Watch NBA Legend Karl Malone Take The Controls Of A B-52 Bomber In Flight

By Joseph Trevithick

Published Feb 26, 2020 2:09 PM EST

Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana hosted a meeting of two legends earlier this month. Retired NBA Hall of Famer and 14-time All-Star Karl Malone visited the base and got fly in the cockpit of one of the 2nd Bomb Wing’s venerable B-52H bombers , even taking the controls for a period.

Malone , who is a Louisana native, spent Feb. 5 and 6 at Barksdale as part of a tour and public relations event. In addition to the B-52 flight, he had a chance to meet with various Air Force personnel, offer thoughts on leadership, and even give some pointers to the base’s intramural basketball team.

Check out a bit of the Mailman’s B-52 adventure in the video below:

Malone retired from the NBA in 2005 after a 20-year career, the bulk of which was spent with the Utah Jazz. He also played a single season with the Los Angeles Lakers and represented the United States in two Olympics, including as a member of the famous “ Dream Team ” at the 1992 summer games in Barcelona, Spain. In addition to his many appearances in the All-Star game and his induction into the Hall of Fame in 2010, Malone continues to rank second in career points scored behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He also holds the records for both career free throws made and attempted.

Karl Malone at Barksdale Air Force Base in February 2020., USAF

All told, the pilots and airmen at Barksdale were undoubtedly honored and excited to meet him and maybe play a little basketball with him, but the B-52 flight seems to have been among the high points for Malone himself. “I used to come out to the base, sit outside the gate, pull over to the side of the road and watch the planes go overhead,” he said in an official interview .

“I’ve seen them from the ground and have seen them flying over,” he continued. “But to be inside a B-52 and see its capabilities, it’s surreal.”

The Air Force didn’t just drop him into the cockpit, either. Barksdale’s 2nd Operational Support Squadron helped Malone get ready for the flight, including fitting the 6-foot-9 retired power forward with the proper flight equipment. They also gave him basic training on how to get out of the aircraft or eject in case of an emergency.

Karl Malone hangs inside a parachute simulator at Barksdale Air Force Base while learning about the procedure for ejecting from a B-52 prior to his flight., USAF

During the flight, Malone wore a flight suit with a specially made name patch that included his NBA nickname, “The Mailman,” as well as red devil, reflecting the unit insignia of the 96th Bomb Squadron, “The Devil’s Own,” which is part of the 2nd Bomb Wing. He also had 96th and 343rd Bomb Squadron shoulder patches. The 343rd is an Air Force Reserve unit that is assigned to the 307th Bomb Wing, which is also based at Barksdale and aligned with the active-component 2nd Bomb Wing.

A close up of Karl Malone’s unique name patch., USAF

The official insignia of the 96th Bomb Squadron, “The Devil’s Own.”, US Army

Official pictures also show Malone standing next to a B-52 nicknamed Cajun Fear , which also has the serial number 60-0062 and may have been the bomber he flew on. The “60” in the serial number represents the fiscal year in which the Air Force purchased the aircraft, three years before Malone, who is now 56, was born.

Karl Malone stands next to a B-52, with the serial number 60-0062, nicknamed Cajun Fear., USAF

At present, the Air Force is expecting to keep flying B-52s, the last of which rolled off Boeing’s production line in 1962, at least until 2050 . The aircraft is set to receive a host of upgrades to improve its capabilities and general performance, including new radars and engines . The service also sees them as the primary platform for carrying an array of future hypersonic weapons .

In addition, the B-52s will also continue to be an important component of the aerial portion of America’s nuclear triad and are slated to carry the future stealthy Long Range Stand Off (LRSO) nuclear-armed cruise missile. The bombers are no longer certified to carry nuclear gravity bombs.

“I haven’t wiped the smile off of my face,” Malone said of his chance to fly in one of the 2nd Bomb Wing’s B-52s and his tour of Barksdale. “After spending these last two days with these Airmen, and I know it’s cliché, but I’m proud to be an American.”

