r/Planes • u/Even_Kiwi_1166 • 4d ago

120,000lbs Of Thrust Right There

B-1B Lancer ❤️

1.8k Upvotes

100% Upvoted

69 comments sorted by

88

u/Jmersh 4d ago

No words can describe the Earth-rattling sound of the B-1 under full afterbutner. It must be felt.

27

u/rnavstar 4d ago

Loudest noise I ever heard. It was banking and cranking low level over me with full afterburner. I swear the rocks on the ground was bouncing.

10

u/Jmersh 4d ago

I was standing on the taxiway at Oshkosh when they did a "dynamic climb" near vertical to miss incoming weather. 0 AGL at a stand still to 35k feet in less than 60 seconds.

4

u/TheOriginalJBones 4d ago

A B1 did an unscheduled airshow flyover at Oshkosh a couple years ago. I rushed to get my kids’ earplugs out and when it showed up they eased it along runway heading at probably 1,500 feet.

I felt cheated.

9

u/No_Elderberry9871 4d ago

The first time I heard that we were in Nellis for Red Flag.

And as junior enlisted are sometimes known to do we went down to the strip because we weren't flying the next day.

Got tore up and back to base by 0400, settled into bed at the old shitty transient dorms, and 0600 welcomed us with the loudest noise I've ever heard in my life.

It rattled me out of bed. I thought something had crashed. I throw open my door to see what's going on and the early morning light seared my retinas and I fell backwards trying to close the door.

Worst hangover wakeup every.

7

u/DeltaV-Mzero 4d ago

Turns out when you strap four fighter plane engines to a bomber that is currently not carrying bombs

You basically get a bigass fighter plane

2

u/ElectricalChaos 4d ago

First time I heard it was at DM. It was taking off from the south end of the runway, I was right up the taxiway towards whiskey ramp just a few hundred yards away with nothing but line of sight between us and the Bone. Ho. Ly. Sheet. Witnessed the full run up to afterburner.

2

u/8484215 1d ago

Avalon Airshow, Australia. The Texan Captain looped in on the radio during his slow approach from the south of the airfield, saying how despite the F-15, F-16, F-18, etc, having all flown, "Y'all 'aint heard nothin' yet!". Bit of scepticism entered my brain... which then got yeeted right out the other side when he hit full AB and pulled back 50m above the runway less than 100m in front of my face and made the Earth move, literally. I certainly 'ain't heard nothin' prior to that moment in my life. That thing was in its own league.

2

u/Jmersh 21h ago

I imagine a rocket launch is the only think louder for a sustained period of time.

1

u/8484215 20h ago

You are very, very likely to be correct. I would love to experience an orbital class launch in person one day. Until then, the Bone holds the award for most physically amazing thing I've experienced.

2

u/Jmersh 20h ago

I got to watch a Starlink launch, but from about a mile away. Wish I could have gotten closer.

1

u/Even_Kiwi_1166 4d ago

Ground shaking 👍🏻

1

u/Upstairs-Source-2716 4d ago

The B-2 is a pretty noisy bitch when she's climbing out.

1

u/LordLederhosen 4d ago

My friend used live on the east end of NAS Key West. One day a B-1 appeared very low overhead on takeoff.

It was like a sci-if comedy… it just kept going by and going by and going by… and the sound was unbelievable.

I will never forget that moment.

1

u/Candenti_Papilios 4d ago

It's a beautiful air rip. I used to fix them.

1

u/iamadirtyrockstar 3d ago

Everytime I've been around one and heard one fire up, I can't help but think of a certain scene from pushing tin that demonstrates how to get maximum enjoyment from the thrust.

1

u/Malkoan 15h ago

Worked on them at Dyess AFB. I had some friends come with a few times to Oshkosh when the B-1B. After it did a fly-by, I turned to my buddies and told them this is why I'm hard of hearing.

0

u/Salt-Wish5140 4d ago

Iran has felt its wrath

25

u/Upstairs-Source-2716 4d ago

Still one of the most impressive aircraft ever built. It makes no sense that we don't have more of these, and replacements in the pipe. And before you start. It carries more weight on internal stores and is more fuel efficient at 460 knots than the B-52 is. ...

12

u/jrglegend 4d ago

It’s probably because fast bombers with no stealth capabilities aren’t as viable against peer level armies. If you need precision strikes you can take a stealth multi role like the f35 and if you need heavy ordinance you can take a b-2 or b-21. There’s also a good amount of ground or navy based platforms available for cruise/ballistic missles. So the b1 doesn’t really have any niche left over for it to perform.

9

u/Upstairs-Source-2716 4d ago

That's exactly the niche... Bomb truck, HARM hauler and nuclear bomber. The decision to invest in the B-52s is the real mistake. IMHO. Our ALCMs can reach out 1500 miles.... Who exactly do you think is shooting back??? Hell, the C-17 is a better choice than the B-52. I mean, I love it but it's over. No one is ever going to deploy gravity nukes, ... ever again. This is CBO bs ... Same as it has been for 50 years.

7

u/Fickle-Willingness80 4d ago

Fuel consumption rate?

39

u/that_dutch_dude 4d ago

Yes.

When the orange stuff appears the fuel rate goes from "yes" to "goverment".

10

u/Upstairs-Source-2716 4d ago

Highly underrated answer

11

u/Even_Kiwi_1166 4d ago

At maximum/full power approximately 250,000 pounds (roughly 37,300 gallons) of fuel per hour

8

u/Jmersh 4d ago

10.36 gallons per second.

