Convair B-58 “Rocket Sled”

Convair B-58 “Rocket Sled”. USAFM 1983-139. The U.S. Air Force's first operational supersonic bomber, the B-58, made its initial flight on Nov 11, 1956. In addition to the Hustler's delta wing shape, distinctive features included a sophisticated inertial guidance navigation and bombing system, a slender “wasp-waist” fuselage and an extensive use of heat-resistant honeycomb skin panels in the wings and fuselage. Since the thin fuselage prevented carrying bombs internally, a droppable, two-component pod beneath the fuselage contained a nuclear weapon along with extra fuel, reconnaissance equipment or other specialized gear. The B-58 crew consisted of a pilot, navigator / bombardier, and defense systems operator., Convair built 116 B-58s: 30 test and pre-production aircraft and 86 for operational service. Hustlers flew in the Strategic Air Command between 1960 and 1970. Setting 19 world speed and altitude records, B-58s also won five different aviation trophies., The B-58A “Rocket Sled” on display is an actual section of the supersonic Hustler. This Nose section came from a production aircraft at the Convair plant, Ft. Worth, Texas. It was removed and modified to the configuration you see before you. The “Rocket Sled” was built specifically to investigate various ejection seat designs for use at supersonic speeds. Over 40 ejections were made from rocket sleds at speeds from 115 mph to 806 mph, the tests being at Edwards Air Force Base or at the Hurricane Mesa test facility in Utah. A live chimpanzee was used in one high-speed ejection, and a live bear was used in another., The museum's sled carried the nickname “Texas Hustler” and had numerous “sortie” markings - an ejection seat silhouette - to show how many times this sled fired off a seat. This sled was sold as surplus sometime in the 1960s and sat in the parking lot of the Alamogordo, NM scrap dealer for decades until coming to the 8AF Museum in the 1980s. The Sled is painted to represent its use at the various test facilities during its ejection seat testing career., Specifications , Length: 96' 1" . Height: 31' 5" . Weight: 163,000 lbs max . Crew: three (3) . Armament: one 20mm cannon in tail; nuclear weapons in pod or on wing pylons . Cost: $1.24 million, Performance , Max speed: 1,325 mph . Cruising: 610 mph . Range: 4,400 miles . Service ceiling: 64,800 ft . Engine: four General Electric J79s of 15,500 lbs thrust each with afterburner