Karl Malone inside the cockpit of a B-52., USAF

Contact the author: joe@thedrive.com

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作者：约瑟夫·特雷维西克

发布于美国东部时间2020年2月26日下午2:09。

本月初，路易斯安那州巴克斯代尔空军基地迎来了两位传奇人物的会面。退役的NBA名人堂成员、14次全明星球员卡尔·马龙访问了该基地，并乘坐了第二轰炸联队一架久经沙场的B-52H轰炸机，甚至还亲自操控了一段时间。

路易斯安那州人马龙于2月5日至6日到访巴克斯代尔空军基地，参加参观和公共关系活动。除了乘坐B-52轰炸机外，他还与多位空军人员会面，分享了他对领导力的看法，甚至还为基地内部篮球队提供了一些指导。

请观看下方视频，了解邮差的B-52冒险经历：

马龙在NBA征战20年后于2005年退役，他职业生涯的大部分时间都效力于犹他爵士队。他还曾在洛杉矶湖人队效力一个赛季，并代表美国队参加过两届奥运会，其中包括1992年巴塞罗那奥运会上著名的“梦之队”。除了多次入选全明星赛以及2010年入选名人堂之外，马龙的生涯总得分至今仍位列历史第二，仅次于卡里姆·阿卜杜尔-贾巴尔。他还保持着NBA生涯罚球命中数和罚球出手数的纪录。

2020年2月，卡尔·马龙在巴克斯代尔空军基地。（美国空军）

总而言之，巴克斯代尔空军基地的飞行员和空勤人员无疑都感到荣幸和兴奋，能够见到他，或许还能和他一起打打篮球。但对马龙本人来说，乘坐B-52轰炸机飞行似乎是他人生中的高光时刻之一。“我以前经常来基地，坐在大门外，把车停在路边，看着飞机从头顶飞过，”他在一次正式采访中说道。

“我从地面上见过它们，也看过它们飞过，”他继续说道，“但能置身于B-52轰炸机内，亲眼目睹它的性能，真是令人难以置信。”

空军并非只是把他直接扔进驾驶舱。巴克斯代尔空军基地的第二作战支援中队帮助马龙做好飞行准备，包括为这位身高6英尺9英寸的退役前锋配备合适的飞行装备。他们还对他进行了如何在紧急情况下离开飞机或弹射逃生的基本训练。

卡尔·马龙在巴克斯代尔空军基地的跳伞模拟器中学习从B-52轰炸机上弹射逃生的程序，为即将到来的飞行做准备。（美国空军）

飞行途中，马龙身穿飞行服，上面缝有特制的姓名臂章，包括他的NBA绰号“邮差”（The Mailman）以及红色魔鬼图案，这代表他所在的第96轰炸机中队“魔鬼之子”（The Devil's Own）的队徽，该中队隶属于第二轰炸机联队。他还佩戴了第96和第343轰炸机中队的肩章。第343轰炸机中队是空军预备役部队，隶属于同样驻扎在巴克斯代尔空军基地的第307轰炸机联队，该联队与现役的第2轰炸机联队协同作战。

卡尔·马龙独特的姓名臂章特写，美国空军

美国陆军第96轰炸机中队“魔鬼之子”的官方徽章

官方照片还显示，马龙站在一架绰号为“卡真恐惧”（Cajun Fear）的B-52轰炸机旁，这架飞机的序列号也是60-0062，很可能就是他曾驾驶过的那架轰炸机。序列号中的“60”代表空军购买这架飞机的财政年度，也就是马龙出生前三年，而现年56岁的马龙当时还未出生。

卡尔·马龙站在一架B-52轰炸机旁，这架飞机的序列号为60-0062，绰号“卡真恐惧”（Cajun Fear），隶属美国空军。

目前，美国空军预计B-52轰炸机至少会服役到2050年，该机型最后一架于1962年从波音公司的生产线下线。为了提升其性能和整体表现，该机型将进行一系列升级，包括更换新型雷达和发动机。空军还将B-52视为未来多种高超音速武器的主要运载平台。

此外，B-52轰炸机仍将是美国核三位一体空中力量的重要组成部分，并计划携带未来的隐形远程防区外（LRSO）核巡航导弹。这些轰炸机已不再具备携带核重力炸弹的资质。

“我脸上一直挂着笑容，”马龙谈到他有机会乘坐第二轰炸联队的B-52轰炸机以及参观巴克斯代尔空军基地时说道。“和这些空军官兵一起度过了这两天，我知道这话听起来很老套，但我为自己身为美国人而感到自豪。”

卡尔·马龙在B-52轰炸机的驾驶舱内，美国空军

联系作者：joe@thedrive.com

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