Bill's Aviation Log

North American XB-70 Valkyrie. The futuristic XB-70A was originally conceived in the 1950s as a high-altitude, nuclear strike bomber that could fly at Mach 3 (three times the speed of sound) -- any potential enemy would have been unable to defend against such a bomber.

By the early 1960s, however, new Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAMs) threatened the survivability of high-speed, high-altitude bombers. Less costly, nuclear-armed ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles) were also entering service. As a result, in 1961, the expensive B-70 bomber program was canceled before any Valkyries had been completed or flown.

Even so, the USAF bought two XB-70As to test aerodynamics, propulsion and other characteristics of large supersonic aircraft. The first XB-70A, on display here, flew in September 1964, and it achieved Mach 3 flight in October 1965. The second Valkyrie first flew in July 1965, but in June 1966, it was destroyed following an accidental mid-air collision. The third Valkyrie was not completed.

The first XB-70A airplane continued to fly and generate valuable test data in the research program until it came to the museum in 1969.

Look at those six massive engines! This jet could go Mach 3.

The X-1B was one of a series of rocket-powered experimental airplanes designed to investigate supersonic flight problems. The X-1B’s flight research primarily related to aerodynamic heating and the use of small “reaction” rockets for directional control.

The X-1B made its first powered flight in October 1954. A few months later, the U.S. Air Force transferred the X-1B to the NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics), predecessor to NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), which conducted the heating and control tests. The X-1B tests played an important role in developing the control systems for the later X-15.

On test missions, the X-1B was carried under a "mother" airplane and released between 25,000-35,000 feet. After release, the rocket engine fired under full throttle for less than five minutes. After all fuel (an alcohol-water mixture) and liquid oxygen had been consumed, the pilot glided the airplane to earth for a landing.

The X-1B made its last flight in January 1958, and it was transferred to the museum a year later.

The X-1B was a later variant of the famous XS-1 in which Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier on 14 October 1947 and now hangs in the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. Scott Crossfield achieving Mach 2.005 on 20 November 1953 in a X-1A.

Checking out the Martin Marietta LGM-118A Peacekeeper, better known as the "MX". The building of 50 MXs was quite controversial back in the 1980s as I recall. But 20 years later they would be gone, with the end of the Cold War.

The Peacekeeper served as the U.S. Air Force’s most powerful, accurate and technologically advanced Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) deterrent from 1986 to 2005. Conceived to replace the Minuteman ICBMs, its development began in the early 1970s under the name “Missile, Experimental,” or MX. Later, it received the official name “Peacekeeper,” and the first test flight took place in 1983 at Vandenberg AFB, Calif. It became operational in 1986, when 10 missiles were deployed at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo. By 1988, the USAF had 50 missiles in service there.

Whether to base the missile inside a stationary, hardened silos or on mobile railways to keep the Soviets guessing at the missiles’ true location was a major issue during Peacekeeper's development. Funding problems and competing ideas about the wisdom of each basing solution delayed Peacekeeper production and deployment. Eventually, the USAF decided to place all LGM-118As into hardened, underground silos previously used by Minuteman ICBMs. Many contractors worked on the Peacekeeper, but Martin Marietta and Denver Aerospace (now Lockheed Martin) assembled and tested the Peacekeepers.

Constructed with an airframe made of a Kevlar epoxy composite, the Peacekeeper was much lighter than previous ICBMs, and it could carry more warheads. When combined with new Multiple Independently Targeted Re-entry Vehicles (MIRV) technology, one Peacekeeper could accurately deliver a number of nuclear warheads on different targets at the same time.

A four-stage missile, Peacekeeper was the first Air Force ICBM to use the “cold launch” technique similar to the system used to launch missiles from submarines. This procedure shot the missile out of a modified Minuteman underground silo with a massive burst of high-pressure steam, and its first-stage solid-rocket motor ignited only after the missile cleared the silo. The next two stages, also solid-fuel rockets, boosted the missile's payload into space. The fourth stage, also known as the post-boost vehicle, was liquid-fueled, and it contained the missile’s guidance and re-entry systems. After maneuvering in space to properly orient the re-entry system, the fourth stage activated and released up to 10 nuclear warheads. Each warhead -- contained in a small, unpowered MK-21 re-entry vehicle -- descended on an independent ballistic path to its target. Accuracy depended on the warheads being released in the right direction at the proper altitude and speed.

