I wouldn’t be surprised if the number of 1952 original parts in service is nonzero. They might be new old stock, or cannibalized from one that was retired decades ago, or even stolen off a museum piece, but I’d bet money on it.
I suppose you are correct. If the bit isn’t structural, it doesn’t need to pass any test for microcracks. If it is structural and it passes testing, YOLO that shit.
It’s just the core frames that need serious attention though. I don’t think I have been around a single aircraft that wasn’t constantly bleeding some kind of fluid, so everything else not related to getting the thing in the air and keeping it from completely disintegrating while in flight is mostly optional. (I am joking, but not really. Airplanes hold the weird dichotomy of being strangely robust and extremely fragile at the same time.)
I wouldn’t be surprised if the number of 1952 original parts in service is nonzero. They might be new old stock, or cannibalized from one that was retired decades ago, or even stolen off a museum piece, but I’d bet money on it.
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2024/02/12/more-with-less-lacking-parts-airmen-scramble-to-keep-b-52s-flying/
Bomber of Theseus
I suppose you are correct. If the bit isn’t structural, it doesn’t need to pass any test for microcracks. If it is structural and it passes testing, YOLO that shit.
It’s just the core frames that need serious attention though. I don’t think I have been around a single aircraft that wasn’t constantly bleeding some kind of fluid, so everything else not related to getting the thing in the air and keeping it from completely disintegrating while in flight is mostly optional. (I am joking, but not really. Airplanes hold the weird dichotomy of being strangely robust and extremely fragile at the same time.)