On this day in aviation history: In 1947 a wing takes to the air. At Northrop Field, Hawthorne, California, Northrop Corporation Chief Test Pilot Max R. Stanley took off in the first YB-49, and flew it to Muroc Air Force Base, for flight testing. The giant YB-49 was converted from the second YB-35 pre-production test aircraft. The original “Flying Wing’s” four problematic Pratt and Whitney R- 4360 Wasp Major air-cooled radial engines were replaced by eight Allison J35-A-5 turbojet engines and several aerodynamic improvements were made. The YB-49 was a very unusual configuration for an aircraft of that time. There was no fuselage, tail, or any tail control surfaces. The crew compartment, engines, fuel, landing gear and armament were contained within the monstrous wing cross section. Air intakes for the turbojet engines were placed in the leading edge of the wing and the exhaust nozzles at the trailing edge. Four small vertical fins for improved yaw stability were also at the trailing edge. The YB-49 was just 53 feet long, but had a wingspan of 172 feet! It was 15 feet tall and weighed in at a whopping 193,938 pounds when fully loaded, more than 2 fully loaded B-17s. Only two Northrop YB-49s were ever built. Both were tested by Northrop and the Air Force for nearly two years, and although an additional nine YB-35s were ordered converted to the YB-49 configuration, the aircraft was never placed into production. The second YB-49 disintegrated in flight during testing in 1948, killing the entire crew which included Captain Glen Edwards. Muroc Air Force Base was changed to Edwards Air Force Base in his honor. The first YB-49 prototype was destroyed by fire following a taxiing accident at Edwards Air Force Base on March 15, 1950. The program was cancelled the same day.
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 19:24:32 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015