second? What was the actual highest then?

[@SearTrip]

@@woestewouter96U2s would come through somewhere above 60,000, but what altitude they were really at was not for us to know.

[@matthewcox7985]

@@woestewouter96 Could be the U-2 or SR-71, but due to the classified documents we might never know which one.

[@SearTrip]

@@matthewcox7985 Oh, no, ATC knew which type of a/c, plus, the speed would be a big hint. The reported flight level was always 600. And, I didn’t get to the center until after the SR-71 was retired, never got to work one of those.

[@richardvernon317]

@@matthewcox7985 Highest Altitude aircraft intercepted by the Lightning was not the U-2!!!!! It was one of these in the Far East near Singapore. Lightnings managed to reach it at 80,000 Feet plus in 1968!! Apparently after that run, the RB-57F offered the Lightning Squadron another chance and came back at nearly 100,000 feet. Lightning 's never got anywhere near it. The reason being that the RAF didn't ever get full pressure suits for their aircrew (unlike the USAF, USN, Soviets and French). Thus engine failure above 60,000 feet meant cockpit depressurization and a dead pilot long before he could get the aircraft down to an altitude where the normal oxygen mask would keep him alive. The height that these things could fly were very much dependant on the height of the Tropopause. This height is very dependant on latitude on the earth's surface as it is dependant on the warmth of the air below it. At the poles is around 25,000 feet, at the Equator 65,000 feet plus. In the USA ifs around 35,000 to 40,000 feet.

[@LazarusBaccus]

Please never stop being Manley, vast majority of things I've found interesting in the past decade, I've learned from you.

[@tweed532DaveH]

I live a few minutes drive from the B.A.E Aerodrome at Warton, Lancashire, UK and when the M.R.C.A, the 'Multi Role Combat Aircraft' was being developed, which became 'Tornado' the joke was it really stood for 'Must Refurbish Canberra Again'.. The first flight of an English Electric Canberra was from here on 13th May 1949. Keep up the good work 👍🇬🇧

[@BMrider75]

1949 👍

[@kennybevan11]

As someone who lives near Blackpool that is really cool info, thanks 👍

[@tweed532DaveH]

@@BMrider75 Edited ta! Date was wrong too, wide fingers typing on mobile!!! 🤭

[@neilcurson4505]

I heard Mother Rileys Cardboard Aircraft

[@nanunanu83]

I fly the WB-57 at NASA JSC. Great video as always! It is cool to see these awesome planes getting some attention. They are real workhorses. If anyone has questions, let me know. If I can answer them I will.

[@DUKE_of_RAMBLE]

Were you flying the one that was monitoring the return of OSIRIS-REx capsule? 😊

[@nanunanu83]

@@DUKE_of_RAMBLE No I was CAPCOM for that mission.

[@DUKE_of_RAMBLE]

@@nanunanu83 Well that's equally awesome! Congrats on the successful return!

[@nanunanu83]

@@DUKE_of_RAMBLE Thanks! That was our first mission with Starlink for our video downlink.

[@DUKE_of_RAMBLE]

@@nanunanu83 Loving our Starlink! 🤘

[@Rembrant65]

Made some parts for the 2013 refurbishment. Worked from scans of the original 1:1 drawings, stains and all. Was awesome. Also did a bunch of work for SpaceX. When they did their first manned flight I got two times the thrill, parts in the Dragon and parts in the camera plane filming it. Nuts how many people in a bunch of companies are all feeding parts into a single project. I know a lot about the little bit I work on and almost nothing about all the rest of it.

[@brettcoster4781]

My wife's father was the Executive Officer (admin, not flying) of 2 Squadron RAAF when they were first sent to Vietnam in the mid-1960s. Two Squadron remained there for quite a while, which she loved as it meant she stayed longer at Butterworth air base in Malaysia until his return. I, meanwhile (and much later) worked at Government Aircraft Factories in Port Melbourne which had built the Canberras so we both have really fond memories of that magnificent aircraft.

[@Tim_Small]

My dad had the misfortune to have to eject from a Canberra over Syria having been shot down on a low altitude reconnaissance mission over the Black Sea and Syria towards the end of the Suez crisis and immediately after the Hungarian Uprising.

[@donjones4719]

So was he OK? Did he land in hostile territory?

[@Tim_Small]

Landed in Lebanon near the border but was unfortunately handed over to Syrian authorities. There are multiple accounts online, details vary, some tally with my dad's accounts, some less so. The aircraft was WH799 if you'd like to look it up...

[@gordonstarship]

Thank you to your father for his service.

