B-70 supersonic bomber

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Winston

Lorenzo von Matterhorn
Joined
Jan 31, 2009
Messages
9,560
Reaction score
1,748
Artist's conception of two programs cancelled after significant development - B-70 supersonic bombers with GAM-87 Skybolt standoff missiles externally carried.

1275600_10200161650519038_751097175_o.jpg


GAM-87 Skybolt
Aerojet General two-stage solid-fuel rocket
Operational range - 1,150 miles (1,850 km)
Flight ceiling - >300 miles (480 km)
Speed - 9,500 miles per hour (15,300 km/h)
W59 thermonuclear warhead - 1MT (550 pounds (250 kg)- a yield-to-weight ratio of 4 kiloton per kilogram - same warhead used on Minuteman I)

skybolt-image02.jpg


History of the GAM-87 SKYBOLT Air-to-Surface Ballistic Missile

https://www.docdroid.net/aVV9wzP/history-of-the-gam-87-skybolt-missile.pdf

[video=youtube;0Z0RJFJaoAY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z0RJFJaoAY[/video]

[video=youtube;qzAWfFJqaQc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzAWfFJqaQc[/video]

XB-70 in USAF Museum:

160519-F-IO108-002.JPG


360 degree cockpit view:

https://www.nmusafvirtualtour.com/cockpits/RD_tour/RD-9.html

https://www.nmusafvirtualtour.com/cockpits/RD_tour/RD-10.html

360 degree Electronic Equipment Compartment view:

https://www.nmusafvirtualtour.com/cockpits/RD_tour/RD-11.html
 
The XB-70 is one of my wife's favorite airplanes at the AF Museum. Those silver (aluminized wheels???) are very interesting.
 
The XB-70 is one of my wife's favorite airplanes at the AF Museum. Those silver (aluminized wheels???) are very interesting.
Me, too. When I was there, one could walk under it. It's now in what looks like a different hangar, but from the image above it looks like they still allow anyone to walk under it (no ducking required even under the lowest part, the engine nacelles). It was in a hangar when I saw it, then it was apparently displayed outside for a while, and is now back inside in what looks like a different hangar. The aluminized tires:

XB-70 Tires

https://up-ship.com/blog/?p=33422

Dscf4098.jpg


Dscf4102.jpg


Dscf4097.jpg


Three excellent USAF Museum flickr pages:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rocbolt/sets/72157631351292122

https://www.flickr.com/groups/afmuseum/pool/page2

https://www.flickr.com/photos/15586866@N07/sets/72157612636442565/
 
Yes yes yes! The XB-70 Valkyrie was a beautiful bird.
I found an 1:180 scale plastic model that I just had to PMC convert into a 6- MMX-II Micro Maxx flying model. Being the heavy beast she is, it only gets about 20feet altitude but flies very nicely on 6 - MMX-II motors.

337_MM XB-70 Valkyrie 180th Micro Cluster PMC_09-10-07.jpg

337Lp01a2_6x MMX Cluster Valkyrie almost apogee_09-22-07.jpg
 
I built a semi-scale Skybolt for 13mm motors a while back. Great flyer!

I would like to do a larger, more accurate version, but documentation has been hard to find so far.

IMG_20170610_103909.jpgIMG_20170610_105338.jpgIMG_20170612_084813.jpg
 
Me, too. When I was there, one could walk under it. It's now in what looks like a different hangar, but from the image above it looks like they still allow anyone to walk under it (no ducking required even under the lowest part, the engine nacelles). It was in a hangar when I saw it, then it was apparently displayed outside for a while, and is now back inside in what looks like a different hangar. The aluminized tires:

The museum built a fourth hangar and moved the XB-70 to the main museum. I am a little embarrassed to admit that I haven't really been through the museum since the new building opened.

The XB-70 was stored inside a hangar that was actually part of the Air Force base, but it was getting very difficult to get there with the elevated security. The hangar used to have paintings of Orville and Wilbur Wright on them, but they got painted over years ago. I thought the paintings looked more like Stalin and Lenin than the Wright Brothers.
 
The museum built a fourth hangar and moved the XB-70 to the main museum. I am a little embarrassed to admit that I haven't really been through the museum since the new building opened.

The XB-70 was stored inside a hangar that was actually part of the Air Force base, but it was getting very difficult to get there with the elevated security. The hangar used to have paintings of Orville and Wilbur Wright on them, but they got painted over years ago. I thought the paintings looked more like Stalin and Lenin than the Wright Brothers.
The only reason I managed to visit it years ago was because I was at Wright-Patterson AFB for official business. I should visit it again along with Air & Space in DC which I also visited at around the same time. At that time, I was MUCH more impressed with the USAF Museum than Air & Space.
 
Great stuff there. I've been under/around that Valkyrie several times - I did my PhD work during the summers at the Avionics Lab at WPAFB 1989-1991, and that museum was my oyster.

When I was a teen I built a boost glider from plans by Bruce Blackistone called the "Disaster 17-B Valkyrie," patterned after the XB-70. Painted it metallic silver. Plans are here https://plans.rocketshoppe.com/narts/sp104.pdf Flew it a bunch of times - it was a sweet bird. One day it flew away, never to be seen again :(
 
Me, too. When I was there, one could walk under it. It's now in what looks like a different hangar, but from the image above it looks like they still allow anyone to walk under it (no ducking required even under the lowest part, the engine nacelles). It was in a hangar when I saw it, then it was apparently displayed outside for a while, and is now back inside in what looks like a different hangar. The aluminized tires:

XB-70 Tires

https://up-ship.com/blog/?p=33422

Dscf4098.jpg


Dscf4102.jpg


Dscf4097.jpg


Three excellent USAF Museum flickr pages:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rocbolt/sets/72157631351292122

https://www.flickr.com/groups/afmuseum/pool/page2

https://www.flickr.com/photos/15586866@N07/sets/72157612636442565/


That plaque plainly says sr71 tires not XB70!!. What gives??
 
Back
Top