The B-2 Spirit takes the shape of a flying wing, serving as a strategic bomber. Its streamlined and efficient design makes it nearly undetectable by enemy radar. Despite being one of the most sophisticated weapons in America's arsenal, its journey to deployment was nearly jeopardized. Jack Northrop, an aviation legend, conceived the idea of the Flying Wing, turning his inspiration into an all-consuming obsession. When persistent design issues led the military to discard his prototype as scrap metal, Jack Northrop retired, deeply disheartened. Nevertheless, the vision of the Flying Wing that he passionately pursued persists. Featuring a striking black wedge shape spanning 172 feet from wingtip to wingtip, the B-2 Spirit resembles a futuristic bird of prey more than any other human-made object in the sky. It boasts an impressive payload capacity of 40,000 pounds, capable of carrying conventional or nuclear weapons to any target worldwide. Its unique ability to attack with pinpoint accuracy while maintaining near invisibility to enemy radar sets it apart. This revolutionary aircraft stands as the latest addition to a lineage of U.S. nuclear intercontinental bombers dating back to the Cold War's inception in the late 1940s. The B-36 Peacemaker, the initial and largest among these planes, was chosen for production over the direct predecessor of the B-2, the YB-49. The narrative of these two aircraft, one colossal and conventional, the other sleek and a flying wing, is steeped in competition, controversy, dreams, and disappointments, reflecting the vision of a pioneering aviator who envisioned the flying wing as the shape of the future. The visionary figure was none other than Jack Northrop. Jack Northrop firmly believed in the principle that if something is both efficient and beautiful, it is right. This philosophy infused a sense of velocity into every aircraft he designed. Commencing his career at Lockheed in 1919, Jack Northrop's passion for creating the perfect airplane led him through pivotal roles at Douglas, Boeing, and eventually, his own company. His peers respected him and considered him one of the design geniuses of American aviation. Donald Douglas mentioned that there's a little bit of Jack Northrup in every American airplane that's been designed. When you walk around the United States Air Force Museum, you see the little influences of Northrup. You can actually see the imprint of the man's work. We have an A-17, and his name is just stamped all over this aircraft. It's a gorgeous airplane to begin with, and it shows a certain degree of sophistication that some of the other designers weren't quite there yet. One of Northrop's groundbreaking contributions to aircraft design was the introduction of the all-metal monocoque fuselage. This innovation eliminated the need for drag-inducing wing supports like struts and wires. We have in our collection a Northrop Alpha, and it was the first monocoque aircraft built by Northrop. It was very unique. It was used for carrying passengers like an airliner and then later on when they called a CAB, CAA said that we needed a multi-engine aircraft for airliners, it was relegated to carrying the mail. All metal monocoque structured airplane, very well built. In the 1920s, Northrop Company played a pivotal role in designing the Spirit of St. Louis for Charles Lindbergh. Additionally, they crafted the first all-metal low-wing fighters for both the Navy and Army Air Corps. Northrop's influence extended to the design of the Lockheed Vega, a highly successful aircraft flown by aviation pioneers Wiley Post and Amelia Earhart in the 1930s. The profits from this venture fueled his ambition to pursue a project he had dreamed of since adolescence, the flying wing. The flying wing concept, ingrained in nature itself, is a timeless design observed in various forms, from birds and sea animals to wind-borne seeds. Some aviation pioneers of the early 20th century were inspired by these examples, designing flying machines that attempted to emulate the wing-like aerodynamic shapes they observed in the natural world. Jack Northrop's fascination with the shapes of nature was deeply rooted in his upbringing in Santa Barbara, California. Observing the graceful soaring of seagulls above the local beaches inspired him to delve into the study of flight. During this time, he began sketching airplane designs, predominantly centered around one large wing. Aligned with the ideas of his predecessors, Northrop envisioned that such an aircraft, characterized by a prominent wing, could be significantly lighter and more efficient than traditional designs. However the early wing design encountered challenges related to control and stability. Undeterred, Jack Northrop remained enthralled by the potential advantages of the flying wing. From the outset of his career, he committed himself to addressing the drawbacks associated with wing-only designs. He worked for Lockheed and Douglas before he founded his own company and of course at lunchtime the engineers would get together and have a little bowl session and they all kind of agreed that the flying wing was the ultimate design. After conducting experiments with the gliders, Northrop in 1929 reached a milestone by testing a powered prototype of a flying wing. Due to the uncertainties surrounding the aerodynamic stability of a pure flying wing, this design incorporated some features reminiscent of a conventional aircraft. It did have twin tail booms with a conventional tail in the back. He was trying to get the best lift coefficients on the wing roots and airfoils and he learned a lot from that. In the fall of 1939, when Germany invaded Poland, Northrop formed his own company, Northrop Aircraft, and began producing new aircraft and bombers for the US and its allies. Simultaneously, Jack Northrop embarked on drafting plans for an innovative flying wing, envisioning a design where all control surfaces, including the rudders, were integrated into the trailing edge. This revolutionary approach aimed to eliminate the traditional tail, resulting in a pure flying wing. By the summer of 1940, Jack Northrup and his design team initiated test flights for the groundbreaking prototype, the N1M, conducted on the deserted dry lake bed known as Muroc Army Airfield, just north of Los Angeles. Similar to Northrup's 1929 wing, the N1M prototype faced challenges. It was very underpowered. When they flew it out of Hawthorne, they wanted to move it to Edwards, which was Muroc. At that time, they towed it over the hill with a DC-3. It didn't have the power to get over the hills. It was the first successful wing. I don't know for what period of time they flew it, but it's now in the Smithsonian. Despite the installation of a more suitable engine, the aircraft underwent 200 test flights at Maroc. Throughout this period, Northrop tirelessly sought solutions to the inherent stability issues prevalent in tail-less aircraft designs. The quest for an optimal solution to control the phenomenon known as yaw presented the most formidable challenge. Yaw is your left and right, where the airplane tends to yaw about its vertical