XB-70 Valkyrie

[Mordecai_Ender]

XB-70 Valkyrie

History

The North American Aviation XB-70 Valkyrie is the prototype of the B-70 nuclear-armed, deep-penetration strategic bomber for the U.S. Air Force's Strategic Air Command. In the late 1950s North American Aviation designed the Valkyrie bomber as a large, six-engined aircraft capable of reaching Mach 3+ while flying at 70,000 feet (21,000 m).

At these speeds, it was expected that the B-70 would be almost immune to interceptor aircraft, the only effective weapon against bomber aircraft at the time. The bomber would spend only a few minutes over a particular radar station, flying out of its range before the controllers could position their fighters in a suitable location for an interception. Its high speed also made the aircraft difficult to see on the radar displays, and its high altitude flight could not be matched by any contemporary Soviet fighter.

The introduction of the first Soviet surface-to-air missiles in the late 1950s put the near-invulnerability of the B-70 in doubt. In response, the US Air Force (USAF) began flying its missions at low level, where the missile radar's line of sight was limited by local terrain. In this low-level penetration role, the B-70 offered little additional performance over the B-52 it was meant to replace. It was, however, far more expensive and had shorter range. Other alternate missions were proposed, but these were of limited scope. As the strategic role passed from bombers to intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) during the late 1950s, manned bombers were increasingly seen as obsolete.

The USAF eventually gave up fighting for its production, and the B-70 program was canceled in 1961. Development was then turned over to a research program to study the effects of long-duration high-speed flight. As such, two prototype aircraft were built, and designated XB-70A; these aircraft were used for supersonic test-flights during 1964–69. In 1966, one prototype crashed after colliding in mid-air with a smaller jet aircraft; the remaining Valkyrie bomber is in the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton, Ohio.

 

The Crash

On 8 June 1966, XB-70A No. 2 was in close formation with four other aircraft (an F-4, F-5, T-38, and F-104) for a photoshoot at the behest of General Electric, manufacturer of the engines of all five aircraft. After the completion of the photoshoot, the F-104 drifted into contact with the XB-70's right wing, flipped over and rolled inverted over the top of the Valkyrie, striking the vertical stabilizers and left wing of the bomber. The F-104 exploded, destroying the Valkyrie's rudders and damaging its left wing. With the loss of both rudders and damage to the wings, the Valkyrie entered an uncontrollable spin and crashed into the ground north of Barstow, California. NASA Chief Test Pilot Joe Walker (F-104 pilot) and Carl Cross (XB-70 co-pilot) were killed. Al White (XB-70 pilot) ejected, sustaining serious injuries, including one arm crushed by the closing clamshell-like escape crew capsule moments prior to ejection.

The USAF summary report of the accident investigation stated that, given the position of the F-104 relative to the XB-70, the F-104 pilot would not have been able to see the XB-70's wing, except by uncomfortably looking back over his left shoulder. The report said that it was likely that Walker, piloting the F-104, maintained his position by looking at the fuselage of the XB-70, forward of his position. The F-104 was estimated to be 70 ft (21 m) to the side of, and 10 ft (3 m) below, the fuselage of the XB-70. The report concluded that from that position, without appropriate sight cues, Walker was unable to properly perceive his motion relative to the Valkyrie, leading to his aircraft drifting into contact with the XB-70's wing. The accident investigation also pointed to the wake vortex off the XB-70's right wingtip as the reason for the F-104's sudden roll over and into the bomber.

 

Stats

 

XB-70 Valkyrie made of 136 parts
Weight : 23.9t        Real : 246t
Size :                         Real :                                  Size Ratio : 1/0.3

       Height : 4.6m          Height : 9.1m
       Width  :10.9m          Width  :32.0m
       Lenght :17.0m          Lenght :57.6m

Price : 39 693 √        Real : 750 000 000 $US
Maximal Flight Time : 15min (estimation with math)
Max Speed : 910.4 m/s  Real : 919.16 m/s
Maximum Range (Max thrust 13 000 m high without coming back to ksp) : 819.36 km

In Real, each side of the wings rotate to be lower. I cannot do this without Infernal Robotics Which seams to compromise the stability of the wing attached to. sry

 

Download and Images

https://kerbalx.com/Mordecai_Ender/XB-70-Valkyrie

Edited July 11, 2016 by Mordecai_Ender

[Mordecai_Ender]

Poll is closed i will not check it anymore The Northrop B-2 win at 50% i'm going to build it