habu2 Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 September 21, 1964, XB-70 #1 (62-0001) made its maiden flight from North American's Palmdale plant with Al White and Joe Cotton at the controls. Hard to believe this was half a century ago... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JB2013 Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 It still is an awesome bomber. :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Check Six Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 It still is an awesome bomber. I totally agree. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ForestFan Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 Superb, great feat of engineering Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jinxter13 Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 (edited) Imagine something of that size outrunning an average fighter, only an SR-71/YF-12 could stay with it or a Foxbat for a bit. A bomber doing Mach 3+.....yeah..I've got him locked uhhhh...nevermind. From the intakes forward reminds me of a cobra with its hood spread. Edited September 22, 2014 by #1 Greywolf Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sledge Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Was it this one or the other that was lost in that midair? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
admiralcag Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Was it this one or the other that was lost in that midair? The other one was lost. This one is at the Air Force Museum. An absolutely huge plane. Had to have an A stand on top of a B stand on top of a C stand to access the cockpit! Vern Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Air-Craft Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Operational or not, the XB-70 was definitely a high point in aviation achievement. Happy birthday XB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
majortomski Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Thanks for making me feel old this morning. There was a statistic out there somewhere that the B-70 held the record for being the fastest, most expensive and heaviest airplane of all time all at the same time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted September 22, 2014 Author Share Posted September 22, 2014 (edited) I took these photos of #1 at WPAFB in the late '80s right after the plane had been (re)painted. It was sitting behind a fence, past the row of parked aircraft in front of the museum, all by itself. The first photo was taken from the top of a maintenance scaffold that was erected next to the tail of a B-52D at the end of the row. Now that the plane is stored in a hangar such shots are impossible to get. . . . . Edited September 22, 2014 by habu2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ranger74 Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 I was at Edwards AFB when the XB-70 first arrived. I was an 11 year old Air Force brat at that time living on the base. I was actually able to kick the tires of one of the XB-70s during an air show. Later, when my Dad was stationed at Wright-Pat, the surviving XB-70 was towed from one side of the base to the other to go into the Air Force Museum. Still one of my favorite aircraft. Jeff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grey Ghost 531 Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 It's really too bad that #2 wasn't available for test flights, it was a much more capable airframe than #1, more stable, automatic engine inlet controls and a large amount of new, more advanced instrumentation. Sigh. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ElectroSoldier Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 I think the XB-70 is my all time top what if bomber. The whole thing is immense, a total leviathan even by big bomber standards and then there is the wing thing. The idea of surfing your own super sonic shockwave is just crazy and brilliant at the same time. I wonder what did happen on that fateful flight . . . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted September 22, 2014 Author Share Posted September 22, 2014 The AMT kit is languishing in my stash, I hear it is a putty magnet... :( Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HOLMES Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 September 21, 1964, XB-70 #1 (62-0001) made its maiden flight from North American's Palmdale plant with Al White and Joe Cotton at the controls. Hard to believe this was half a century ago... HAPPY BIRTHDAY.... :wub: :wub: How cool is that.... { and I share MY Birthday with this sleek super sonic aircraft } Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Check Six Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 I was at Edwards AFB when the XB-70 first arrived. I was an 11 year old Air Force brat at that time living on the base. I was actually able to kick the tires of one of the XB-70s during an air show. Later, when my Dad was stationed at Wright-Pat, the surviving XB-70 was towed from one side of the base to the other to go into the Air Force Museum. Still one of my favorite aircraft. Jeff No way; That is cool to experience aviation history as it unfolds ! As a Navy brat I was able to watch (On a weekly basis) these brand new 'weird' a/c practice taking off vertically, rotate in place, and land from a hover at NAS Norfolk way back in '71-'72. Of course they were the AV-8A Harriers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dnl42 Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Just saw the Lindberg 1/172(?) kit at the LHS today. Guess they timed their re-release for this? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alternative 4 Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Anyone see it fly? How noisy was it? It looks like it would make ones ears bleed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flankerman Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 One interesting fact I read about the XB-70....... The folding wing tips were the largest moving aerodynamic surfaces ever fitted to a flying machine. That record was beaten (and is still held) by the swing wings on the Tu-160 Blackjack. Just my two penn'orth... Ken Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted September 23, 2014 Author Share Posted September 23, 2014 The folding wing tips were the largest moving aerodynamic surfaces ever fitted to a flying machine. They were roughly the same size as the wing of a B-58. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted September 23, 2014 Author Share Posted September 23, 2014 Anyone see it fly? Very few people outside of Edwards would have ever seen it. Other than the initial flight of each jet from the Palmdale factory to Edwards AFB, XB-70s only flew to other locations twice - once to an airshow at Carswell AFB in Ft Worth TX, the other was the final flight of #1 to WPAFB when it was retired to the museum. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scott R Wilson Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 (edited) Danged iPhone posted before I typed the reply, sorry Edited September 23, 2014 by Scott R Wilson Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scott R Wilson Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 I saw the XB-70A-2 fly. My father was stationed at Carswell. I was in school when it arrived but my father was out on the road that paralleled the south end of the runway and got 8mm film of the XB-70 flying a pass high overhead, then he filmed a low approach and beginning of the go-around before he ran out of film. I remember walking around the Valkrie while it was on static display. The airshow was several days long, and on the last day the XB-70 was supposed to leave right away at the end of the show. My family went to the same road beside the runway to watch it take off. The takeoff was delayed and my little brothers started whining from boredom so despite my protestations we went home. Not long after we got home we heard a loud jet, I think it was much louder than the B-58s and B-52s we normally heard but it 's been a few years. My dad grabbed his camera and filmed the XB-70 and a B-58 off in the distance flying in formation for the few seconds we could see them. This doesn't answer the question of how loud it was, but I was only six or seven years old, and memories fade. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
11bee Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 A beautiful, technological marvel, instantly made obsolete by a $500,000 SA-2 missile. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jager Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 (edited) I was at Edwards AFB when the XB-70 first arrived. I was an 11 year old Air Force brat at that time living on the base. I was actually able to kick the tires of one of the XB-70s during an air show. Later, when my Dad was stationed at Wright-Pat, the surviving XB-70 was towed from one side of the base to the other to go into the Air Force Museum. Still one of my favorite aircraft. Jeff We too were at Edwards during that era. I was 12-13 years old. We lived in Lancaster and Dad made the drive to base each day. I remember the air show that had 2 XB70s and 1 SR71 and 1YF12 on display. Had my picture taken by the NLG on the XB70. Years later at the AF museum, I duplicated the picture. Funny thing, I got older and it stayed the same. I remember going up and looking into the cockpit of the SR71. Granted many of the instruments had covers over them, I still thought it was cool. I remember the sound when the SR71 would fly. My dad was involved with the Test Pilot training School(later the astronaut training school, now test pilot training school)doing biomedical research with the pilots. Chuck Yeager was the school's commander at the time and Dad and he and our family socialized frequently. Edwards had so much going on at that time. I liked it when Rockedyne was testing rocket motors at night. The ground would quake and there was a 'sunrise' to the east of us at home. It was truly a sad day when the XB70 accident happened. We had a special service at our church and was the first time in my young life I experienced grief as the men and families were part of my church and were in my confirmation class. That was a good place to be if you were into aircraft. As a side note, at school (Jr. High School), Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band played at a 'sock hop'. They had a special guest. Frank Zappa. jager Edited September 24, 2014 by jager Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.