axis. On a conventional airplane, this is controlled by rudder. On a winged vehicle, you have to have some device that creates a drag at the wing tip to control or create yaw. In 1941, General Hap Arnold, the commander of the U.S. Army Air Corps, took the notice of Northrop's N1M. Arnold, actively searching for a new bomber capable of reaching Germany from the United States, recognized the strategic importance of such an aircraft. Although the United States had not yet declared war against Germany and Japan, the escalating concerns about Nazi Germany's successful air campaign against Britain raised the possibility of the Allies lacking secure air bases in Europe. In 1941 it is obvious that the British were in serious trouble and they may fall. Leaving just the United States to stand against Nazi Germany and the Axis powers. The Army Air Corps started looking for a super long-range bomber to be able to strike targets in Europe from continental United States. The Army Air Corps issued a request for designs specifically seeking a high-altitude bomber capable of carrying 10,000 pounds of bombs to its target and returning home, covering a total distance of 10,000 miles. Impressed by what he observed during a visit to Northrop to further develop his flying wing bomber, the N1M. It offered the possibility of ultra-long range. The flying wing was becoming more and more recognized as advanced. The aerodynamic aspects of it were quite evident, and the long range because of the low drag induced by the aircraft itself. Plus, we had to start thinking very progressively. We couldn't think of just a regular aircraft to get across the continental United States or across the North Atlantic or anywhere in the world. Just two weeks later, on December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, propelling America into a global war. In this tumultuous period, Jack Northrup's dream of seeing the Flying Wing enter large-scale production seemed on the brink of realization. The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor prompted the United States to declare war against the Axis powers and injected a renewed sense of urgency into the development of Jack Northrup's Flying Wing super-bomber, the B-35. To hasten the testing of the design, the Army allocated funds for the construction of experimental prototype versions, which were one-third the size of the B-35, reflecting the nation's determination to expedite the development of advanced aircraft during this critical time in history. Looking like something out of a Buck Rogers matinee, these aircraft, with the designation N9M, first took flight in December 1942. The fully restored N9MB, currently the sole flying example, occasionally graces the skies near its home at the Plains of Fame Museum in Chino, California. The wingspan of the B-35 was 179 feet. This is roughly 60 feet. That's one-third scale, same airfoil, same sweep, same dihedral, just scaled one-third. The thrust centerline of the two engines replicates the centerline thrust of the four-inch on the B-35, and the thrust to weight ratio is roughly the same. Among its numerous innovations, the Northrop M9M holds the distinction of being the first aircraft equipped with hydraulically boosted flight controls. The wing itself featured groundbreaking control surfaces, with Northrop ingeniously combining the functions of the aileron and elevator into a single component called an elevon. This is your primary pitch and roll control. That is, if they both go up and down, you get a pitch input, and if they're differential, you get a roll input. It's where you bank. Out here is the rudder, which is a drag device. It splits, it creates a drag on the wingtip. Normal airplane has a rudder at the back of the airplane, if you recall, on a fuselage or directional turns and so forth. So he had to basically invent how he would actually steer or fly the airplane. To address the absence of a traditional tail, the N9M's design incorporated elevons, creating a distinctive flying experience for its pilots. This uniqueness remains evident in today's aviation landscape. It flies very well once you get used to it. Not difficult, just different. It's very meaningful to fly this. Certainly it would be to anybody that would have that opportunity. It's a very historic airplane and once you see it fly, you understand why. However, concurrently with Jack Northrup's endeavors in developing the flying wing bomber, a formidable competitor was also taking shape, the Convair B-36. It was developed by a group of engineers, including Robert Widmer. I got involved with the B-36 in order to run the first wind tunnel test, subsonic wind tunnel test, which was to be run at MIT. And I was asked to run that program." The B-36 emerged in response to the same Army Air Corps requirement for a bomber with the 10,000 mile range and 10,000 pound payload. However, it stood in stark contrast to Jack Northrup's vision of beauty and efficiency embodied in the flying wing. In essence, the B-36 adopted a completely conventional design, diverging sharply from Northrup's aesthetic preferences. Its distinguishing feature was its sheer size, an unparalleled enormity in the history of aviation. The B-36 boasted a wingspan of 230 feet, surpassing the Wright brothers' inaugural flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, by over 100 feet. The aircraft was going to be so large, they had to save weight any way they could. So it meant using new tanks to hold new types of gases to be used for fire extinguishing on the engine. Something as simple as that sounding takes quite a bit of effort. You have to have new engines willing to pull this aircraft or push it, as it turns out, for two days essentially on a mission and not stop. This colossal aircraft overshadowed Northrop's B-35 design in every aspect, notably in the range and payload. Despite its impressive dimensions, the B-36 faced developmental challenges of its own. Consequently, the Army Air Corps chose to persist with Northrop's flying wing, recognizing its potential. Case one failed, the other was there, and when you're talking about national survival, having a second option, even if it's expensive, the treasure needs to be spent to save the blood of the Republic later, and that's what they were doing, so it gave a fallback option. As Jack Northrup continued refining his work on the B-35 bomber, he simultaneously delved deeper into exploring the possibilities and capabilities inherent in the flying wing concept. Northrup also designed several flying wing fighters. I'm thinking of the X- P-79V Flying Ram, powered by Quinn Westinghouse turbojets, and it was a rather unique aircraft and unfortunately the war ended, they didn't do much with it. Northrop also built the MX-334 rocket wing fighter, America's first rocket-powered airplane, and the piston-powered XP-56 Black Bullet. Despite their promise, both the Flying Wing Bomber and the B-36 encountered substantial development issues and never transitioned into full-scale production. In 1944, as focus shifted towards the larger and more heavily payloaded B-36, the Army reconsidered the future of the