Four Northrop Flying Wing prototypes were built in the 1940's but only one of them, N9MB (Niner Mike Bravo) was flying seventy years later. This new film (June 2024) is of the one-of-a-kind 9MB as seen in 2010 at the "Wings Over Camarillo" airshow.
Jack Northrop had a radical plan to build the most efficient aircraft possible by eliminating tails and fuselages and leaving nothing but wings. Tails provide critical stability, but they also create drag, and drag is the enemy of speed, range and efficiency. But without tails, stability and control were major challenges waiting for new developments to overcome the issues. 9MB was one of the original testbeds of the new flying wing technology.
Tails and fuselages also reflect radar, so eliminating these was essential in making stealth aircraft. Though 9MB was not specifically designed for stealth, the control lessons learned with 9MB were applied to the tailless stealth fighters and bombers that followed decades later. 9MB is considered to be one of the grandfathers of the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber and F-117 Nighthawk Stealth Fighter.
Flying Wing 9MB was in storage for decades until it was acquired from the Air Force at the Chino Planes of Fame Museum, where restoration began in 1982. It was returned to flying condition by 1994 and later demonstrated at airshows such as Wings Over Camarillo.
On April 22, 2019, Niner Mike Bravo was destroyed in a crash shortly after takeoff and the pilot, David Vopat, was killed. The reason for the crash is unknown.
From its inception in the 1940s on, Niner Mike Bravo remains a symbol of the boundless possibilities of flight and the enduring quest to push the boundaries of what is possible in the skies.
#aviation #flying #northopflyingwing #avgeek #wingsovercamarillo #chinoplanesoffame #stealthbomber #experimentalaircraft #n9mb #northrop #northropyb49 #northropyb35 #aviationhistory #DanGimpelFilms
Негізгі бет Flying Wing N9MB - Granddad of the Stealths
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