Page 28 - May 2020

Can I buy a B-52 from the bone yard and convert it into a private jet?

Regardless of the fact that the US Government won’t sell you one, you couldn’t afford the fuel bill anyway, nor
the maintenance. And that’s not meant as an insult, in fact, even the US government can’t afford the fuel bill
or maintenance. The full cost per gallon of fuel delivered to the B-52’s tanks is $17.50/gallon, and it uses
MANY gallons because of its 8 very thirsty pre-gas crisis jet engines. The modern 787 uses just 2 engines and
they’re far more efficient and reliable than the cranky old engines of the B-52.

This is such a burden to the government’s budget that studies have been conducted proposing replacing the
engines on every single B-52 to remain in service (76 of them) with modern engines, saving $29 million per
year per plane. That’s roughly a 50% savings so in addition to the cost of the plane IF you were able to buy it,
you’d be spending $29 million per year on engine maintenance and fuel PLUS another $29 million just because
of the old and inefficient jets.

Furthermore, there is very little “human space” in a B-
52. The crew cabin has just six seats and only the
pilots have windows.

The bomb bay isn’t designed for humans; it’s
designed for bombs. It’s a narrow and tall space and
isn’t designed to be heated or pressurized.