B-58 tire color question

I remember asking a friend who worked at Grissom AFB with me in the early 80's, he was a civial then, but was active while B-58's were stationed there. The tires were of a harder compound or something like that, they were always getting replacement tires in. We got a lot of tires in while I was there for KC-135's and A-10's, but he said it was nothing compared to the days when the Hustler was around. Being a short tire, I would imagine that they didn't last long given the weight and speed at landings they were subjected to. The Hustler didn't operate at the same altitudes the SR and XB-70. They didn't cruise at supersonic speeds constantly like the SR does and XB was designed to do, so heat exposure wasn't as extreme or prolonged.

Probably because the XB-70 and SR-71 flew at Mach 3+ and very high altitudes, and were subject to a lot more airframe heating due to friction. The Hustler was "only" a Mach 2 aircraft with similar speed to an F-4.

Dave

It may have been that while the B-58 was double sonic it was not intended to speed alot of time at that speed. The speed was to have been used in high speed penetrations and departures. Those J79's were very thirsty engines. The other planes you mentioned also where in the triple sonic range.

Could it also be a simple "it wasn't invented yet"?

Rich

Makes sense. I was under the impression the B-58 spent more time in 'supercruise'. Thanks.

Even if the B-58 could sustain Mach 2 for long periods, the heating is nothing like the friction heat experienced by the Mach 3 SR and XB. The max skin temp of an SR-71 at Mach 2 is under 300 degrees. At Mach 3, it's pushing 900 degrees.

Dave

A bit of trivia I heard about the B-58 tires...

Haven't actually confirmed these statements but they sound intriguing.

Martin