#b52bomber — Public Fediverse posts on home.social

Hacker News @[email protected] · 2026-04-18 · 17:06 UTC

The electromechanical angle computer inside the B-52 bomber's star tracker

https://www.righto.com/2026/04/B-52-star-tracker-angle-computer.html

#HackerNews #B52Bomber #Electromechanical #Technology #StarTracker #AviationHistory #AerospaceEngineering

#hackernews #b52bomber #electromechanical #technology #startracker #aviationhistory

Hacker News @[email protected] · 2026-04-18 · 17:06 UTC

The electromechanical angle computer inside the B-52 bomber's star tracker

https://www.righto.com/2026/04/B-52-star-tracker-angle-computer.html

#HackerNews #B52Bomber #Electromechanical #Technology #StarTracker #AviationHistory #AerospaceEngineering

#hackernews #b52bomber #electromechanical #technology #startracker #aviationhistory

Hacker News @[email protected] · 2026-04-18 · 17:06 UTC

The electromechanical angle computer inside the B-52 bomber's star tracker

https://www.righto.com/2026/04/B-52-star-tracker-angle-computer.html

#HackerNews #B52Bomber #Electromechanical #Technology #StarTracker #AviationHistory #AerospaceEngineering

#hackernews #b52bomber #electromechanical #technology #startracker #aviationhistory

Hacker News @[email protected] · 2026-04-18 · 17:06 UTC

The electromechanical angle computer inside the B-52 bomber's star tracker

https://www.righto.com/2026/04/B-52-star-tracker-angle-computer.html

#HackerNews #B52Bomber #Electromechanical #Technology #StarTracker #AviationHistory #AerospaceEngineering

#aerospaceengineering #aviationhistory #startracker #technology #electromechanical #b52bomber

Hacker News @[email protected] · 2026-04-18 · 17:06 UTC

The electromechanical angle computer inside the B-52 bomber's star tracker

https://www.righto.com/2026/04/B-52-star-tracker-angle-computer.html

#HackerNews #B52Bomber #Electromechanical #Technology #StarTracker #AviationHistory #AerospaceEngineering

#hackernews #b52bomber #electromechanical #technology #startracker #aviationhistory

Europe Videos @[email protected] · 2026-04-08 · 09:08 UTC

https://www.europesays.com/videos/5588/ US bomber spotted after taking off from British RAF base #AviationFootage #B52Bomber #B52Stratofortress #BomberSighting #BreakingNews #DonaldTrumpCeasefire #FairfordEngland #GlobalConflictUpdates #Gloucestershire #LizWebster #MilitaryAircraftTakeoff #MilitaryManeuvers #MilitaryNews #OperationEpicFuryUpdate #OperationFrontlineFury #PlaneSpotting #RAFFairford #RoyalAirForce #TheSun #TruthSocial #USAirForce #USIranConflict #USIranTensions #USMilitary

#usmilitary #usirantensions #usiranconflict #usairforce #truthsocial #thesun

C. @[email protected] · 2024-12-14 · 16:24 UTC

@TerryHancock

My favourite #debunking of the "government paid $EXCESSIVE for $THING" kind of story was by Jerry #Pournelle. It's currently offline, and archive.org is still recovering, so I can't link it. Actual numbers below are made up because I don't remember the exact figures, but the gist is correct.

It was the "#Pentagon paid $17,000 for a #toilet seat" one. What actually happened was that the Pentagon needed to procure more toilet seats for the B-52 bomber - the planes were (and still are!) old and stuff wears out or gets damaged. There was no remaining stock of parts.

The problem was that the #manufacturer had long ago junked the tooling used to make the parts (they were metal, requiring tool & die etc). Making that tooling is quite expensive - it's difficult, skilled work. Other costs involved in getting a #manufacturing line set up are also expensive. And they couldn't justify buying and storing tons of extra toilet seats.

So what you get is a high fixed #cost to rebuild a line, divided by a relatively small number of finished articles, giving an apparently absurd price per unit. Say, a million dollars to make 60 replacement toilet seats to original spec.

And that gives... $16,667 per seat. And a great, totally #misleading #headline.

#B52 #B52Bomber #ToiletSeat #GovernmentWaste #waste #procurement

#debunking #pournelle #pentagon #toilet #manufacturer #manufacturing

C. @[email protected] · 2024-12-14 · 16:24 UTC

@TerryHancock

My favourite #debunking of the "government paid $EXCESSIVE for $THING" kind of story was by Jerry #Pournelle. It's currently offline, and archive.org is still recovering, so I can't link it. Actual numbers below are made up because I don't remember the exact figures, but the gist is correct.

It was the "#Pentagon paid $17,000 for a #toilet seat" one. What actually happened was that the Pentagon needed to procure more toilet seats for the B-52 bomber - the planes were (and still are!) old and stuff wears out or gets damaged. There was no remaining stock of parts.