The Peacekeeper modernized and improved the United States’ nuclear deterrence, but the end of the Cold War made its mission less crucial. The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) II, signed in 1993 with Russia, removed all multiple-warhead ICBMs. As a result of the changed strategic world situation and START II, the United States deactivated all 50 LGM-118As between 2003 and 2005. Some Peacekeepers were eventually used as satellite launch vehicles.

There was very little room for the single astronaut to move in the spacecraft, but not much was required. The pilot needed to move only his arms and head, and never left the spacecraft during flight.

The U.S. Air Force provided Atlas rockets for orbital flights, launch crews, facilities, biomedical expertise and a host of logistical, communications and other services for all Mercury flights, as well as three of the original seven astronauts: Capts. Gordon Cooper, Virgil “Gus” Grissom and Donald “Deke” Slayton.

The Mercury spacecraft on display is a flight-rated production vehicle that never flew. It was used to provide parts in support of the final Mercury mission in May 1963

Lockheed Martin Titan IVB Rocket.

The Titan IVB was the U.S. Air Force’s largest and most powerful expendable single-use rocket. It was a space launch vehicle used to place satellites into orbit. Titan IVB rockets boosted payloads into low earth orbit, polar orbit, or geosynchronous (stationary) orbit from either Cape Canaveral, Fla., or Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

Although the Titan IVB was not a missile (a weapon), it was developed from a long line of missiles and launch vehicles based on the original Titan Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). First launched in 1959, the Titan family of boosters served for nearly 50 years putting satellites and astronauts into orbit. Titan IVB flew from 1997 to 2005 with all 17 of its launches successful.

Titan IVB rockets carried several notable payloads, including classified National Reconnaissance Office satellites, early warning satellites and meteorological satellites. In 1997 a Titan IVB also launched NASA’s Cassini-Huygens spacecraft to study Saturn and its moon Titan.

The front end of the rocket is the payload fairing. It protected satellites on the way through the atmosphere to orbit, then broke away to release the payload. Fairings varied in length according to the size of the satellite. The rocket on display has an 86-foot fairing, the longest one used. Titan IVB payloads could be as heavy as 23.9 tons, about the size and weight of a large tour bus.

U.S. Air Force Academy - Research & Development - Space
North American XB-70 Valkyrie. The futuristic XB-70A was originally conceived in the 1950s as a high-altitude, nuclear strike bomber that could fly at Mach 3 (three times the speed of sound) -- any potential enemy would have been unable to defend against such a bomber. By the early 1960s, however, new Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAMs) threatened the survivability of high-speed, high-altitude bombers. Less costly, nuclear-armed ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles) were also entering service. As a result, in 1961, the expensive B-70 bomber program was canceled before any Valkyries had been completed or flown. Even so, the USAF bought two XB-70As to test aerodynamics, propulsion and other characteristics of large supersonic aircraft. The first XB-70A, on display here, flew in September 1964, and it achieved Mach 3 flight in October 1965. The second Valkyrie first flew in July 1965, but in June 1966, it was destroyed following an accidental mid-air collision. The third Valkyrie was not completed. The first XB-70A airplane continued to fly and generate valuable test data in the research program until it came to the museum in 1969.

The first time I ever came to the Air Force Museum, the XB-70 was sitting outside on static display.

Look at those six massive engines! This jet could go Mach 3.

What the heck is this? It's Northrop Tacit Blue. Built in the early 1980s in great secrecy, the revolutionary Tacit Blue aircraft tested advanced radar sensors and new ideas in stealth technology. Tacit Blue proved that a stealthy aircraft could have curved surfaces -- unlike the faceted surfaces of the F-117 Nighthawk -- which greatly influenced later aircraft like the B-2. Tacit Blue’s design also minimized the heat signature emitted from the engines, further masking its presence. Tacit Blue was aerodynamically unstable, but it had a digital fly-by-wire system to help control it. With its low, “all-aspect” radar signature, Tacit Blue demonstrated that such an aircraft could loiter over -- and behind -- the battlefield without fear of being discovered by enemy radar. Using advanced sensors, it could also continuously monitor enemy forces (even through clouds) and provide timely information through data links to a ground command center. Moreover, these sensors functioned without giving away the location of the aircraft. The Tacit Blue aircraft flew 135 times before the program ended in 1985. The aircraft was declassified and placed on display at the museum in 1996.



The North American X-15A-2. The X-15's purpose was to fly high and fast, testing the machine and subjecting the pilots to conditions that future astronauts would face. Three X-15s were built. The program was a joint Air Force/Navy/NASA project. The X-15 was launched in mid-air by a B-52 mothership at about 45,000 feet. Once it's powerful rocket ignited, the X-15 streaked upwards to the limits of the atmosphere, then glided unpowered to a landing on a dry lake bed. Typical flights lasted about ten minutes.

