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.)
The six-week government shutdown did not affect the hours flown by Air Force pilots, a service spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine—avoiding what could have been a major blow at a time when flying hours are already lower than they have been in decades.