[@berndell2405]

Those ejector seats were driven by black powder cartridges, the same as the starter cartridges. Did they start calling your dad “shorty” afterwards?

[@alastairward2774]

Was it this incident, the plane being shot down by Meteor fighters in an unfortunate irony. kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZXKdWiJl5KekK8si=yumCsDG4x9wEXzCU

[@doch.8039]

I've flown to that exact airport (Lampson Field) on multiple occasions for flight training and managed to snap some photos of them on my phone a little while ago. Crazy to think that they, and the airport I took my first solo flight at, would appear in one of your videos! Thanks for covering them, Scott!

[@martinchorich1621]

…And they are clearly visible on Google Maps satellite view as of this morning. Very nice indeed.

[@martinoinn4260]

Just like the Comet discovered metal fatigue, the Canberra has the dubious honour of discovering stress corrosion cracking. The centre section forging had a deep u section machined into the forging. Water from condensation would collect in this channel and you would get intergranular corrosion which in combination with the stress from holding the wings on would lower the limit stress of the material leading to cracking. Fortunately discovered prior to a crash.

[@robertkirby3158]

And if needed to be relocated after early discovery could be flown from Cyprus to UK. Not above 250Kts indicated, not below 10,000ft except for the two take offs and landings

[@misterfixit9515]

Fascinating historical research as always! It's worth mentioning that 48 Canberras were manufactured in Australia by the Government Aircraft Factory at Fishermans Bend, with their engines built here also at the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation. My (ex)father-in-law came out from UK to Australia as a young engineer in the early 50's to work on it.

[@fredeagle3912]

And Canada and New Zealand? Anyway, as a youngster I saw the Canberra, Vulcan, Lightning and Victor in the skies and close up when in the ATC. I flew a dH Chipmunk and in the Avro Shackleton and my first airliner trip was in a dH Comet! I live in Norfolk, five miles from RAF Marham.

[@linmal2242]

My Dad met my Mum at CAC Homebush in 42-3 so here I am today. He was a super on the line and she was in the tool shop !

[@wargey3431]

Fascinating but slightly wrong britain also used them in the low altitude close air support role (it was originally designed for a low altitude intruder like the Mossie but they pushed it higher) one version of the Canberra in British service was actually fitted with rocket pods and cannons in its Bombay for CAS a guy I worked with worked for the RAF on their heavies and was telling me about watching canberras do gun runs off Cyprus Interesting fact about the U2 is that the one officers mess in the UK has a photo of the U2 taken from above by an English electric lightning the pilot was carrying a camera for some reason heard the U2 was coming so pushed full afterburners on climbed over it turned over snapped a photo and then dropped back down to standard altitude

[@sgkingly8392]

I volunteer at a museum in the UK and we have 3 E.E. Canberras. Two are fairly standard examples but the 3rd one is rather interesting. It's a B(I)8 Mod with the reg WV787. This particular Canberra is fitted with afterburning Hawker Siddely Sapphire engines as well as a unique cockpit, buccaneer nose and radar and a fluid tank where the bomb bay used to be as well as a spray boom (the boom didn't survive sadly). It was part of the A&AEE at MOD Boscombe Down and served as a flying test bed. It also sprayed water for ice trials and was the aircraft that conducted the ice trials for Concorde!

[@alexhajnal107]

Come on, we all know it was really for chemtrails! ;^)

[@williamchamberlain2263]

​@@alexhajnal107dihydrogen monoxide _is_ a chemical, after all

[@apveening]

@@williamchamberlain2263 And a pervasive one at that, it is even found in penguin eggs.

[@paulsengupta971]

Which museum is that?

[@britannia-foundry]

I like your diverse choice of videos and even more so with this one, during 1975 I was a 19 year old A-Mech-E (Aircraft Mechanic Electrical) based at RAF St Athan which was doing major refurbs on Vulcan's and converting Victors to tankers, I had specialised in flight instruments and not only worked on the V bombers instrumentation but I also did instruments from other aircraft including amongst them was the Canberra, my best memories of that time was watching a Vulcan fly round the airfield on a wing tip doing an air worthiness flight with the sound so powerful it neerly caused involuntary bowel movements, thinking back, another time I had a squeeky bum moment was when I stood on the taxiway and had to receive and marshal a Vulcan into its parking bay as part of my multi role training using the orange lolipops, thank you for stirring up the memory.

[@BMrider75]

Hurrah for the Canberra ! Thanks Scott for this little vignette.

[@jeromethiel4323]

A tribute to an excellent design is that it keeps being useful way past it's original design spec. This is one of those special aircraft that is just so good at what it does, you either use it, or design something completely new. And since these are pretty niche use cases, there is no reason to spend the development money to design a new aircraft when this one is so capable.