B-35. Rather than pursuing its role as a heavy bomber, the Army envisioned the B-35 as a potential experimental medium-range bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. The urgency for such craft diminished with the non-occurrence of the potential crisis that had initially spurred the development of the Flying Wing Bomber and the B-36, the fall of Britain. The heavy bomber role within the US Air Force was, in the meantime, fulfilled by a series of other aircraft such as the B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-24 Liberator, and the B-29 Superfortress, none of which were connected to Jack Northrup. In August 1945, one of the war's concluding acts saw the B-29 named Enola Gay piloted by Colonel Paul W. Tibbets dropping the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Three days later, another B-29 targeted Nagasaki with a second atomic bomb. These events underscored the immense power wielded by bomber aircraft in the nuclear role. With the distant Soviet Union emerging as America's likely adversary in the post-war era, the urgent need for a new long-range heavy payload bomber became more apparent than ever. What the atomic bomb does for air power is for the first time aviators can do what they say they can do. They can take out a strategic target because now they don't have to send a thousand planes across to do one job and go back. Now one aircraft, one bomb can take out an entire industrial complex or an entire city if it's necessary to do so. The geopolitical landscape and advent of nuclear capabilities elevated the importance of advanced bomber aircraft for strategic purposes. Partly for this reason, development efforts on Jack Northrup's B-35 as a potential long-range nuclear bomber continued. In June 1946, almost a year after the war's end, Northrup's B-35 finally took flight. Measuring an impressive 172 feet from wingtip to wingtip, the B-35 was equipped with four robust 12,000 horsepower piston engines, each driving a pair of counter-rotating pusher propellers. The aircraft's nine-man crew included three gunners responsible for defending the plane with.50 caliber machine guns and remotely controlled barbettes. Despite the aircraft's futuristic appearance, the wing design presented challenges for Jack Northrup. Jack Northrup had just a run of bad luck. The first aircraft crashed before he could draw the technical data that he needed from that aircraft. So he had to proceed with the second prototype. Without the necessary information that he would have garnered from the first one, which put the aircraft at a great disadvantage. While he had successfully overcome various design obstacles, finding a viable solution to the problem of yawing proved elusive. The B-35 also grappled with issues such as overheating engines and gear shift vibration. Faced with these challenges, Northrop decided to integrate a new technology into the wing, turbojets. By this time, turbojets had become the preferred propulsion method for all new military aircraft. Experimental versions of the wings were outfitted with eight turbojet engines, leading to its redesignation as the YB-49. The introduction of jet propulsion brought a transformative improvement in performance, swiftly resolving developmental problems like gearshaft vibration. Some test pilots even reported that the wings exhibited flight characteristics more reminiscent of a fighter than a traditional bomber, highlighting the positive impact of the shift to jet technology. At Northrop's suggestion, test pilot Robert Cardenas demonstrated the wing's speed by undertaking a cross-country flight. At an official speed record from Edwards all the way back to Andrews Air Force Base, showed it off to President Truman, and Truman went through the airplane and saw it flying. He thought we ought to buy some of these. The transition to larger jet engines on the YB-49 posed significant challenges, as it reduced the wing's bomb capability precisely when a much larger payload and range, akin to that of a B-36, were needed to transport the massive and heavy atomic bombs in use at the time all the way to the Soviet Union. Furthermore, Jack Northrup's wings still grappled with serious stability issues. On June 5, 1948, during a series of stall tests on the YB-49, Danny Forbes and Major Glenn Edwards were at the controls. The night before, Edwards had expressed optimism about the wing's progress, noting its impressive performance despite numerous test flights and extensive flying hours. However, he acknowledged that the stability remained a significant problem, adding, but the plane goes like hell. Tragically, during the tests that day, the pilot lost control of the aircraft, resulting in a crash and fire that claimed the lives of all five crew members. In honor of Major Glenn Edwards, the base at Maroc was renamed Edwards Air Force Base when the US Air Force was officially established as a separate military branch. This renaming commemorated the sacrifice of those involved in advancing aviation and aeronautical innovation. Fearing that his beloved flying wing was doomed as a military project because of high-profile failures like the Glenn Edwards crash, Jack Northrop launched a publicity campaign promoting the flying wing as the airliner of tomorrow. Now a preview of the flying wing transport of tomorrow. The mid section provides ample room for 80 passengers. Graciousness keynotes the luxurious main lounge extending 53 feet inside the wing. And future air travelers will really see something. Through the plexiglass windows of the front wing edge, passengers have an unimpaired view of the earth unrolling thousands of feet below. Coast-to-coast flights in four hours may not be too far away." Despite earnest efforts, no civilian air service expressed interest in the flying wing, leading to the U.S. Air Force's decision to cancel Northrop's contract in 1948. Instead, they opted to proceed with the Convair B-36. The cancellation of the flying wing project remains a contentious decision, with accusations of political bias favoring Convair mingling with the concerns about issues with the YV-49. Critics argued that political considerations played a role in the decision-making process, but undeniable were the significant stability problems inherent in the Flying Wing design. Many viewed the YV-49 as unstable both as a bombing platform and a long-range reconnaissance aircraft. It was understood by the Air Force at the time, even when they canceled the program, had great potentials, but not quite now. Maybe someday in the future. For Jack Northrup, the most devastating blow came when the Air Force ordered the destruction of all existing flying wings, melting them down into aluminum ingots. It was devastating. Come in and see strangers come in and cut up your product right in front of your employees. It was a really disheartening course. This experience deeply disturbed Northrop, prompting him to leave his company and take an early retirement, completely withdrawn from the aviation industry. In the race to be armed and ready for the Cold War, the B-36 emerged victorious over the flying wing. For the next decade, the