the Convair XB36 and NB 36, and B 36... the only aircraft that tested reactor power and caterpillar tracks for landing gear

https://www.facebook.com/marc.tudeau?fref=nf

On 1941 April 11, the AAC issued a design competition for an aircraft with a 275 mph (445 km/h) cruising speed, a service ceiling of 45,000 ft (14,000 m), capable of delivering 10,000 lb (4,500 kg) of bombs to targets 5,000 miles (8,000 km) away. At the time, these requirements far exceeded the best technology available.

On 1941 November, the United States Army Air Forces signed a contract for two experimental aircraft under the designation XB-36, based on design studies previously submitted by Consolidated Aircraft Corporation. A few days later, the Engineering Division at Wright Field decided that Consolidated's six-engine design, with all engines on the trailing edge of the wing, was the best option for the aircraft. The original design used vertical stabilizers and rudders, similar to those used in the B-24 Liberator. By the time the first XB-36 was delivered, the design had been changed to a huge single tail, and the wingspan increased to 230 ft (70 m), an unprecedented size.

NB-36H was the one B-36H (serial 51-5712) with a nuclear reactor installed in the rear fuselage for tests.

The first (and only) XB-36 was completed at the Consolidated Fort Worth factory in late 1945. The plane sat on huge wheels 9 ft (2.8 m) in diameter; only three airfields in the USA had concrete thick enough to support the pressure exerted by the original main gear that featured one massive tire and that exerted 156 pounds per square inch.

 In 1948 June, the single-wheel undercarriage was replaced by a new undercarriage consisting of two wheels with half the diameter on each strut. This design, which would become the production standard, enabled the B-36 to operate on runways of reasonable thickness.

the SAC wanted to see if the big bomber could operate from rough fields as well. With that the B-36's huge tires gave way to experimental tracked landing gear, to reduce ground pressure for soft-field use.

http://www.edwards.af.mil/photos/mediagallery.asp?galleryID=529&page=293
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_B-36_variants
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:B-36_tracked_gear_edit.jpg
http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/wait-the-b-36-peacemaker-flew-with-tank-tracks-for-lan-1638780957

Take TSA bins, for example. How far can they actually travel if you decide to break the mold and take one with you as a souvenir?

"After taking my shoes off at the airport, I decided I was going to walk this bin as far as possible, want to make TSA work..."

"It ended up on the plane with me, bound for Chicago!"

"The pilot asked me about it and found it hilarious, he also hates the TSA!"

"This TSA bin is now serving as a sock drawer under my bed."

http://www.mandatory.com/2016/06/07/this-guy-wanted-to-see-just-how-far-he-could-take-a-tsa-bin/

it's Shark Week and Southwest Airlines did some cool stuff

Southwest says the partnership with Discovery Channel allows the airline to draw attention to its aircraft and in-flight entertainment, which will feature Shark Week content during the promotion. Customers will even get a sneak-peek of some Shark Week content ahead of its June 26-through-July 3 airing on the Discovery Channel.

https://www.facebook.com/SouthwestAir/
http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2016/06/02/southwest-unveils-shark-themed-boeing-737-shark-week/85286894/
https://twitter.com/southwestair/status/497351475379851264

in the summer of '71 Southwest started up, and needed flight attendents, and 2 of them are still dedicated to the job, 45 years later!

Sandra Force was 26, a former Miss Tennessee, and was in Dallas at the right time to get in with the 1st hiring drive.

CJ Bostic was 23, and a former model for Rothschilds and Neiman Marcus.

What seems amazing to me.. is that there are 4 other original crew still with the airline... not many companies have lasted 45 years, and darn few of them have been good enough to work at for 45 years. That is really remarkable

https://issuu.com/southwestmag/docs/june2016?e=18825507%2F36113032  page 76

spiders on a plane... two big tarantulas got loose on a Canadian airliner

Catherine Moreau was watching a movie on her iPad on the April 18th flight to Montreal from the Dominican Republic when she felt what she thought was a wire brushing against her. When she looked down she saw a giant, furry tarantula climbing up her leg.

One of the spiders was captured during the flight. The second continued to roam the interior of the plane until the flight landed in Montreal, where it was trapped by a federal agent.

She didn't die. But she acts like she needs a couple million dollars to cope with the memory... the airliner isn't even bothering to put up with her nonsense though http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/tarantula-plane-air-transat-1.3590780

St Helena island off the West coast of Africa, finally has an airport an runway... and was set to have a grand opening on May 21st, St Helena Day... but, they forgot the windshear issue, and won't open til they figure out how to cope with it

The remote British island outpost of St Helena ( St Helena is a small volcanic island in the South Atlantic Island, about 2,500 miles east of rio de Janeiro.) has heralded the arrival of the first passenger aircraft to land at the island’s new airport.

The new airport, which cost the British government about £250 million ($350 million) to develop, is expected to open St Helena up to tourism, and set the island on a course to self-sustainability.

A British Airways franchise partner was selected to provide the air service to the island with a Boeing 737-800 configured specifically to serve the Johannesburg-St Helena route.

One outcome of the implementation flight has been the gathering of additional data on turbulence and windshear on the approach to Runway 20 (from the North). As a result of the data gathered and the conditions experienced, it has been decided that there is some additional work to be done in order to ensure the safe operation of scheduled passenger flights to and from St Helena Airport.

http://www.airportsinternational.com/2016/04/st-helena-airport-opening-postponed/17578
http://www.heute.de/ZDF/zdfportal/blob/40878498/1/data.jpg

The Basil Read company that built the runway has a cool report on their website about the feat http://www.basilread.co.za/operations-st-helena.php

Due to the remote location of the Island, Basil Read has shipped some 50,000 tonnes of cargo, including 120 items of construction machinery, cement, steel, explosives and other construction materials including over 16 million litres of fuel. The NP Glory 4 has sailed some 220,000 kilometers, or the equivalent of five times around the world, during the life of the project so far, on its voyages between Walvis Bay and St Helena.

At the start of this massive project, there was no harbour on the island, and Basil Read was contracted to build a permanent wharf, as well.







Thanks Steve!