The problem was that the #manufacturer had long ago junked the tooling used to make the parts (they were metal, requiring tool & die etc). Making that tooling is quite expensive - it's difficult, skilled work. Other costs involved in getting a #manufacturing line set up are also expensive. And they couldn't justify buying and storing tons of extra toilet seats.

So what you get is a high fixed #cost to rebuild a line, divided by a relatively small number of finished articles, giving an apparently absurd price per unit. Say, a million dollars to make 60 replacement toilet seats to original spec.

And that gives... $16,667 per seat. And a great, totally #misleading #headline.

#B52 #B52Bomber #ToiletSeat #GovernmentWaste #waste #procurement

#debunking #pournelle #pentagon #toilet #manufacturer #manufacturing

C. @[email protected] · 2024-12-14 · 16:24 UTC

@TerryHancock

My favourite #debunking of the "government paid $EXCESSIVE for $THING" kind of story was by Jerry #Pournelle. It's currently offline, and archive.org is still recovering, so I can't link it. Actual numbers below are made up because I don't remember the exact figures, but the gist is correct.

It was the "#Pentagon paid $17,000 for a #toilet seat" one. What actually happened was that the Pentagon needed to procure more toilet seats for the B-52 bomber - the planes were (and still are!) old and stuff wears out or gets damaged. There was no remaining stock of parts.

The problem was that the #manufacturer had long ago junked the tooling used to make the parts (they were metal, requiring tool & die etc). Making that tooling is quite expensive - it's difficult, skilled work. Other costs involved in getting a #manufacturing line set up are also expensive. And they couldn't justify buying and storing tons of extra toilet seats.

So what you get is a high fixed #cost to rebuild a line, divided by a relatively small number of finished articles, giving an apparently absurd price per unit. Say, a million dollars to make 60 replacement toilet seats to original spec.

And that gives... $16,667 per seat. And a great, totally #misleading #headline.

#B52 #B52Bomber #ToiletSeat #GovernmentWaste #waste #procurement

#debunking #pournelle #pentagon #toilet #manufacturer #manufacturing

C. @[email protected] · 2024-12-14 · 16:24 UTC

@TerryHancock

My favourite #debunking of the "government paid $EXCESSIVE for $THING" kind of story was by Jerry #Pournelle. It's currently offline, and archive.org is still recovering, so I can't link it. Actual numbers below are made up because I don't remember the exact figures, but the gist is correct.

It was the "#Pentagon paid $17,000 for a #toilet seat" one. What actually happened was that the Pentagon needed to procure more toilet seats for the B-52 bomber - the planes were (and still are!) old and stuff wears out or gets damaged. There was no remaining stock of parts.

The problem was that the #manufacturer had long ago junked the tooling used to make the parts (they were metal, requiring tool & die etc). Making that tooling is quite expensive - it's difficult, skilled work. Other costs involved in getting a #manufacturing line set up are also expensive. And they couldn't justify buying and storing tons of extra toilet seats.

So what you get is a high fixed #cost to rebuild a line, divided by a relatively small number of finished articles, giving an apparently absurd price per unit. Say, a million dollars to make 60 replacement toilet seats to original spec.

And that gives... $16,667 per seat. And a great, totally #misleading #headline.

#B52 #B52Bomber #ToiletSeat #GovernmentWaste #waste #procurement

#procurement #waste #governmentwaste #toiletseat #b52bomber #b52

C. @[email protected] · 2024-12-14 · 16:24 UTC

@TerryHancock

My favourite #debunking of the "government paid $EXCESSIVE for $THING" kind of story was by Jerry #Pournelle. It's currently offline, and archive.org is still recovering, so I can't link it. Actual numbers below are made up because I don't remember the exact figures, but the gist is correct.

It was the "#Pentagon paid $17,000 for a #toilet seat" one. What actually happened was that the Pentagon needed to procure more toilet seats for the B-52 bomber - the planes were (and still are!) old and stuff wears out or gets damaged. There was no remaining stock of parts.

The problem was that the #manufacturer had long ago junked the tooling used to make the parts (they were metal, requiring tool & die etc). Making that tooling is quite expensive - it's difficult, skilled work. Other costs involved in getting a #manufacturing line set up are also expensive. And they couldn't justify buying and storing tons of extra toilet seats.

So what you get is a high fixed #cost to rebuild a line, divided by a relatively small number of finished articles, giving an apparently absurd price per unit. Say, a million dollars to make 60 replacement toilet seats to original spec.

And that gives... $16,667 per seat. And a great, totally #misleading #headline.

#B52 #B52Bomber #ToiletSeat #GovernmentWaste #waste #procurement