( CNN ) For the first time , the U.S. Air Force has resurrected a B-52 bomber that had been in long-term storage at the Boneyard , the portion of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base near Tucson , Arizona , where the military sends aircraft that have been retired from the fleet . The 53-year-old Stratofortress , tail number 61-1007 , nicknamed the `` Ghost Rider '' had been in storage at the desert in the care of the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group ( AMARG ) since 2008 . Thousands of aircraft are stored at the Boneyard , where the dry desert environment helps preserve them . Some are scavenged to supply parts to planes still in the fleet . Others are brought back into service . Ghost Rider , after upgrades , will become the first B-52 to return to duty from the Boneyard . Though the dry desert air inhibits corrosion , the baking heat can have other adverse effects , including causing dry rot in the tires and fuel lines . The lines and fuel bladders in Ghost Rider were completely replaced , Tech . Sgt . Stephen Sorge , a fuels specialist from the 307th Maintenance Squadron , said in an Air Force report on the project . Once that work was done , the plane 's engines were tested again in January . On February 13 , Ghost Rider flew again , a three-hour flight from Davis-Monthan to its new home , Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport , Louisiana . The resurrection process took 70 days , according to the Air Force report . `` I 've been flying the B-52s since the '80s and it surprised me that after almost seven years ... she cranked up just fine and we had no issues with the flight control systems , '' Col. Keith Schultz said in the Air Force report after piloting the eight-engine jet on the 1,000-mile flight . Schultz , who with more than 6,500 hours flying B-52s is the most experienced active pilot of that aircraft in the service , led a co-pilot and a navigator , the minimum three-person crew , on the flight to Louisiana . The B-52 would normally fly with a crew of five . `` Those were the only three seats we had activated for egress , '' he told the Shreveport Times . For safety reasons , Ghost Rider made the entire flight with its landing gear down , at a speed of only 288 mph and at a height of 23,000 feet , well below its top speed of 650 mph and ceiling of 50,000 feet , according to the Times report . It also flew without some of the other things aviators have come to rely on . `` We were fortunate to have had good weather the entire trip as the inertial and navigational equipment had not been installed , '' Schulz said in the Air Force release . Ghost Rider will replace another bomber at Barksdale that was damaged by a fire during maintenance . `` We had an oxygen leak with a spark and it caused a cockpit fire . There was so much damage it was actually more economical to bring this one out of the desert , '' Schultz told the Times . For a time , Ghost Rider will sit beside the damaged B-52 for transfer of usable , updated equipment , the Times reported . It is expected to resume active service next year . As of May 2014 , the Air Force reported there were 76 Stratofortresses in its fleet , 58 in the active force and 18 in the Air Force Reserve . Besides Barksdale , B-52s are based at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota .
U.S. Air Force resurrects B-52 Stratofortress for return to service . The 53-year-old Stratofortress , retired in 2008 , is nicknamed the `` Ghost Rider '' `` After almost seven years ... she cranked up just fine , '' pilot says .