[@mpersad]

Fascinating! Congratulations on pulling the research together for these two examples of an iconic British design.

[@wafudave6041]

Ex FAA chap here. Worked on Canberras in the early 90s. Had a bit of a chuckle, the Canberra you filmed with its nose in the air was probably due to the airframe being left outside without the hockey stick fitted to the tail. When left outside, we would fit a piece of ground equipment shaped like a hockey stick to the tail as in certain conditions the aircraft could become tail heavy.

[@saintuk70]

Got to love the Canbera - an awesome aircraft. Spent time in the 1980's in and around them whilst still operational at RAF Wyton. They really were the future.

[@clanktank]

Same. It was 100 and 360 squadrons at Wyton flying the Canberras when I was there, and also the OCU. I was on 25sqn on the Bloodhound missiles and used to closely follow them round the taxiways when driving across the airfield, then watch them take off and land from the top of our radar towers. The starter cartridges used to make a hell of a bang.

[@saintuk70]

@@clanktank Ah, the remote locations to the north of the airfield, I remember. The Bloodhound with its mainbody and boosters looked formidable, if a bit "rustic" given it's early 50's origins. Wyton was awesome too due to it being right under finals for Alconbury - an awesome airbase to visit.

[@chrismoule7242]

@@saintuk70 Yes I lived in those "remote locations" for 17 years...20 years too late for the 1977 crash.

[@magdovus]

When the RAF retired the Canberra they also retired the trade of carpenter because the Canberra was the only aircraft with wooden components - in the tailplane. This was in 2006!

[@HerbertTowers]

The C-130J has/had a very nice glossed herring-bone wood flight deck floor. So shiny that nav bags used to shoot backwards at brakes-off. I flew them like this at Marietta. Weird design considering that before being delivered to us (UK) said wooden floors were covered with grippy lino. Perhaps it was a grandfather design rights thing - which they lost anyway. FAA.

[@ronparrish6666]

Was talking to a crew from a KC 135 years ago the said that Boeing put a PC of wood in the 707 KC 135 design years ago they were the crew and they didn't even know where it was

[@BufoToxin-i3p]

What most people don't know is that the WB57's initial design was designated the WD-40, but the wheels kept slipping on landing, being unable to grip the runway. The doors never squeaked though.

[@gnomoblu8015]

Ha. Ha. Ha. No, seriously, made me laugh. Thank you

[@unguidedone]

cool but the truth is wd-40 is made for ballistic missiles to keep water from making ice on the cryogenic fuel tanks, wd is water displacement - its the 40th formula. it actually does a terrible job at lubrication, use light oil instead for most if not all projects.

[@railgap]

👏

[@douglasspencer745]

😂😂😂 brilliant

[@lr882027]

Go get your coat.......

[@libertyauto]

10:12 "This extraordinarily Kerbal mission did not in fact happen."

[@geneard639]

uh... yeah.... I don't know if its still classified but... There was a couple of 'Big Wing' B-57s that I am aware of. Wing span 162 feet and 180-something feet. Watching them land? Was insane. They landed into the wind, and both variants had full length spoiler/drag brakes on top of the wings. You know an aircraft has too much lift when people walk up to it, grab the wing tips, full spoilers go up, then drag brakes rise up behind and the aircraft lands vertically like someone just cracked the valve on a jack. That was at NAS Alameda in the 80s.

[@brettatton]

The English Electric Canberra is a beautiful machine. It's simplicity and elegance are ageless. I loved the aerial footage of the NASA birds and the video of the engine start of XH567 was amazing!

[@fredeagle3912]

But not as pretty as the Hawker Hunter.

[@spyder1721]

Hey Scott, Im currently an avionics technician on the WB-57, if you're ever in Houston and want a tour I'm sure we can work something out.

[@hawgbreath]

The B-57 was one of my favorite planes a a kid. My first duty station in the USAF had a squadron of them for the Kansas ANG. As a firefighter in the AF we had to sit on standby during the engine starts. I also remember seeing the WB-57 shown here at 5:37 make an occasional stop at our base. It was all aluminum skin, no paint other than the “WEATHER” lettering on the tail. This was in 1973.

[@rleeAZ]

British designs of the early jet age were amazing. Huge variety, they were not afraid to try new stuff.

[@stevehall4771]

Thanx a bunch for bring to light this amazing (and mostly unknown) aircraft. My father flew the B-57F (58th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron “F Troop") out of Kirkland AFB for a number of years. He was surprised to learn (from your video) that another one was restored. Great job with this video!