B-36's colossal presence dominated the skies, serving as the backbone for America's nuclear arsenal. On December 7, 1948, exactly seven years after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, a giant silver bird with six pusher-type props departed from Carswell Air Force Base, Texas. Over the Pacific, near Hawaii, it opened its bomb bay doors and dropped a payload of 10,000 pounds of dummy bombs into the ocean, symbolizing the era of strategic air power during the Cold War. This airplane was the Convair B-36, and it had demonstrated, among other things, that it was a true intercontinental bomber capable of striking at almost any target in the world. The B-36 embarked on a long and challenging journey, marked by disappointments, delays, and intense controversy from its inception on the drawing board to its eventual operational status. It was a disaster. We needed to change the wing and I knew we had to change the control surfaces. We had to put a different kind of fan on because it's a pusher engine to cool the things on the ground statically when it's not moving. The whole airplane had to be totally redesigned here. And we did that. One pivotal element in the final decision to proceed with the troubled project was the escalating tensions of the Cold War. Air Force Secretary Stuart Symington, recognizing the B-36 as the sole bomber capable of reaching targets inside the Soviet Union, played a crucial role in the program's continuation. The Strategic Air Command, or SAC, led by General Curtis LeMay, emerged as the primary custodian of U.S. nuclear weapons, and the B-36 became the cornerstone of U.S. Cold War strategy. It was the main part of Strategic Air Command. It was General Curtis E. LeMay's big stick. We flew everywhere, made lots of noise. Of course, there was a big battle going on, whether you should get aircraft carriers or you should get B-36s. And at that time, the B-36 won. The logistical challenge of finding a sufficiently large facility to assemble the colossal B-36 was formidable. You have four sites to build this monster. It's huge. You need a big hangar to put it in, to build it in. So where do you build it? You have to go to Fort Worth. Well, they just happen to have a large enough facility, and it's all enclosed so people can't peek in the windows. The mile-long facility in Fort Worth, Texas, originally constructed for assembling B-24 bombers during World War II, stood as the only building on the planet spacious enough to accommodate the gigantic B-36. In the air, the B-36, often referred to as the Big Stick, boasted an extraordinary fuel capacity, enabling it to remain airborne for two days, far surpassing any other bomber in history. Additionally, it was the sole aircraft capable of carrying the exceptionally large and heavy nuclear weapons in the US arsenal at the time. People often ask, why did the B-36 have to be so large? Well, it had to carry a lot of fuel to fly long range, but it also had to have a massive bomb bay to carry the large thermonuclear weapons like on either side of the bomb bay. These are massive monsters and it requires a massive bomb bay to carry them. With four bomb bays, each with a capacity of three freight cars, the B-36 could carry a maximum payload of 84,000 pounds, exceeding the gross weight of the B-29. The B-36 thus represented a formidable and unprecedented force during this critical period of Cold War military strategy. One of the biggest problems was building the frame to build the aircraft. They finally brought in a bridge builder, and he designed what we called a K-type frame that actually was a basic strength holding the fuselage together. Designing adequate landing gear for the 210-ton plane also posed unique problems. When it was first designed, the B-36 wheel was the largest aircraft tire in existence in the United States at the time. This had problems. First, the weight of the wheel itself. It could push through any concrete runway at the time, except for a very few within the United States, the planners came up with a four-wheel design, like on a B-36 that you'll see over here. This aircraft had four wheels. First, it lowers the risk if one tire goes out, the plane won't crash on takeoff or landing. Also, by spreading the weight out over four tires, it increased the number of runways that the B-36 could operate with. The original design of the B-36 featured six 28-cylinder 4,360 cubic inch turbo-supercharged radial engines, each rated at 3,500 horsepower. However, reaching the promised service ceiling of 40,000 feet posed a formidable challenge, and the top speed of the bomber barely reached 230 miles an hour. Critics raised concerns about the B-36's vulnerability to enemy fighters, particularly the new Soviet MiG-15. The slow-flying bomber was considered by some as a sitting duck, leading to accusations of being a billion-dollar boondoggle. In 1950, congressional hearings were held, sparkling a scandal known as the B-36 affair. Both Convair and the U.S. Air Force underwent an investigation. The controversy further intensified as part of the heated debate between the Air Force and the Navy over which service should control the U.S. nuclear mission in 1951. Efforts to address some of the B-36's issues led to modifications in the form of adding a pair of J-47 turbojet engines under each wing, employing the slogan, four burning and six turning. This modification significantly improved the Big Stick's performance, boosting its top speed to over 400 miles an hour and nearly doubling its rate of climb. With these enhancements, the modified B-36 could operate at higher altitudes than most fighters in the thin atmosphere at those elevations, offering an improved and more formidable version of the aircraft. Some F-100s challenged us, and they were pretty braggadocio about how their airplanes could fly compared to this old, not the metal here. Four of them came in on us. We do a sharp turn. The guys that turned with us all stalled out and Went down a little bit and didn't get us The B-36 featured retractable remotely fired turrets with 20 millimeter cannons located at the top, bottom, front and rear of the aircraft Establishing it as the more heavily defended bomber in existence We were quite well protected if we had fighters coming in on us we could put a good screen of lead out there. A distinctive and unique feature of the B-36 was the pressurized tube light passageway, serving as a walkway to move between the front of the airplane and the crew compartment in the rear. The tube was an 80-foot tube from the forward pressurized compartment to the aft pressurized compartment, and it had a little cart like one of these carts you would lie on working underneath a car. And you would get in there and grab a cable in there and then go to the aft compartment. There were doors on both ends so that if one compartment depressurized you wouldn't be shot out like a cannon. Despite its ongoing controversies surrounding the giant bomber, the Convair B-36 effectively fulfilled its role as a deterrent to nuclear war from 1949 to 1959. At the very time when the American people are most nervous, all of a