A once retired B-52H Stratofortress known as Ghost Rider, tail number 61-007, returned to Minot AFB, N.D., Tuesday after more than seven years at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. The aircraft has been undergoing rehab work to make it the first B52-H regenerated back into the fleet. The process began when a cockpit fire damaged an operational Stratofortress in 2014. Ghost Rider was previously stationed at Minot in the 1990s, and its primary crew chief from that time, Robert Crane, 5th Logistics Readiness Squadron vehicle management flight chief, was on hand for its return. (See also Ghost Rider Resurrected and Boneyard BUFF Heads Back to Service.)
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.