[@kildareman051]

I worked on those at RAF Wyton in the 80's and '90s. Great aircraft,

[@michaellee6489]

Every time I see a beautiful machine that has been "put to pasture", it kinda pulls at my heart. One can almost feel a yearning coming from these lonely beasts...a desire to be as they once were, gracefully carrying out their creators commands against the sweet azure skies. Whispers escaping from rusting relics, set free with merely a touch.

[@linmal2242]

Sounds like me ! I am 'out to pasture' being a boomer, and this rusty relic now whispers !

[@bob_btw6751]

The Canberra, to me, is one of the most beautiful aircraft ever designed. One of my favorites. I got to see some on the tarmac at NAS Moffett Field in the 1980s. They were the tandem seat versions of the B-57, retired by USAF and transferred to NASA.

[@SC-sf8xt]

I totally agree with your comments it's a beauty

[@Lambda3141]

This is one of my favorite aircraft, so I'm delighted to see you do a video on it

[@dgrah]

I flew in to that same airport a couple of months ago and noticed these planes there. Thanks so much for providing the very interesting background on them!

[@akwinoz]

Fabulous video. The Canberra bomber was an amazing aircraft for its day. As a scientist and a pilot I would hope you will keep track of what happens to this beautiful aircraft!

[@CurtDodds]

Scott, great video about the B-57 variants. I am on a team that is building science payloads to fly on a NASA WB-57 to observe the April 8, 2024 solar eclipse. That's when I learned about these unique aircraft. Wish I could ride along!

[@gardnep]

Canberra’s are a popular display at many airforce bases in Australia a bit like three plaster ducks on the wall.

[@goodfes]

For many years used to see the ground running one at ex-USAF Bruntingthorpe in UK, I believe it is still there and runs. Remarkably successful design and to think the RAF still operated them 15 or so years ago. I think Brunty's Canberra is still in the same colour scheme as the one's you have detailed. There are quite a few well looked after Canberra's dotted around most UK museums.

[@wargey3431]

Operated them until the introduction of American Signals and recon aircraft I believe by this point it was only the highly modified Pr-14 that was in operation a photo recon craft also saw service in Iraq and Afghanistan

[@Digitness]

A minute or so walk from me is a very small transport museam, converted from an old train works. Inside, 7 or so aircraft cockpits lay, some of which you can sit in. Vampire,chipmunk and Canberra. Also some complete aircraft too. Also lucky to be 10 minute drive from raf museam

[@gyrogearloose1345]

Thanks for one more great video Scott! Especially interesting to me, since my father worked for English Electric in the 50's and 60's. It was very thrilling to see the Canberra and Lightning planes fly at Farnborough in those days. One more thing I love on this channel - the posts from so many contributors recounting their connections to the subject at hand. Fascinating and oddly comforting I find . . . a human community connected by bits and pieces of knowledge and experience. Keep it up people, every little bit can help us get through the present-day chaos and decay!

[@Mike_Costello]

In Australia we have a flying Canberra operated on behalf of the RAAF by the Temora Aviation Museum. They converted the cartridge starter to a conventional electric motor starter because the cartridge system is corrosive to the turbine blades and increases maintenance and cost. That was workable when everything was paid for by the military in service but not so much when funded as a historical flying museum piece.

[@russellneilsen4518]

The Australian Airforce (RAAF) had Canberra's in the 60's and 70's, based at Amberley which is just outside Ipswich in Queensland. I was at school at Ipswich Grammar, and the Canberra's often flew over the school at about 50 feet above the roof. I think some of the pilots were alumni. But it was amazing to have them fly over. They were used a lot in Papua New Guinea for terrain mapping and low level photography.

[@SubTroppo]

I live in Brissy and I used to see a Canberra beside the public road near Amberley (at Willowbank according to "the internet"). I am now very happy to know what the aircraft is and some of the history.

[@marvindebot3264]

If you want to take a close look at one the QLD Air Museum at Caloundra has one on display. @@SubTroppo

[@robjchristopher]

I was an avionics apprentice at the Royal Aircraft Establishment - there were a few of these on site. One in the apprentice training hanger. Have lots of memories of climbing in and around these learning about all the systems. Once we got into the live aircraft environment, there was one of these being used to fly experimental pods that went on to be live systems flying on Tornado and other fighter / bombers. Edit: these seem to be painted in RAE colours if I remember correctly.

[@timriglar4502]

Yep, raspberry ripple!

