It's due to the semimonocock structure (the skin carries a lot of the load),
and likely, most of the pictures you're seeing are of the aircraft sitting
on the ground with fuselage loading different from the more
important/critical phase - in flight.  Most of those wrinkles you see on the
ground photos are not there in flight.

Wilton

----- Original Message -----
From: "E M" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Mercedes Discussion List" <mercedes@okiebenz.com>
Sent: Saturday, December 06, 2008 4:09 PM
Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - BUFF stuff for Ed


> One thing that always amazes me about the BUFF, from most of the pictures
> I've seen of them, is the amount of wrinkles in the skin!!  Some pics I
> have, the skin has so deep waves, hard to believe it doesn't fail.  Is
this
> just due to all the cycles on the airframes?
>
> Ed
> 300E
>
> 2008/12/6 Wilton Strickland <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
> > 'Planning to use the remaining H models on into the 2040's.
> >
> > BTW, that large open area in the BUFF aft fuselage  wasn't really meant
to
> > haul cargo (no proper floor), but it could hold a bunch.  Access hatch
in
> > the belly sorta small - maybe 3 feet by 3 feet or less.
> >
> > Wilton
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "E M" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > To: "Mercedes Discussion List" <mercedes@okiebenz.com>
> > Sent: Saturday, December 06, 2008 3:47 PM
> > Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - BUFF stuff for Ed
> >
> >
> > > Great story Wilton!  The BUFF really is the evergreen bomber, and a
> > pretty
> > > good cargo plane too from the sounds of it.
> > >
> > > I have a site bookmarked that features pictures submitted by members
of
> > > various planes.  Lots of pics of BUFFs on there too.  Always sad to
see
> > one
> > > being parted out, or scrapped.  As far as operational costs go, the
BUFF
> > is
> > > probably pretty cheap.  Do you see a similar design coming one day to
> > > replace it, or will the current fleet continue on for several more
> > decades?
> > >
> > > Thanks for the stories Wilton.
> > >
> > > Ed
> > > 300E
> > >
> > > 2008/12/6 Wilton Strickland <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > >
> > > > MOVING  IN  THE  BUFF by Wilton Strickland
> > > >
> > > > Several weeks after I arrived here at Seymour Johnson AFB, NC, I
> > learned
> > > > that one of our crews was going to deliver a B-52G from our unit to
> > Edwards
> > > > AFB, CA, for a test crew there to fly a couple of times with ALCM's
> > (Air
> > > > Launched Cruise Missiles) during a weekend as part of the missile
> > > > development program.  My wife and two sons were still living in a
> > little
> > > > mountain village of Wrightwood about 45 minutes from Edwards.  We
had
> > moved
> > > > there while I was a Civil Engineer at George AFB and just before I
went
> > to
> > > > Greenland for a year.  I wangled my way onto the flight to visit my
> > family
> > > > for a couple of days.
> > > >
> > > > SWMBO, Alice, picked me up at Edwards upon my arrival there on
Friday
> > > > afternoon and dropped me off there for the flight back to Seymour on
> > Sunday
> > > > afternoon.  Because I was beginning to build a house here in North
> > > > Carolina,
> > > > I needed some of my tools and equipment from our home in California.
I
> > > > brought several of those things back to NC with me in the BUFF: a
long
> > > > aluminum extension ladder, a six-foot wooden step ladder, a radial
arm
> > saw,
> > > > a gas-driven rotary lawn mower (fuel tank was drained and vented),
> > several
> > > > boxes of assorted tools and lots of "stuff."
> > > >
> > > > To take my stuff out to the airplane at Edwards, we loaded it and
the
> > rest
> > > > of the crew's baggage aboard an Air Force Suburban driven by the
> > Edwards
> > > > crew.  The long extension ladder was laid across the tops of the
seats
> > and
> > > > the dashboard for the short trip onto the flightline.  One end of
the
> > > > ladder
> > > > was touching the windshield; the other end was protruding slightly
from
> > the
> > > > rear of the vehicle.  We warned all the guys on both crews, Edwards
and
> > > > ours, "Don't close the rear doors.  You may break the windshield by
> > shoving
> > > > the ladder into it."   Sure enough, the last one of our crewmen to
put
> > his
> > > > baggage on the vehicle tried to close the rear doors, cracking the
> > > > windshield, of course.  'Don't know how the Edwards crew explained
the
> > > > cracked windshield when they turned in the vehicle.
> > > >
> > > > All of this stuff went very easily into the large open and
> > unpressurized
> > > > area in the aft fuselage behind the aft main gear.  All of it was
> > strapped
> > > > down very well and presented no problem at all for the BUFF.  I
could
> > have
> > > > brought back a lot more, but I was a bit shy to appear to be moving
my
> > > > entire household in the BUFF.
> > > >
> > > > We sold the California house a couple of months later, Alice and the
> > boys
> > > > drove to North Carolina to join me, and the rest of my stuff was
moved
> > in
> > > > the conventional manner by van.
> > > >
> > > > Wilton
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > _______________________________________
> > > > http://www.okiebenz.com
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> > > >
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> > > >
> > > _______________________________________
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> > >
> > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to:
> > > http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________
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> > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/
> >
> > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to:
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> >
> _______________________________________
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> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/
>
> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to:
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