Convair’s B-58 Hustler is the sleekest, sexiest bomber to emerge from the Cold War era. While the aircraft never saw combat, its high performance was an effective deterrent to the Soviet threat. A delta-wing design with four under wing engines, this aircraft’s imposing appearance had as much effect on the design of American cars through the 1960’s, which sprouted fins with alarming regularity as an homage to the coming of the jet age. The Hustler was very sophisticated for it's time and was the fastest strategic bomber on the planet. Contrary to popular belief the Hustler was relatively straight forward to fly so long as it was flown within it's limits.
It entered service in 1960, and served just ten years, with the last aircraft being mothballed in 1970. Five short years later, all stored B-58 Hustlers were sold for scrap, marking the end the line for a short-lived but glorious part of USAF history.
Models and Textures
6 unique models and 10 texture sets
B-58A, “Super Sue”, 6592nd TS, Edwards AFB
B-58A, 59-2053, “Flying 2”, 305th BW, 2nd AF
B-58A, 59-2453, “Top Cat”, 43rd BW, Little Rock AFB
B-58A, 59-2429, "The Pulaski Hustler", 43rd BW, Little Rock AFB
B-58A, 55-0665, “Snoopy” Missile Testbed
B-58A, 55-662, ARDC, Edwards AFB
B-58A, Project Bullseye (official, but never used Southeast Asia camouflage over black scheme)
TB-58A, 55-0660, 'A' model converted to Trainer
TB-58A, 55-0670, Prototype
XB-58A, 55-0660, Prototype B-58
XB-58A, 58-5660, Prototype Old Grand Pappy
Features
FSX Native models
Soundset included
Detailed virtual cockpit with night lighting, animations and smooth 3D modelled gauges
bank angle indices in the Virtual Cockpit
Communications panel pop up
Fuel Management including CoG and fuel dump
Animated crew entry hatches (shift-e, 1, 2, 3)
Multiple Pod configurations, Air Launched Ballistic Missile (ALBM) test bed, J93 Engine Test Bed
Animated braking chute on Alpha and Beta values
Animated engine turbines
Animated engine nozzle petals
Automatic control surfaces droop after engine shutdown
Automatic moving intake spikes (Mach 1.42+)
Automatic afterburner flames, smoke effect and vapour (when below 2,000 feet)
High detail undercarriage with realistic retraction sequence
Realistic reflective hi-res bare-metal textures with bump, specular and reflectivity maps
DX10 Preview mode compatible
Highly authentic flight model with illustrated checklist
OK this is a really obscure or at least relatively unknown aircraft. You might have to be a weirdo Cold War era collector like me to be truly interested. I had to have it in my virtual museum. Flying the Hustler is odd. The afterburners kick in after only about 25% throttle setting and get stronger as you slide throttle up. It burns fuel at an alarming rate and is hard to keep it at a cruise of around 300kias. That also means that slowing this beast is a nightmare. No spoilers to aid with shredding off airspeed especially on descent.
How much of this is realistic I have no idea. But I’m pretty sure the afterburners shouldn’t engage at such low power settings.
But, it’s an interesting plane that is a challenge to fly and especially land properly.
The VC is pretty low rez and while it matches photos hardly anything is clickable. Like an old Virtavia or AlphaSim freeware but slightly better. The key thing here is having a keen interest in the era of this type. If so then there is some fun to be had. But after only a couple flights I already feel like I’ve exhausted my curiosity or desire to stick with it. Maybe? I’m still glad I own this monster.
Fantastic release from Glowingheat! It's a beautiful package and works flawlessly in P3Dv4.5. Search for addons on SOH and you'll find many high quality repaints and some other treats to leading to hours of fuel guzzling satisfaction!
Hello ! Flying this delta isn't very different from other deltas (F 102, F 106, Vulcan, mirage, a.s.o.).In fact, you discover why it was withdrawn from service so early . It does fly at Mach 2 but if you maintain this speed you'll find yourself at the controls of a glider ! Sure it can't go very far at high speed,kerosene-guzzler could be its nickname ! The Glowingheat model is rather good and I wish we could fly the TB 58 version from the instructor's seat. Bye !