[@lotto77102]

Man I love the Canberra, one of the last flashes of the UK being an aeronautical powerhouse. Worth mentioning too that RAF Luton uses them for all their photographs :^) Ironically enough, I live in Canberra, yet I've never seen a Canberra here. Odd how those things happen really.

[@GodheadJudgement]

- posted from a Canberra

[@simongeard4824]

Australia did operate them until the '80s, and I believe there are a few of them in RAAF museums. NZ did too, but I understand they were all sold, and none remain in the country.

[@lotto77102]

@@simongeard4824 Oh yeah, I was aware of that, just young enough that I've never actually seen one in Canberra. Seen one at Temora the two times I've been to the airshow there lmao.

[@chuckygobyebye]

We used to have a Canberra in Ballarat, not Canberra. It was photographed from, well, you know.

[@gnomoblu8015]

Impossible to resist the mandatory joke every time NASA happens to release chase plane footage of some mission launch or re-entry. XD

[@flybobbie1449]

Nice they kept the RAF paint scheme. Look like ex Boscome Down aircraft. Only time i saw one flying i was aiming for a Dam Buster run on Belvide reservoir dam in Staffordshire. Next i knew Canberra pilot had same idea and passed under us. Was painted black and yellow like Bee. I think it was a target tow aircraft.

[@RJW998]

I can't get over just how cool a design this was, truly beautiful, graceful looking. Thanks for the video.

[@sirnik84]

I grew up in Lakeport. I was part of an Explorer Post (Boy Scouts) where we worked on our pilots license tests. One of our leaders was Robert King, a retired Skunkworks engineer. He hosted our Explorer Post at his hanger at Lampson Field. As soon as you showed the clip of you taxiing, I knew you were at Lampson! I graduated high school before I got my pilots license. But my dad still flies and his plane is still at Lampson.

[@davidgifford8112]

Great story Scott. Around 2001 I attended a rocket powered aircraft seminar hosted by the BIS (British Interplanetary Society). There was a high altitude (rocket assisted) Canberra talk. It included an amusing photograph of a Lockheed U2 in flight (62,000 feet) taken from above and a photo of an aircrews hand who had ejected at 70,000 feet. The crew member lost a glove during ejection, the hand ballooned and blackened due to the very low air pressure. Interestingly the rest of him was fine, remarkably the flight suit provided adequate protection even at that distance.

[@gundwanrushinga1373]

Look up "Green Leader" Rhodesia and you will see that these were very good at low level too. They were exceptionally quiet and could be on you before you knew it (personal experience). There is a story from the Rhodesian Bush War which gives an account of a Canberra strike on a ZANLA camp and what gave the game away was not the sound of the jet engines but the bomb bay doors opening. Their operational range was excellent too and they even reached out to Angola from Rhodesia.

[@warrenpearson5651]

A Canberra was used to fly footage of the Apollo 11 landing to new Zealand from Australia in time for the TV news. (Australia had the big Dish to receive the signals from the moon)

[@awuma]

I remember that! Watched the landing that evening in Chch.

[@dkeddi8]

Hi Scott. Loved the video. Not sure if you knew this but there is an airworthy English Electric Canberra at the Tamora Aviation museum in NSW Australia. They have regular showcase where they will fly various aircraft from their fleet. If you ever get the chance to come down under it is well worth the visit and I am sure they would be more than happy to show you around. Fly Safe.

[@keithbambery8496]

Seeing and hearing an RAAF English Electric Canberra in flight is an unforgettable experience. The Canberra moves through the sky with its own unique and special grace.

[@margarita8442]

u take me for a fly in dis darlinks ?

[@Damien.D]

wow big up to the dudes fixing this bird, looking at it, it seriously looked sad and on the verge of being dilapidated, but it's damn heartwarming to see it start and move even in this state. (the starting mechanism is derived from tractor and tanks "shotgun starters". There is even a more rural way to start a jet engine : the Me262 used a pull-rope lawn mower starter. Including the lawnmower 2 stroke engine....)

[@awuma]

The radial piston engine of the DHC Otter could be started that way in the cold, too.

[@ryanwiler4808]

Those Canberras are at Lakeport Lampson Field (1O2). They've been there for years. I was unaware that one had started recently, ir what had been there history. Very interesting. I usually just go there fir Red's.

[@johne7100]

When I was growing up in 1950's Belfast we used to see Canberras going over just about every day, either out of RAF Aldergrove or Short's place in Sydenham. Never thought much of them; they were just there. The odd Vickers Vampire that came over was much more interesting. Still, this bit of history was interesting, and I'm pleased that what we thought of as a perfectly ordinary aircraft had such an illustrious career. Cheers, Scott!

