XB70 Valkyrie

[Gixxerman]

I had a look around this part of the site and was surprised this amazing plane has not cropped up here yet.

For my money the Valkyrie, like the Concorde, was one of the most beautiful and striking jets ever to take to the skies.
She was an incredible performer too with a speed of mach 3 at around 78,000ft.
It's hard to believe this is all from around 50yrs ago (1st flight 1964 but obviously design stretching back to the late 1950's).

I recommend the book 'XB-70 Valkyrie: The Ride to Valhalla' by Remak Ventolo for those wanting a deeper look into her.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Whats up with the cat?

 

[Gixxerman]

Whats up with the cat?

Not sure what you mean Chief.....?

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

The 3rd picture is a picture of a cat.

To be exact, this one...

 

[Gixxerman]

LMAO, now that is funny......I promise, when I previewed my post saw it here 1st it was a Valkyrie.

I shall fix.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

About 100 miles to the north east of Los Angeles, the crash site of 002 can still be accessed.

Crash of XB-70 Valkyrie #002 in memory of NASA Test Pilot Joe Walker and Air Force Maj. Carl Cross

 

[Gixxerman]

Thanks for that FLYBOYJ, interesting new site for me.......and all for a PR shoot, of all things, such a tragic waste.

 

[Messy1]

It was a remarkable aircraft. Sad that it did not have a more enduring legacy.

 

[syscom3]

Look at the 2nd picture. There's a P51 on the tarmac. Another fine product built by NAA.

 

[Gixxerman]

Look at the 2nd picture. There's a P51 on the tarmac. Another fine product built by NAA.

3rd pic, surely?

But yes absolutely NAA have a heck of a lot of fine aircraft in their stable and the B1 would be another beauty to my eyes at least.
I always liked the look of the 'companion' mach 3 fighter plane, the F108 Rapier too....

and you can certainly see the family roots in the US Navy's A-5 Vigelante (and maybe a couple of Russian aircraft from the time too?).
Here's somethng I didn't know, the A-5 Vigelante was initially designed with twin vertical tail surfaces, how's that for the XB-70's lineage showing!

 

[evangilder]

I was at Wright Patterson to see the final landing of the Valkyrie when they brought it there for the museum. What a sight, and sound! I will have to dig through the photos I have at home to add to this.

 

[Messy1]

Please do Evan! Awesome!

 

[vikingBerserker]

Eric, that would be fricken awesome! (btw, I'm officially jealous of you!)

 

[evangilder]

For the record, these are not my photos. I was just barely three years old when the final landing took place. That was the first step on my journey into all things aviation. When they built the current AF Museum, the Valkyrie sat outside for a long time. Thankfully now it is in a hangar.

This is a small sample of the 140 photos I have of the XB-70. Through some of my sources, I was able to get some amazing photos, including the whole photo series of the midair and crash, all the way to the ground impact. I won't post those as I don't think it is appropriate. I will post a few more with some additional facts in the next couple of posts. One thing that I thought was really cool is that for long test flights, the chase aircraft was the B-58 Hustler because of the speed and range. When you see them side by side, you really get an idea of how huge the Valkyrie is.

Notice the first shot is a rare photo of BOTH Valkyries!

 

[evangilder]

You might have noticed the paint in the second photo. Many things were learned about high speed aircraft during that testing. One thing they discovered is that a thick layer of paint was not going to stay on the aircraft, as you can see. What ended up working was a single thin coat of paint. Here is one of the results of a paint job gone bad. Multiple thick coats on the airframe that soon departed at speed! I was happy to get these photos, although I am not sure the engineers who worked on the project are happy that these got out at all. It looks terrible. But it was a lesson learned for later and one that didn't cause any loss of aircraft or personnel, so while it looks bad, it was merely superficial.

 

[Gixxerman]

Ha ha.
Great pics Evangilder, I've seen those paint-stripper pics before, I always wondered just how narked the paintshop boys would have been?

 

[Gnomey]

Great shots Eric! She really is a beautiful aircraft.

 

[vikingBerserker]

I need a cigarette.........

 

[wheelsup_cavu]

Cool pictures of an amazing plane.


Wheels

 

[T Bolt]

I remember the first time I saw the Valkyrie. I was just out of collage, at the Air Force Museum for the first time. I was wondering around in daze caused by the sight of all those aircraft, taking pictures, and realized that where I was standing was a lot darker than the surrounding hanger. I looked up to see I was standing under the Valkyrie's engines and hadn't realized it. What an unbelievable aircraft!