North American modified this particular aircraft for even greater speed, adding the large orange and white propellant tanks and lengthening the fuselage about 18 inches. This was the fastest F-15, reaching Mach 6.7 in October 1967. This set the official world record for the highest speed ever recorded by a crewed, powered aircraft, which remains unbroken. [Until Maverick went Mach 9 last month] It was delivered to the museum in 1969. During the X-15 program, 12 pilots flew a combined 199 flights. Of these, 8 pilots flew a combined 13 flights which met the Air Force spaceflight criterion by exceeding the altitude of 50 miles (80 km), thus qualifying these pilots as being astronauts.

Those are some big flush rivets on the X-15.

The X-1B was one of a series of rocket-powered experimental airplanes designed to investigate supersonic flight problems. The X-1B’s flight research primarily related to aerodynamic heating and the use of small “reaction” rockets for directional control. The X-1B made its first powered flight in October 1954. A few months later, the U.S. Air Force transferred the X-1B to the NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics), predecessor to NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), which conducted the heating and control tests. The X-1B tests played an important role in developing the control systems for the later X-15. On test missions, the X-1B was carried under a "mother" airplane and released between 25,000-35,000 feet. After release, the rocket engine fired under full throttle for less than five minutes. After all fuel (an alcohol-water mixture) and liquid oxygen had been consumed, the pilot glided the airplane to earth for a landing. The X-1B made its last flight in January 1958, and it was transferred to the museum a year later. The X-1B was a later variant of the famous XS-1 in which Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier on 14 October 1947 and now hangs in the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. Scott Crossfield achieving Mach 2.005 on 20 November 1953 in a X-1A.

Martin Marietta X-24A. The X-24 was one of a group of lifting bodies flown by the NASA Flight Research Center (now Armstrong Flight Research Center) in a joint program with the U.S. Air Force at Edwards Air Force Base in California from 1963 to 1975. The lifting bodies were used to demonstrate the ability of pilots to maneuver and safely land wingless vehicles designed to fly back to Earth from space and be landed like an airplane at a predetermined site. Lifting bodies’ aerodynamic lift, essential to flight in the atmosphere, was obtained from their shape. The addition of fins and control surfaces allowed the pilots to stabilize and control the vehicles and regulate their flight paths. The X-24A was a fat, short teardrop shape with vertical fins for control. It made its first, unpowered, glide flight on April 17, 1969 with Air Force Maj. Jerauld R. Gentry at the controls. Gentry also piloted its first powered flight on March 19, 1970. The craft was taken to around 45,000 feet (13.7 km) by a modified B-52 and then drop launched, then either glided down or used its rocket engine to ascend to higher altitudes before gliding down. The X-24A was flown 28 times at speeds up to 1,036 mph (1,667 km/h) and altitudes up to 71,400 feet (21.8 km). The X-24A was flown 28 times in the program that, like the HL-10, validated the concept that a Space Shuttle vehicle could be landed unpowered. This, of course, is the aircraft that USAF Colonel Steve Austin had that horrific crash in, and then was turned into the Six Million Dollar Man. "Steve Austin, astronaut. A man barely alive. Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster."

Northrop-McDonnell Douglas YF-23A Black Widow II. The YF-23A competed in the late 1980s/early 1990s against the YF-22A in the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program. During the late 1970s, a new generation of Soviet fighters and Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAMs) prompted the US Air Force to find a replacement for the F-15 Eagle air superiority fighter. In 1986, the USAF awarded demonstration contracts to two competing industry teams—Lockheed-Boeing-General Dynamics (YF-22A) versus Northrop-McDonnell Douglas (YF-23A). The Northrop YF-23A, unofficially named the Black Widow II, emphasized stealth characteristics. To lessen weight and increase stealth, Northrop decided against using thrust vectoring for aerodynamic control as was used on the Lockheed YF-22A. Northrop built two YF-23A prototypes. In 1991, after extensive flight testing, the USAF announced that the Lockheed YF-22A won the airframe competition. Northrop ended its ATF program, and the YF-23A on display came to the Museum in 2000.