[@garybowes6284]

All the PR9 versions were built in Belfast. I worked on the last refit done in 1989.

[@SkyhawkSteve]

NASA displayed their reworked WB-57F at Oshkosh in 2014. This was s/n 53-3918, N927NA... the one that was pulled out of the boneyard and refurbished. They had a nice placard explaining the history of the aircraft and such. Very cool to see one in the flesh and flight-worthy! I just wish I had seen it fly into Oshkosh or out.

[@nickdeane6158]

I had the pleasure of meeting Peter, the NASA program manager of the WB-57, at Beale AFB earlier this year during a PMR. Super nice guy and answered all my questions about the WB-57 program while we were both sitting in a chase car (Dodge Charger) doing a buck twenty while the U-2s were doing touch and go's. We also got to watch the pilots get suited up and driven out to the flight line, definitely an experience I'll never forget. Great video and definitely a fascinating and important program!

[@soccerguy2433]

I was an instructor pilot at Vance AFB, OK. During a stop over at Wichita (KICT) there was a WB-57 pilot at the FBO. Real nice guy. He said he enjoyed chasing the lunar eclipse.

[@cedricNash-j7t]

Really good to see XH567 is still around with plans to fly her again. I was a flight test observer at RAE bedford from 1978 to 1994 with the Radar Flight Trials unit. I flew several hundred hours in 567 testing missile approach warning radar, note the small radome on the tailcone. We also installed a LIDAR system, Laser Infrared Radar, and carried out atmospheric backscatter trials at various locations from Iceland, the Azores and Ascension Island. The latter in colaboration with US geophysics labs at Hanscombe USAF base. RSRE Malvern produced the first LIDAR imaging from our research work. EE Canberra my favoutite a/c, along with my Wittman Tailwind!

[@peterpowell4821]

I worked on Canberra's model BI8 and T4 while serving at RAF Larbruch W Germany in 1966 - 1969.#3 Squadron. Thanks for bringing back fond memories ❤

[@stamfordly6463]

Thanks for that Scott, always had a soft spot for the Canberra, there was something about the diamond shaped wing and the engines. The strange thing is that the only time I can remember seeing one in flight was the PR.9's final flight in (I think) 2006 . This is despite having been photographed by one on at least two occasions that I know of. Once in a hot and sandy place and once in a cold and midge-ridden place (Cape Wrath training area). They just flew that high that you never saw them unless you knew when and where to look. It was actually the last aircraft to get ticked off as "spotted" on the "Aircraft of the Royal Air Force" poster I was given at primary school in th '80s. Mind you I wouldn't have written on it if I'd known a mint poster would now be worth £100 or more.

[@richardvernon317]

I happened to be visiting Marham on the day that they did their last RAF flights to the New owners. Was walking past the hangar when the doors were opened for the last time with the aircraft in them and saw the last one take off.

[@Parabueto]

As old RAF hands would say "The only proper replacement for a Canberra is another Canberra." They were very well built and relatively maintainer friendly. I've seen an old photo from one which shows a busy rush hour on Westminster Bridge where you can see individual people going about their business. The plane was over the Isle of Wight off the South coast at the time.

[@1chish]

These two have the Royal Aircraft Establishment red, white and blue colour scheme so were doing some pretty advanced research work there (and elsewhere). The scheme was also used on ETPS and A&AEE aircraft. The colour scheme is known by RAF wallahs as 'Raspberry Ripple'. There is the lovely story about how the USAF bragged about photographing some high flying aircraft from above. The RAF replied by publishing a photograph from a Canberra looking down from a long way above of the USAF aircraft and the one it had photographed!

[@philipgrice1026]

Thank you Scott. The Canberra aircraft and it's many derivatives make me proud to be British. The Canberra was born at the same time I was. I'm happy to say we've both led long and interesting lives and plan to continue for some years yet. Are you aware that the original designer, 'Teddy' Petter, intended it to have a single engine? It became a twin engine design following consultation with Rolls-Royce. initially the engines were to be installed in the wing root, a la the DeHaviland Comet, but were instead positioned mid wing to improve the weight and balance characteristics and increase the bomb bay capacity. Fly safe.

[@scotmhead]

One of these is based not two miles from my house at Ellington Field in Houston. The southern approach (35L) goed over my back yard so I see almost everything that comes and goes, and the WB-57F has a peculiar while, we always love to watch it come in so slow and low. I remember when it was natural metal, I don't like the white paint version. One of the pilots lived in my neighborhood because I saw hi getting coffee at the local gas station one morning in the 1990s and I spoke to him about his unique aircraft. He said they are like the U-2 when landing, they just don't want to come down, you have to fly them into the ground as opposed to letting them settle. Interesting fellow, his WB-57F patch was on the wall at that gas station along with all the other astronaut patches until a recent re-model. I still see the aircraft regularly. Fascinating!