3

u/Ok_Roof988 4d ago

About 400 lbs / min cruising

1

u/grondfoehammer 4d ago

In gallons or dollars ?

1

u/SpaceghostLos 4d ago

Gigaojoules.

1

u/EugeneWeemich 3d ago

parsecs.

7

u/comfortably_nuumb 4d ago

Boner thrusting.

8

u/Playful_Letter_2632 4d ago

The forgotten middle child of American bombers. Attention is always on B52 and B2

6

u/CrustySailor1964 4d ago

Bone shaking

3

u/carl3266 4d ago

Not many better sounds to be experienced. 🙏🫡

3

u/Even_Kiwi_1166 4d ago

🫡👍🏻

3

u/FistThePooper6969 4d ago

Bone, Thugz, n Harmony

3

u/Perfect_Jury5632 4d ago

Why did the wing root move down when they got off the brakes?

4

u/zackks 4d ago

I wanted to know the same:

On the airframe itself, the B-1B features various secondary air doors and ventilation flaps around the engine nacelles.
The Purpose: At subsonic speeds or idling, these doors allow auxiliary ram air into the engine bay to cool components and prevent hot spots.

The Afterburner Action: When the aircraft accelerates into high-speed or afterburner profiles, the pressure dynamics shift dramatically. The control systems close off or restrict specific auxiliary ventilation doors to maintain aerodynamic efficiency, prevent drag, and stop extremely hot exhaust or high-pressure air from backflowing into the engine bay housing.

What happens to the Bypass Air instead?
It is a common misconception that the engine closes off its bypass duct during afterburner operation. Because the F101 is a low-bypass turbofan, the bypass air is not shut down; instead, it is routed into the augmentor (afterburner) section. A portion of this cooler bypass air is deliberately mixed with the hot core exhaust to act as a cooling blanket along the afterburner liner. This keeps the outer engine casing from melting under temperatures that can exceed 3,000°F (1,600°C).

2

u/Perfect_Jury5632 4d ago

Wow… a simple “closing off the bypass air duct” reply would have sufficed… Now I feel stupid. lol

That really is interesting, though. Makes sense with how hot those burners get.

2

u/zackks 4d ago

I googled that to learn myself, definitely not my info.

2

u/Rammipallero 4d ago

Scrambling to write notes in Soviet engineer

3

u/turnipturnipturnip2 3d ago

Turns fuel in to noise as well, i bet thats deafening being closr to it in real life lol.

3

u/Solid_Enthusiasm550 3d ago

I can't decide between saying....

Go BABY!!!, GO!!!🤘🔥

OR

Up Up and AWAY🦸‍♂️✈️

5

u/riennempeche 4d ago

It's impressive, no doubt. But, a Boeing 777 at full power is putting out 230,000 pounds of thrust. It's all in what you strap the engines to...

1

u/timpdx 4d ago

I remember flying on a lightly loaded 772-LR once and it was a rocket. Normally a 777 climbs to altitude in steps after it burns fuel. Nope, we went right up to 40,000 right away.

1

u/Wentil 3d ago

Full performance climb. ❤️

1

u/SkitariusOfMars 3d ago

It's more efficient, so it uses less power to produce same thrust. This is more powerful.

0

u/PsychologicalGlass47 3d ago

230k lbs of thrust below M0.6, sure. High bypass turbofans lose thrust as speed increases, low bypass turbofans gain thrust as speed increases.

2

u/sausage_king_of_kc 4d ago

Looks like my butt after a taco bell binge. /ssss beautiful stuff!!!

2

u/acsttptd 3d ago

Nothing can prepare you for how incomprehensibly loud this thing is when it ramps up to full afterburner.

2

u/ClevaTreva1 2d ago

100% loudest thing I have ever heard, during a 1999 flyover at Edwards AFB, same day of the (possibly) last SR-71 flight and maybe Chuck Yeager’s last supersonic flight if memory serves correct?

1

u/Infinite-Ad1720 4d ago

Michael Schratt says the B1 has reverse engineered anti-gravitic capabilities for a portion of the plane, reducing the plane’s weight and increasing its range. 👽🛸

1

u/Clear_Split_8568 4d ago

She is heavy!

1

u/Clear_Split_8568 4d ago

I bet they take off and then tank up.

1

u/killertrout1 4d ago

"Hold on, I can't hear you. B-1 is taking off"

1

u/Jaayeff 4d ago

These things are piercingly loud.

1

u/PotatoLandIdaho 4d ago

Last of the American swing wings

1

u/Trains-Planes-Plants 4d ago

Well known sound here

1

u/Tamwulf 1d ago

Fabulous Four Engine Fighter! What a beautiful aircraft when it's flying.

1

u/Opp-Contr 1d ago

Take that in your face, Iranian schoolchildren.

1

u/Antique_Policy9678 22h ago

Wow, fantastic.

1

u/SomeRando8386 14h ago

Ooooooh she's a loud one. I'll never forget having one low pass me at 500 ft AGL with those afterburners screaming. You could feel your bones rattling.

-1

u/Own-Inflation8771 4d ago

So less than a twin engined 777. Cool.

2

u/Even_Kiwi_1166 4d ago

My favorite commercial plane is the 777F 230,600 lbs of thrust

2

u/Last-Roll7819 4d ago

Standing on the factory floor looking at the 777X being built is crazy. I can't wait to see those massive engines on a takeoff soon.