sudden you have this massive, huge, comforting aircraft that gives the American people a sense of security that allowed us to think things through more clearly, come to rational decisions. So it's a security blanket for the American people, as well as a deterrent to the Soviets. In 1959, after a decade of service, the B-36 was replaced by the new jet-powered B-52 Stratofortress, another colossal conventional aircraft design. With Jack Northrop in retirement and no other flying wings in development, it seemed like the aeronautical world had moved beyond his dream. It would take nearly 30 years before an aircraft with a strangely familiar shape returned like a boomerang to replace the B-52, the B-2 During the test flights of Jack Northrop's Flying Wing Bomber, one of the surprising outcomes was the difficulty Air Force personnel encountered in trying to track the plane on radar, showcasing the aircraft's advanced stealth capabilities. The B-2, inheriting the legacy of the Flying Wing, would go on to redefine strategic bomber capabilities with its stealth technology. The most important reason for this was its shape. The elegance and economy of the wing's design meant that it had fewer surfaces to reflect a radar signal back to an enemy receiver than a conventional aircraft. The characteristics of the flying wing, particularly its difficulty to detect on radar, foreshadowed the development of stealth technology. The advantage of using stealth technology is that you can use this one aircraft to fly in and you can deliver a position-guided weapon at your leisure. You don't have to worry nearly as much about enemy air defenses, they have to worry about you instead. The quest for stealth technology emerged almost immediately after the introduction of radar during World War II. As radar became a ubiquitous element of warfare, efforts were initiated to find ways to deceive it. Early attempts involved jamming German radar with clouds of tinfoil strips, codenamed WINDOW, which proved highly successful. However, little progress was made in the realm of making aircraft themselves less detectable. The inadvertent success of the Flying Wing in evading radar detection laid the foundation for the deliberate incorporation of stealth technology in subsequent aircraft. The SR-71 and the B-1 bomber were among the first US aircraft to purposefully integrate stealth technology, although it was still in its early stages of development. Interestingly, the advantages in stealth demonstrated by the flying wings seemed to be overlooked following the cancellation of the program. It wasn't until the 1970s, with the Soviet air defense network becoming more formidable, that research on stealth design gained renewed impetus. Operating in secrecy, designers developed several prototypes, ultimately leading to the creation of the F-117 reflects radar signals away from enemy receivers, making a significant leap forward in the evolution of stealth technology. The Flying Wing's early contributions to radar evasion became a critical foundation for the advancements that would follow in the realm of stealth aircraft design. But other scientists at Northrop Aircraft, working on an unrelated project in the early 1960s, had determined that the ideal shape for a stealth plane was actually far different than the angular form of the F-117. We had a small group of what we called phenomenologists at the time, they were basically physicists, and very bright young people with a wide open mind, who became curious about why is it that we can see things on radar? Is there a way of having a shaping that would make it difficult to see? They came up with these shapes and we were startled and pleased because lo and behold the shape they came up with was exactly the shape of a flying wing. In the early 1970s, top secret development commenced on what would eventually become the B-2 Flying Wing Stealth Bomber. flying wing stealth bomber designed to serve as America's next generation nuclear transcontinental heavy bomber. Essentially it needed to be number one stealthy for future technologies and future enemy radar systems. It needed to have a large payload capacity. Thirdly, it needed to be precise. Lastly, it needed long-range intercontinental. Similar to the challenges faced by the YB-49 and B-36, overcoming technological problems was just one aspect of the difficulties encountered during the development of the stealth bomber. Initiated during President Carter's administration, the B-2 project faced cancellation in the early days of President Reagan's first term, only to later be revived. Despite controversy, significant technical challenges, and substantial cost overruns, the development of the aircraft persisted. In the spring of 1980, an ailing and wheelchair-bound Jack Northrop visited the Northrop plant, where he was shown models for the future B-2 bomber. Notably, the B-2 was planned to have a wingspan of 172 feet, identical to Northrop's B-35 and YB-49. Touched by the experience, Northrop, who had less than a year to live, expressed, Now I know why God has kept me alive the last twenty-five years. Eight years later, on November 22, 1988, the first B2 Spirit was unveiled at the Northrop Site 4 facility in Palmdale, California. During the event, as the doors opened, Northrop president and CEO Thomas Jones made a spontaneous announcement, marking a significant milestone in the realization of Jack Northrup's enduring vision. I was standing there and obviously you get overcome by things and you see this beautiful airplane come out and you see this great crowd of people and so on and you said Jack Northrup, we salute you, which we all said. The development of computer-assisted fly-by-wire flight controls, which were already being used by the F-117 and other advanced military aircraft, meant that the stability problems which had plagued Northrop's flying wing were no longer an issue in the stealth bomber. The yaw developed as an inherent trait with the flying wing. What allows us to solve that problem now is the flight control computers are so fast that they're able to make the flight controls move fast enough that it stops that yawing from occurring. Conventional airplanes early on you physically would pull on the control stick and it would move a series of cables and bellows and pulleys to make it all work. What Fly-by-Wire now does for us is allows the pilot to move the stick and now computers take care of all that mechanical control and it sends a computer signal out just like calling on a telephone. The aerodynamic efficiency inherent in Northrop's flying wing design paid dividends in the B-2 by allowing its engines to operate at lower power settings, contributing to a quieter operation of the aircraft. Notably, the grandson of the pilot who flew Enola Gay on the world's first nuclear mission is one of the pilots of these remarkable aircraft. When you look at it, you don't really see any engines. You see a couple of small intake holes on the front, a couple of small exhaust holes on the back, and that's about it. All of that works together to help reduce the signature and make the airplane more stealthy. Another