[@jaddbo8230]

awesome to see that someone is working to restore it! I wondered about it early on when i saw the jack and new tires with full air, if someone was keeping up with maintence.

[@Steve38781]

I was a member of the USAF 53d Weather Recon Sq, out of Ramey AFB in Puerto Rico, late 60's. We did a TDY to sister weather unit stationed at Yakota, Japan, i think it was the 57th WRS. They had the 4 engine models of the WB57, long wing. Pretty cool aircraft, takeoff and landing were special.

[@Oldtanktapper]

I went to school in East Yorkshire back in the 80’s and was lucky enough to see a lot of both old and operational aircraft. Some were just passing over on their way to air shows or different bases and some were part of exercises or on their way to the live firing ranges over the North Sea. Seeing a low flying Canberra was a great memory, only surpassed by the time a Vulcan came over the school one break time. That was epic, damn thing blotted out the sun with its huge delta wings.

[@GavinEarnshaw]

'81 ish I remember a Vulcan taking off from Catterick while being on the Risedale school bus - nearly rattled the windows out of the bus 😂 What a noise!

[@johnburns4017]

​@@GavinEarnshaw I recall seeing a Vulcan in Lancashire flying on its wingtip, what seemed feet from the ground. It flew across my bows as I was driving along a narrow country road. Shocked the hell out of me.

[@janicereadymartcher7696]

That might have been when I saw a Vulcan at the Cowden range when I was sea fishing. Saw a lot of tank busters as well as other aircraft, they used to come over Bilton as they flew round. We always knew when there was going to be trouble as the frequency of the flying would increase. Phil. Know anything about the three UFO’s in 1987?

[@astrodog43]

One other model was the EB-57 for electronic attack, testing and training. I got to back seat in one with the Vermont Air Guard before they retired them back around 1979. Plane was painted black for night penetration missions and looked great on the ramp. Was shocked that they could roll and loop these "medium bombers".

[@flyerbob124]

There was a weather squadron across the field at Yokota Air Base in Japan when I was stationed there back in the late 1960s. They had WB57s that had 4 engines. A TF33 and a J60 on each wing. I’m told they would shut down the big fans at altitude and just run the J60s. They were used to sample the air near or maybe over the Soviet Union to see if they were testing atomic bombs. Watching them take off was a real treat.

[@ELECTRICMOTOCROSSMACHINE]

My brother was head inspector for space program at NASA,Ellington Field, Houston. He was in charge of inspecting the Canaberra all thru its reconstruction by NASA. He took hi def videos of it all, from moth balls to mission ready. He also was lead inspector in the shuttle program, inspecting the space suits for the astronauts. He was also in charge of their T-38 trainer aircraft, and the shuttle training gulf stream aircraft. He had a cool job. He just retired this year.That was his plane.

[@TheBillzilla]

FWIW in recent years, a Canberra was restored here in Australia and they used later model Avon engines that have electric start. Much easier to live with.

[@stevereightler4126]

My parents and grandparents worked at the Martin Co. in Middle River, MD when the B-57s were being built.

[@lordmordecai2211]

My old air cadet squadron had a cockpit of a retired RAF Canbera Photo recon bird in the building, was one place I could always be found, loved the canberra. Also got to see one of the NASA WB57s as it was passing through Prestwick Airport back in 2014 on transit to Europe, absolute beauty to see in person.

[@tomorrowxu7598]

Really liked the look of the WB-57, especially the combination of high (relatively speaking) bypass engine with the high aspect ratio anhedral wings.

[@garyn4318]

Use to see XH567 occasionally fly into RAE Farnborough during my apprenticeship in the 80s

[@OLDDOG47]

My first USAF assignment out of tech school in1968 was to the 58th WRS at Kirtland AFB Albuquerque NM which flew both the F and C model B57. I was a member of the first NASA/USAF, WB57F Earth Resources Mission in July 1969 at Houston. The squadron's primary mission was to obtain samples of debris resulting from both US and other nations above and below ground atomic tests. In addition, the squadron performed several classified and unclassified missions flying out of bases in Australia, Germany and numerous other countries. The WB57 could haul heavy weight payload to altitudes well above sixty thousand feet and a few crews claimed they reached seventy thousand. The squadron was unique in that you had to be twenty-one years old to be assigned and we were all issued a diplomatic passport.

