It was the summer of 1957 when the 92nd Bomb Wing at Fairchild AFB, Washington got its first brand new B-52D's. Each of the three squadrons (325th, 326th and 327th Bomb Squadrons) had but one airplane for months, though they'd eventually get 15 per unit. Newly trained flight crews took turns flying those enormous shiny birds. That was an exciting and fascinating time. The last of the 92nd's old B-36's were gone and learning the all-jet Stratofortress was a real challenge. It was great fun too.

I well remember when cruising at 40,000 or even 50,000 feet was new territory, and how thrilling it was. There in the wild blue yonder, above the clouds, the weather and most other traffic, you could see forever. The deep blue sky was almost unreal, unlike the murk at lower altitudes. Zipping along at 600 miles per hour, with the ground slipping along below us at more than eight miles per minute, the sensation was almost ethereal. And looking up at the stars from way up there invoked even more amazement. Those fortunate astronauts later saw even more, of course, but for me it was awesome.

One of the most unique and interesting phenomena experienced back then, in the late 50's, was watching the sun rise in the west from 45,000 feet. We were returning to our Washington state air base from Massachusetts, cruising across Canada's prairies, well above 50 degrees north latitude, when it happened. It was after sunset when we took off, but the farther north and westward we flew, the brighter the sky gradually became. Soon we noticed the sun rise ahead of us, from the west. That was weird, for at that latitude and at our speeds, we were over-taking the setting sun.

On other flights, up and down the west coast of Oregon and Washington, we discovered other phenomena of interest. In the early evening, while watching the sun set over the Pacific, we learned that our high altitude twilight occurred almost an hour later than for folks on the ground. It was pitch black below us, but still light up where we were. That was quite something for those of us who'd begun our flying days in propeller-driven planes seldom going above 15,000 feet. It's a wholly different experience at 40,000 feet and higher. My favorite views from those high-flying B-52's were of Washington state's magnificent Mount Rainier, that 14,410 foot giant which dominates the region. From over 200 miles away at our cruise altitudes you can see that impressive lone peak. It's a navigation marker hard to miss.