Lockheed YF-12A. The YF-12 was developed in the 1960s as a high-altitude, Mach 3 interceptor to defend against supersonic bombers. Based on the A-12 reconnaissance aircraft, the YF-12A became the forerunner of the highly-sophisticated SR-71 strategic reconnaissance aircraft. The first of three YF-12s flew in August 1963. In May 1965, the first and third YF-12s set several records, including a speed record of 2,070.101 mph and an altitude record of 80,257.65 feet. For their speed record flight, Col. Robert L. "Fox" Stephens (pilot) and Lt. Col. Daniel Andre (fire control officer) received the 1965 Thompson Trophy. Though the aircraft performed well, the F-12 interceptor program ended in early 1968. High costs, the ongoing war in Southeast Asia, and a lower priority on air defense of the US all contributed to the cancellation. The aircraft on display -- the second one built -- was recalled from storage in 1969 for a joint USAF/NASA investigation of supersonic cruise technology. It was flown to the museum in 1979, and it is the only remaining YF-12A in existence (the first YF-12A was damaged beyond repair after a landing mishap, and the third YF-12A was destroyed after the crew ejected to escape an inflight fire).

Looking up inside the Missile Gallery, contained in a silo-like structure that stands 140 feet high.

Checking out the Martin Marietta LGM-118A Peacekeeper, better known as the "MX". The building of 50 MXs was quite controversial back in the 1980s as I recall. But 20 years later they would be gone, with the end of the Cold War. The Peacekeeper served as the U.S. Air Force’s most powerful, accurate and technologically advanced Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) deterrent from 1986 to 2005. Conceived to replace the Minuteman ICBMs, its development began in the early 1970s under the name “Missile, Experimental,” or MX. Later, it received the official name “Peacekeeper,” and the first test flight took place in 1983 at Vandenberg AFB, Calif. It became operational in 1986, when 10 missiles were deployed at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo. By 1988, the USAF had 50 missiles in service there. Whether to base the missile inside a stationary, hardened silos or on mobile railways to keep the Soviets guessing at the missiles’ true location was a major issue during Peacekeeper's development. Funding problems and competing ideas about the wisdom of each basing solution delayed Peacekeeper production and deployment. Eventually, the USAF decided to place all LGM-118As into hardened, underground silos previously used by Minuteman ICBMs. Many contractors worked on the Peacekeeper, but Martin Marietta and Denver Aerospace (now Lockheed Martin) assembled and tested the Peacekeepers. Constructed with an airframe made of a Kevlar epoxy composite, the Peacekeeper was much lighter than previous ICBMs, and it could carry more warheads. When combined with new Multiple Independently Targeted Re-entry Vehicles (MIRV) technology, one Peacekeeper could accurately deliver a number of nuclear warheads on different targets at the same time. A four-stage missile, Peacekeeper was the first Air Force ICBM to use the “cold launch” technique similar to the system used to launch missiles from submarines. This procedure shot the missile out of a modified Minuteman underground silo with a massive burst of high-pressure steam, and its first-stage solid-rocket motor ignited only after the missile cleared the silo. The next two stages, also solid-fuel rockets, boosted the missile's payload into space. The fourth stage, also known as the post-boost vehicle, was liquid-fueled, and it contained the missile’s guidance and re-entry systems. After maneuvering in space to properly orient the re-entry system, the fourth stage activated and released up to 10 nuclear warheads. Each warhead -- contained in a small, unpowered MK-21 re-entry vehicle -- descended on an independent ballistic path to its target. Accuracy depended on the warheads being released in the right direction at the proper altitude and speed. The Peacekeeper modernized and improved the United States’ nuclear deterrence, but the end of the Cold War made its mission less crucial. The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) II, signed in 1993 with Russia, removed all multiple-warhead ICBMs. As a result of the changed strategic world situation and START II, the United States deactivated all 50 LGM-118As between 2003 and 2005. Some Peacekeepers were eventually used as satellite launch vehicles.







Project Mercury was the first American human spaceflight program. Its goals were to put astronauts into orbit around the Earth, to find out if they could survive and work in space, and recover the crewmen and spacecraft safely. Between 1961 and 1963, six successful flights proved Americans could fly in space. Mercury flights lasted from 15 minutes to 34 hours, with most lasting less than nine hours.