[@roscoewhite3793]

I recall my mother telling me how she had seen the Canberra at Farnborough in 1950, back when it was cutting edge. It's a brilliant aircraft by any metric. WRT the wing guns on the B-57; there was a variant of the Canberra that had a quadruple 20-mm cannon pod set in the forward part of the bomb bay for ground attack.

[@geobrower3069]

Great video Scott, keep us informed on her progress.

[@Pedro8k]

One of the best recon aircraft the british canberra does not get enough recognition

[@Selo79]

Hey Scott, there is still a flying Canberra in Australia, at Temora Aviation Museum. looks to be a warbirds airshow 19 october 2024, sounds like a great excuse for a working holiday

[@Britcarjunkie]

There are still, surprisingly, quite a few Canberras left in the States. There are at least 3-4 RB-57's in storage at Davis-Monthan AFB, not including standard B-57's. What can we say? It's a great aircraft!

[@davidobyrne9549]

English Electric itself was a very interesting company, one of the smallest aircraft manufacturers in Britain. It only had a handful of designers on its team, the chief being a pre-war employee of Westland Aircraft. EE designed very few aircraft, but they were superb and way ahead of anything the bigger companies came up with. The Canberra and the Lightning being their main products. The Lightning was Britain's first Mach 2 interceptor and unique with its 'one on top of another' twin engines. Pre-war, EE was mainly known for its ultralight single seater the Wren.

[@neilcurson4505]

My mum had an English Electric washing machine, very well built, then motor now drives my lathe.

[@TimberwolfCY]

Fantastic video, fantastic story. Thanks a ton Scott for sharing!

[@realulli]

In case anyone is interested, one of the WB-57s that NASA uses for monitoring rocket launches is N926NA, ICAO code acd5a1 (not allowed to post links, finding an aircraft tracking site is left as an exercise for the reader. ;-)) Found that one because I was monitoring flights around the cape and Boca Chica. The plane took off from Houston and flew to Boca Chica, circling upwards of 50k feet. If you check April 20th, you'll see it circling Boca Chica at 45,500 feet. Ok, I checked, this specific aircraft is currently down for maintenance. N928NA might go up but isn't scheduled yet.

[@watcherzero5256]

Ive been inside a Canberra, surprisingly narrow fuselage but the viewing dome is really cool.

[@berndell2405]

Yay! I used to work on canberras at St.Mawgan in the 1970s. Great fun to fly in!

[@wickedcabinboy]

@8:25 - and seen taxiing @12:16 - Tail number *N40UP* shows up in the FAA Aircraft Inquiry database. First certified in the U.S. on 9/16/2005 and cancelled (expired) on 1/16/2019, this particular Canberra B6, serial number 71398 was, as you said, manufactured by English Electric Co. Ltd. in 1954 and is one year older than I am. At the time of cancellation it was owned by High Altitude Mapping Missions, Inc. in Spokane, Washington. It was classified as an experimental aircraft in the category of research and development.

[@frankgulla2335]

Scott, what a great report on a classic plane. Thank you.

[@ewanp1396]

That Canberra is in RAE (Royal aircraft establishment) colours and would have been based in Farnborough in the UK up until the 90s when they moved to Boscombe Down. I grew up in Farnborough and saw them flying around all the time. They also had a cool c130 with an elongated nose called snoopy. Didnt expect to see one on your channel!

[@cedricNash-j7t]

Actually they were based at RAE Bedford, we had ten Canberras as part of the Radar Flight Trials Unit which was a lodger unit run by Royal Signals and Radar Establishment at Malvern. One of which was WT327 the other Canberra in the video, its last work there was research on synthetic aperture. They all flew out of Bedford when it was closed in 1994.

[@Paughco]

VERY Cool! Thank you for posting! It would be great to see a Canberra get back into the air.

[@LucasBlackShooter]

The actual 'Rasperry Ripple' old Canverra you showed used to fly over my house regularly in the UK (Farnborough). Good memories.

[@ocker2000]

Great video. A side step to your usual fare. Keep doing these! Thanks for sharing.

[@MartijndeVries-h8b]

Really great story. Again. Thanks Scott Manley for all these years. Keep it up. All replies too.

[@MCsCreations]

Fascinating history indeed! Thanks, Scott! 😊 Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@happyhome41]

Most interesting and hopeful (particularly for the vicarious fliers among your audience) ! Thank you.

[@Atomsk102]

I still have several Canberra starter cartridges (empty) that a pilot gave me back in the '80s. I drove the "Follow Me" truck when I was in the USAF, and we got all sorts of interesting aircraft come through our base. I got pictures of the Canberra starting and taking off too.