key factor in the B-2's stealth compatibilities lies in the use of graphite composite material which effectively absorbs radar energy. Maintaining a completely smooth surface on the airplane is also crucial in achieving optimal stealth characteristics. With this aircraft I'd be more careful not to scratch the paint, any surfaces, flight control surfaces. If I bump this scratch with a stand, I'm allowed to do anywhere from 30 to 40 hours worth of damage on a small scratch. With that paint missing, it's allowed to get the radar absorbed and possibly point your position out to whoever's trying to track you. These qualities collectively contribute to the B-2's remarkable success in the realm of stealth, providing it with the radar reflectivity equivalent to that of a basketball. Despite the challenges faced during its journey to production, the B-2 bomber had become the cornerstone of America's nuclear bomber force. However, its initial deployment and combat did not involve a centerpiece role in an atomic superpower showdown, but rather in a more conventional foreign conflict. In the early morning hours of March 24, 1999, two B-2 stealth bombers took off from their base at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, marking a significant moment in the operational history of the B-2 in a more conventional military context. They crossed the North American continent, then the Atlantic, en route to targeted facilities in the former Yugoslavia. I was going into my first mission and I had stealthed up when the controller came back to me. He said, I've lost you on radar. And I tell you, that was just like a warm, fuzzy, reassuring feeling. Gave me a goose pimples like, hey, this actually does work. Approaching their targets with precision, the B-2 stealth bombers utilized their launch and leave capabilities during this crisis in Kosovo, successfully deploying 32,000-pound satellite-guided smart bombs. These smart bombs were designed to land within 30 feet of their programmed coordinates, showcasing the B-2's accuracy in delivering payloads. When my weapons bay doors opened and the weapons started coming out. Those 2,000 pounders coming out just shuddered the airplane. Boom. Boom. That's when the reality of what we actually were doing really hit pretty hard. And we started to see surface-to-air missiles being shot. It started just sinking in that, hey, this is for real. After dropping their bombs, the bombers returned to Whiteman Air Force Base approximately 31 hours after takeoff. Notably, the B-2s executed their missions in a manner that often left the enemy unaware of their presence overhead. A highlight of the stealth bomber's weaponry during the Kosovo crisis was the deployment of the Joint Direct Attack Munitions. JDAM transformed unguided bombs into highly precise weapons, contributing to the success of the B-2 in the 78-day air campaign. We strapped on a tail kit. It has fins that move, and these GPS satellites, the Global Positioning System, feeds it current information, updating it all the time, all the way down until it strikes a target. Throughout the campaign, B-2 Spirits flew 49 missions, with all aircraft and their crews performing flawlessly, marking an impressive combat debut for the Flying Wing Stealth Bomber. 49 for 49 on-town takeoffs, done with only six aircraft at the time, that's all we had here on this base. That's an amazing feat, to be able to keep that ops tempo at such a high level. Aircraft were talking to each other, coming and going, into targets. That's a unique concept of warfare that this nation or the world has never seen, where you have warriors taking off, going into combat, and returning home after a 30-hour mission, walking home into the house and, and, honey, what'd you do today? The 30-hour missions were exhausting, but the B-2 crew tried to find a way to stay occupied during the long flight. 15 hours on the way out are broken up by a couple of air refuelings every four hours or so. And then you do your bombing and then you come back home, same thing. So what we try to do is maximize the amount of downtime to relax, to study our targets, anything we can to keep our bodies as fresh as we can during the sortie. Despite the successes in Kosovo, the B-2's substantial cost had remained a focal point of controversy. Originally planned as a fleet of 132 stealth bombers, the program was scaled down significantly, resulting in a total force of only 21 B-2 is a vital part of a trio of long-range multipurpose bombers that also includes the B-1 and the venerable B-52. We've got some weapons upgrades coming along the line. We've just been certified with the joint standoff weapon, starting into the cruise missile concept. So the B-2 could actually, if it has to, fight its way into a target area by launching cruise missiles and then delivering the JDAM, Joint Direct Attack Munition, which is extremely accurate. With the B-2, you can go out, you can fly long distances, you can destroy targets within tens and sometimes ones of feet with precision weapons through any kind of weather that's out there. So if no one else can fly that night because the target area is socked in, it becomes the mighty B-2 with its precision-guided weapons. It doesn't need any assistance. It comes in, delivers its weapons, and goes back home. That's why you need the B-2. With our stealth capability, it allows us to be first in and create holes in the defensive environment that the conventional airplanes can now use to strike effectively. The B-2 is capable of getting in a first strike and basically putting the lights out. The B-2 is definitely a long-term aircraft. The design is proven, the concept behind the design will last for a very long time and its airframe again is just a very simple design that is so effective. The B-2, proven in combat with its advanced stealth technology and versatility as both a nuclear deterrent and a multi-purpose bomber, is likely to remain a key element of the US global military strategy for decades to come. When you see the B-2 fly over and give you that profile of the flying wing, it is a stylish aircraft. It just shows efficiency mixed with style. I think the legacy of Northrop is to point the way to the future so that engineers today and in the future can look at what this man did and can move forward and take the United States into new technological realms in aviation. However, despite the extraordinary success of the B-2, Jack Northrop's dream of fulfilling the skies with graceful flying wings has not yet been fully realized. Various challenges, including the expense and complexity of the computerized control systems needed for the flight stability, continue to impede the broader commercial acceptance of the flying wing concept. Nevertheless, as futuristic wing-like designs are once again being developed around the world, there is still a possibility that Jack Northrup's version of the flying wing, or very much like it, could still represent the shape of things to come in aviation. A large crowd gathered on New Year's Day in Mancala. They had come to see some new fangled invention called a Kleinbusch. The pilot landed right on the lawn, Potter Hotel in Santa Barbara. The young man in the crowd was so moved by the sight, he decided to make aviation with life. He became one of the most prolific designers in history, with over 50 planes to his credit. