Model Forum / General / Models / April 2008

Heya folks!

I've got an RB-50G kit from Academy that I'd like to turn into
something really unusual/weird.  Back in 1965 my dad was
stationed at Plattsburg AFB in NY.  One day they had an
unusual bird come into the SAC base...  He says it was a
B-29 look-a-like, and someone told him it was an RB-50.  A
friend of his was a plane spotter and took a picture of him
in front of it.  Shortly thereafter a bunch of SP's showed up
and gave them a serious grilling about what they were doing
around the plane.  They blew it off, never thought of it again.
My dad has the b/w photo (definitely not faked) of him in
front of a camoflaged B-50.  It is gloss black up to about
3/5-2/3 of the way up the fuselage, with what looks like it
is SIOP or SEA on top (like the B-52's in Vietnam).  The
numbers are probably red, and the four digits start with an
8/6 then a 14 then what is either an 8/6/3.  My dad is about
50 feet from the front left corner with the camera pointing
towards the wing/fuselage joint with the cockpit glass at the
upper left of the frame.

My dad SWEARS that it had jets outboard, not fuel tanks
or anything similar.  So, I'm looking for a pair of jet engines
from one of the KC-97L kits.

I'd love to build a kit of this aircraft and show it with the
photo.  And no, don't ask me to post the photo to alt.binaries.*
because I have no alt.binaries access!  Dammit...  Also,
don't ask for a copy of the photo, Dad is very particular about
it now that he knows it's pretty damned unusual.

Among other things, he says it had crap loads of antennae,
lots of wires on it and says that the flat pane for the bomb-
adier was painted over.  I suppose that this makes sense
if it's only on some sort of ELINT mission.

My guess (and Dad's) is that it's some USAF relic that had
been seconded to the CIA/NSA for some sort of missions
in SEA and had to cycle through the US and needed to
stop for fuel at Plattsburgh AFB (a SAC base at the time)
and figured that security would be better there.

He never saw the plane leave and it was gone thenext day.
If anyone can throw any light on this baby it'd be greatly
appreciated!

-andyh