Fairchild Base Bids Farewell To Final B-52

SPOKANE - With a final thumbs up from the cockpit of the B-52 bomber, Capt. Gregory "Spanky" Barber signaled the end of an era at Fairchild Air Force Base.

The matte-black Stratofortress, which resembles a hooded raptor, flew over the base Wednesday, did a couple of knife-edge turns and soared into the eastern sky.

"It's an awesome airplane," said Master Sgt. Scott Boatwright as he watched the flyover.

Barber and his four-person crew were taking the B-52 to Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota. It is the last of 16 bombers dispatched from Fairchild since December.

"This is a memorable day for Fairchild," said Col. William Brooks, commander of the 92nd Bomb Wing. "Fairchild has had a long and glorious heritage as a bomber base."

On July 1, Fairchild's mission will formally change from a bomber wing to a tanker wing as part of the Air Force overhaul in the post-Cold War era. About 60 aerial refueling tanker planes will be based at Fairchild by the end of this year.

The 92nd Bomb Wing has been at Fairchild AFB, 10 miles west of Spokane, since July 30, 1947. The first B-52 bomber arrived a decade later.

The last B-52 out of Fairchild also was the last B-52 built by The Boeing Co. The company made 744 B-52s, the last of which rolled off the assembly line in 1962, when Barber was a year old.

Barber said crews spent hundreds of hours restoring the B-52, Tail No. 1040, in preparation for its new home in North Dakota, about a two-hour flight from here.

He said he considered himself lucky to be selected for the notable flight.

"It's the end of an era," Barber said.

The B-52 has been in service since 1955, longer than any other warplane in the nation's arsenal. It can carry eight H-bombs inside and 12 nuclear-tipped cruise missiles on the wings.