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, I had aviation deeply in my heart when the Lockheed built it, came to Santa Barbara and started flying there. The one thing I could do was go down to Fayetteville to get a job. Well, I had a little experience as a garage mechanic and I had worked for a year as a draftsman for an architect and I worked for my father who was in the building but it must have started qualified me to design airplanes. You can understand that. I designed quite a little of the airplane, considerable amount of it, calculated wing stretches and so forth with this excellent background and they never came off. The draft interrupted Jack's aviation career and he returned furloughed back to Lockheed and had the engineering for planes needed for the war effort. Jack began designing a plane Lockheed thought would keep him in the aviation business after the war. He sat on the beach studying seagulls, trying to figure out how they could land so slower. And soon saw how they tilted their wing, nearly vertical, just before landing. He designed the bottom wings to rotate, so pilots would slow for landing. And went a step farther. Jack made the wing so they'd load them. Now the owner could tow it to the nearest cow pasture for flight. But Lockheed operation in Santa Barbara folded for lack of business and finances, I went to Santa Monica, 1923, to work for DUDS. So the morning I was supposed to report there, I went in with ruin-trembling my knees, knocking together, I can assure you. And the first job they gave me was the designing of the fairing on this particular airplane. And so I didn't know a doggone thing about putting a fairing on a A-52-5 airplane and I was absolutely petrified. And along came noon and I managed to gobble lunch in this lazy toilet and I went home. Next morning I approached the job again, not knowing whether I was going to last through the morning or not, but fortunately somebody off the boom started on the fairing and I got a job designing aluminum gas tanks. And this I knew how to do it early in the world. The gas tank worked for the famous World War I. The first planes to circle the globe. Jack followed with designs for an observation plane for the army, a torpedo aircraft for the navy, and a passenger plane for the airline. Also used as a cargo plane and the first aerial refueler. A male of a western airline, Mack, which was stored and flown back to the Pentagon. I've heard that scene Ludberg had seen ads in the Yiddish magazine, I mean, like a little bottle with all the F1. The very first airplane was overweight, as airplanes are sometimes. I looked at Northrop, so I asked him if he could do a little moonlighting. He said, well, I find that Jack will bring in for quite a few weeks, he'll fill in all the settings, he'll redesign the wing, and make a much better airplane that really performed then. And that's exactly that exact same wing stretched out with the wing that they were on, the spread thing. The planes Jack was working on at Douglas were quite conventional. He wanted to design more efficient aircraft. I had a little drafting board at home and in the latter part of 1926, I laid out a nice clean little highway and a monoplane design. Jack showed the plans to Alan Lockheed. The whole objective was to build as clean an airplane as we could possibly conceive in those days. The average airplane had struts or wires or fuselage forms that weren't as smooth or streamlined, as low drag as possible, and it was pretty obvious, it seemed to me, that a full cantilever wing neatly paired to the fuselage would take less power to do their job than some other type. With just the three dudes they were able to raise the money to found the present Lockheed Company in 1927. Jack's Vega carried two of the child's radiation things. Wiley Pose flew his Vega solo around the world, and then in a manned-from-Mars suit, climbed to a record 55,000 feet. Amelia Earhart flew her Vega solo across the Atlantic, then solo across the Pacific. Amelia's little red wagon, Wiley's Winnie Mae, were both proudly displayed in the Smithsonian. The Vega was efficient, but Jack wanted to do even better. He founded his own company in 1928. in 1948. I wanted basically to build an airplane where there was nothing left to wait and where everything was coated in a cloth and it's electric and there was every function that was necessary in a week. Well, Mr. Galandi, this plane is quite a little different than those you've been used to flying. Wings are all metal and the heading hasn't been left with stone and that's so that a person can walk all over them almost anywhere. Well, all right Eddie, if you're all set, let's go. Bye Eddie. Bye. When designing its flying wing, Jack developed a new method of constructing all-metal airplane. It proved to be a quantum leap in strength for aviation. The Great Depression was beginning. Jack had to put aside his flying wing and concentrate on conventional airplanes. The first real airplane we built in the company in 1930 was called the Market Alpha. And this was built, a complete thing, like a fuselage and tail surface, which is a monocoque their position of their monococcal or in the central structure. These airplanes were used that could pioneer all weather or mag climb. On an early test flight one crashed. A steamroller was working nearby. Jack asked the driver to crush the remaining wing so it could be hauled away. The wing wasn't even bent. We had a story about one of the early airmail pilots who was forced into a restricted field and had to grumble very, very violently, and he bent the wing up at about 45 degrees. And they sent a crew out from Kansas City where the plane was based, bent the wing down with some block and tackle, and flew it back in for a while permanently." The depression deepened. Jack Soles of Bonitaville Boeing went back to work for Donald Douglas, but his Alpha had become a standard. TWA requested Procogle for an all-metal airliner, far superior to the Northrop Alpha. The outer wing panel shall be denotable from the center wing by means of a continuous flange bolt joint, similar to that used on the Northrop Alpha. The Duke-Along 71 became the DSB-3, was copied by every airframe builder in the world. The Alfa had revolutionized the entire aviational history only a few years. TWA recently restored one of their Alfa. It hanged in the Smithsonian next to the DC-3. Jack refined his desire. A Beta, a 200 mile per hour private plane in 1933. Then the record-breaking GAMA. like the fall. I flew at 80,000 fold. TWA converted a Gamma to an over-the-weather flying laboratory. Tommy Tomlinson's research made possible the pressurized comfort we have on airliners today. Jack began modifying the Gamma for combat. Ferb is the basic design for many World War II fighters. Jack wanted to return to his flying wing. He left Douglas, formed his own company again in 1939, President