‘Ghost Rider’: B-52 resurrected from desert Boneyard

Though the dry desert air inhibits corrosion, the baking heat can have other adverse effects, including causing dry rot in the tires and fuel lines. The lines and fuel bladders in Ghost Rider were completely replaced, Tech. Sgt. Stephen Sorge, a fuels specialist from the 307th Maintenance Squadron, said in an Air Force report on the project.

Once that work was done, the plane’s engines were tested again in January. On February 13, Ghost Rider flew again, a three-hour flight from Davis-Monthan to its new home, Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, Louisiana. The resurrection process took 70 days, according to the Air Force report

For a time, Ghost Rider will sit beside the damaged B-52 for transfer of usable, updated equipment, the Times reported. It is expected to resume active service next year.

As of May 2014, the Air Force reported there were 76 Stratofortresses in its fleet, 58 in the active force and 18 in the Air Force Reserve. Besides Barksdale, B-52s are based at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota.

CNN