The Oldest Plane in the USAF inventory?

[SarDragon]

For Navy a/c, if it's in the boneyard, or a "plane on a pole", or a gate guard, it's been stricken from the inventory, and is accounted for in a different manner than active a/c.

As for being flyable, I wouldn't trust anything that hasn't been given long term preservation. Pigeon poop does a real job causing corrosion on aluminum. I saw the remains of the F-8 and F-4 that used to be out in front of NAS Miramar, and you could stand under the wings, look up and see sky.

[sardak]

While this doesn't really answer the question, a study released last month by the Mitchell Institute for Air Studies provides some insight. The report sought to document the number of aircraft, by type, in the USAF active inventory from 1950 to 2009. The report provides some analysis, then lists the inventory by general categories of aircraft and finally by specific type for each year from FY50.

From the foreword:
This Mitchell Study presents a valuable new resource for research on airpower. Printed in the Appendix are tables of the United States Air Force aircraft inventory from 1950 through 2009. Before this, there was no single source for such extended data on the airpower inventory as it became a dominant element of US national security.

The "active inventory" which the report tried to capture is defined as "aircraft assigned to operating forces for mission, test, or maintenance. It includes primary, backup, and attrition reserve aircraft."

The authors note that this was not a trivial matter since the USAF has had almost 400 different types of aircraft in the inventory since 1950. Aircraft designators, categories, and how the Air Force tracked them have changed over the years.

As an example, the report shows the only active bombers in the inventory as of the end of FY09 are B-1, B-2 and B-52. The report can't tell how old the 52s are since that would require research by tail number.

Link to the report: http://www.afa.org/Mitchell/Reports/MS_TAI_1110.pdf

As for tail numbers, here is a site that tracks military aircraft by tail number (and BuNo for those of that persuasion) back to 1908. Of course to do this, it also explains how to decipher tail numbers.
http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/usafserials.html

Mike

[flyboy53]

I know I may be taking this string away from it's original intent, but I'm also curious sometimes over what seems hidden at different bases. Years ago, when I was stationed at Elmendorf AFB, the munitions squadron had a Ford-built V-1 on a pedestal in front of their armory/bunkers on the back side of the base.

[4fhoward]

I found this page while poking around.  It's from "U.S. Air Force Live"
http://airforcelive.dodlive.mil/index.php/2008/11/oldest-operating-aircraft-in-the-air-force-inventory-retires-to-museum/

It is a really funny looking plane.

It's not the answer to the question.

[jeders]

I know I may be taking this string away from it's original intent, but I'm also curious sometimes over what seems hidden at different bases. Years ago, when I was stationed at Elmendorf AFB, the munitions squadron had a Ford-built V-1 on a pedestal in front of their armory/bunkers on the back side of the base.

Get on Google Earth and use the time lapse function while you're looking at Dyess AFB. A few years ago there was a plane sitting by the front gate, and now it's been replaced by a B-1. Then if you look a few hundreds yards to the NW in the woods, you will see that plane.

[AirDX]

The oldest one I persnally know of with the lowest serial for its year is a '57 KC-135.  It's been upgraded to a Block 40.2 R-model, hardly a stock '57!

[Defender]

*playing devil's advocate*

We could always create a new mix here:  The aircraft that certainly aren't the oldest in years, but have an enormous amount of flight hours per airframe, often exceeding the aircraft they were designed to replace.   hmmm, take the C-17 for example, and our current opstempo around our various ao's on the world. 

I know, serious hijacking of thread...but hey, it sounded cool to me!!