Norfolk Corporation. He sketched his ideas for completely eliminating the tail, and designed the N1M, Northrop mock-up number one. It is being restored by the Smithsonian. A plane of unusual interest is demonstrated at Rosamond Dry Lake in the Mojave Desert. It is the latest model of the Northrop Flying Wing. Developed from designs originated by Mr. Northrop in 1923, this flashlight plane is devised to use all its surface for useful lift. The elimination of non-lift elements such as tail and fuselage is what does the trick. The Northrop Corporation estimates that general application of this principle would result in speed increased up to 100 miles an hour with no extra power. And it is thought that this design will make construction 30 to 40 percent cheaper. It may revolutionize airplane engineering. This plane is a steel and is very strong and robust plane. And in the 30s, the landing speed was between 150 and 30 knots. The speed range was about 200 miles to 850. We've been in trouble with the conflict for about two hours now. We're in a position where the only way to stop the blast is to stop the blast directly. The bomb will explode in a minute, but start the plane, and we'll have to get a response for this to work. Norway needed a plane to defend herself. Jack quickly designed a patrol bomber. The employees responded. Working around the clock, they delivered the in-brief EB in a record nine months. Don't you join the war? The The army wanted a plane designed specifically for night fighting. Jack responded, Evil's the war, and who knows where we're gonna have no last day. But it's not. First Intercontinental Creep met all of its guidance systems, so it's a charge for the Caribbean that be redrawn back exactly. The F-89 Scorpion was designed by Jack, a chief engineer. The most lethal plane of its era. The country's most important need was for a long-range bomber. Jack proposed a giant flying wing. The propeller powered B-35 was an impressive airplane. Able to lift an amazing 140% of its weight in useful payload, unmatched until the debut of the 747 20 years later. Jack also flies wing as an airliner. Now a preview of the flying wing transport of tomorrow. The midsection provides ample room for 80 passengers. The cargo wing... Graciousness keynotes the luxurious main lounge extending 53 feet inside the wing. And future air travelers will really see something. Through the plexiglass windows of the front wing edge, passengers have an unimpaired view of the earth unrolling thousands of feet below. Coast-to-coast flights in four hours may not be too far away. The dorsal tip of the plane provides an excellent vantage point to see the world go by. Plugged as bugs in their magic carpet, air travelers can look down on near-earthlings as the double quartet of mighty turbojets whistle them through space. The fleet sail of Ionison carries more cargo farther, faster, and with less fuel than any comparable plane. And the bar will raise the spirits of those who don't feel high enough in the stratosphere. The flying wing has the stability of a fine fluff. The public quickly accepts all the miracles that science provides. Even skyliners like this will become commonplace, but the giant flying wing is more than a super streamlined airplane it is the fulfillment of scientific vision and Symbolizes the practical dreams of science for our world of tomorrow The wings were converted to the newly developed jet engine to 1947 and became even more efficient Losing it over 500 miles per hour. They could easily out distance enemy fighters and even outmaneuver them. But politicians got involved in the final selection process. Although the wing was far superior to the competition, it was cancelled in 1949. Then in one of the most controversial political decisions ever, all wings were ordered cut out for scrap. But the concept was not destroyed. Today Boeing and others are furiously investigating the flying wing because of its lifting power and fuel efficiency. When equipped with today's powerful engine the flying wing can lift an unbeatable 210% of its weight and carry the same payload as a conventional airplane at over 600 miles per hour, but consume only 70% as much fuel. Jack's determination to design the most efficient airplane in the world reduced his mass needs. So, What about back across the years? Is there anything that sticks out in your mind you say, by golly that was fun. Well I have to go back to the day in the office of Don Douglas where four or five of the engineering department worked there and Doug had gone east to try to get an order for a number of additional airplanes and we all were waiting there with our fingers crossed. Doug had a telegram and he said, all engineers go except Mankey and Northrop, and that was most satisfying. Aviation, the art of aeronautics, began with the dreamers, inventors and daredevils who dared to defy gravity. The journey of aviation was nurtured by pioneers like the Wright brothers, whose first flight marked a historic milestone. The role of aircrafts in world wars was groundbreaking, dramatically changing warfare strategies. This initiated a technological evolution in aviation, transforming the simplistic wings of a biplane into the thunderous roar of jet engines. Let's journey through the ages of aviation. Behind every great aircraft, there were great minds. These visionaries, like Sir Frank Whittle, the innovator of the turbojet engine, redefined air travel. Then there's Skunk Works' Kelly Johnson, the genius behind the SR-71 Blackbird. His designs combined speed, stealth and power, crafting machines that dominated the heavens. The contributions of these pioneers have left an indelible mark on the canvas of aviation, shaping the course of history and inspiring generations of engineers and aviators. Each epoch in aviation history gave birth to extraordinary aircrafts, each with their own unique features and roles. The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was a marvel of speed and stealth. The F-105 Thunderchief, a long-range fighter, was critical in World War II. The P-47 Thunderbolt, a heavyweight fighter, was used extensively in the same war. The A-10 Thunderbolt II, the Warthog, is a close air support icon. The Messerschmitt ME-262 marked a leap forward in aviation technology. Each of these game changers were instrumental in their eras and their legacies still resonate today. Beyond the game changers, there are those that have transcended their practical roles to become icons. The Concorde was not just an aircraft, it was a supersonic symbol of luxury and speed. The B-52 Stratofortress, a strategic bomber, is an icon of power and resilience. These magnificent machines and others like them have become much more than just aircrafts. They are enduring icons that encapsulate the audacious spirit, the relentless innovation and the boundless ambition that define the world of aviation. For more amazing aerial footage and to join us in this incredible journey, check out the Dronescapes YouTube channel. If you enjoyed this video, please remember to like and subscribe. And as always, thank you for watching. So, you