There was very little room for the single astronaut to move in the spacecraft, but not much was required. The pilot needed to move only his arms and head, and never left the spacecraft during flight. The U.S. Air Force provided Atlas rockets for orbital flights, launch crews, facilities, biomedical expertise and a host of logistical, communications and other services for all Mercury flights, as well as three of the original seven astronauts: Capts. Gordon Cooper, Virgil “Gus” Grissom and Donald “Deke” Slayton. The Mercury spacecraft on display is a flight-rated production vehicle that never flew. It was used to provide parts in support of the final Mercury mission in May 1963

Gemini Spacecraft. This spacecraft was built for the U.S. Air Force’s Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program, a top-secret effort to take extremely detailed reconnaissance photographs of Cold War adversaries’ territory from space. The MOL program planned to use astronauts to operate cameras and evaluate the usefulness of humans in space. Gemini B was a modified version of the two-man Gemini spacecraft that carried NASA astronauts into orbit on ten flights during 1965-66. Gemini B looks very similar to other Gemini vehicles, but it has important differences. The easiest to see is the circular hatch leading from the crew compartment through the heat shield in the rear of the vehicle. This hatch led to a tunnel connecting the craft with the 19-foot-long Manned Orbiting Laboratory module where the crewmen would live and control reconnaissance cameras. MOL missions were to last up to 30 days. The crew would use the Gemini B vehicle only for launch and re-entry. MOL missions were to be launched from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., into orbits over the north and south poles. These polar orbits ensured the best photo coverage of the Soviet Union, China and other locations. The MOL program began in 1963 but was canceled in 1969 for budgetary and political reasons before any manned missions were launched. Seventeen military pilots -- 13 of them USAF Airmen -- trained to be MOL crewmen.

The two-seater Gemini spacecraft.

Apollo 15 Command Module. Apollo 15 was the fourth successful moon landing mission and the only Apollo mission with an all-U.S. Air Force crew. Col. David R. Scott, Lt. Col. James B. Irwin, and Maj. Alfred M. Worden flew this spacecraft, named Endeavour, to the moon in July 1971. The command module is named after the ship that carried Capt. James Cook on his famous 18th century scientific voyage. Apollo 15 focused mainly on lunar science, and was the first mission to use a lunar rover vehicle. The crew spent four days traveling to the moon, then Scott and Irwin landed the lunar module Falcon on the moon’s surface. They spent 67 hours exploring and setting up scientific experiments. Worden remained in orbit aboard Endeavour conducting experiments and photographing the moon. Just over 12 days after launch, the crew returned safely, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii. Project Apollo’s main goal was to land astronauts on the moon and return them safely to Earth. Beating the Soviets to the moon in the “space race” of the 1960s was an important part of the Cold War competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union for prestige and world leadership in science and technology. The U.S. won the moon race when Apollo 11 landed on the moon and returned to Earth in July 1969. Apollo achieved six lunar landings through 1972, and 12 astronauts walked on the moon. Of the 29 astronauts who flew Apollo missions, 14 were Air Force officers or had Air Force experience.

Lockheed Martin Titan IVB Rocket. The Titan IVB was the U.S. Air Force’s largest and most powerful expendable single-use rocket. It was a space launch vehicle used to place satellites into orbit. Titan IVB rockets boosted payloads into low earth orbit, polar orbit, or geosynchronous (stationary) orbit from either Cape Canaveral, Fla., or Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Although the Titan IVB was not a missile (a weapon), it was developed from a long line of missiles and launch vehicles based on the original Titan Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). First launched in 1959, the Titan family of boosters served for nearly 50 years putting satellites and astronauts into orbit. Titan IVB flew from 1997 to 2005 with all 17 of its launches successful. Titan IVB rockets carried several notable payloads, including classified National Reconnaissance Office satellites, early warning satellites and meteorological satellites. In 1997 a Titan IVB also launched NASA’s Cassini-Huygens spacecraft to study Saturn and its moon Titan. The front end of the rocket is the payload fairing. It protected satellites on the way through the atmosphere to orbit, then broke away to release the payload. Fairings varied in length according to the size of the satellite. The rocket on display has an 86-foot fairing, the longest one used. Titan IVB payloads could be as heavy as 23.9 tons, about the size and weight of a large tour bus.

By the Missile Gallery was the National Aviation Hall of Fame. I walked through and checked all the names. It seemed like they got everybody with one exception. I think Richard VanGrunsven ought to be in this, and any other, Aviation Hall of Fame. "Van" designed and built the RV-3 which set new standards of aircraft performance in the homebuilt industry, and became the genesis design for the rest of the RV-series, all which strongly resemble the RV-3. He founded Vans Aircraft Company in 1973. Today the number of VanGrunsven-designed homebuilt aircraft produced each year in North America exceeds the combined production of all commercial general aviation companies. He revolutionized general aviation in the U.S. and world. If that doesn't get you in the Aviation Hall of Fame, I don't know what does.


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U.S. Air Force Academy - Research & Development - Space