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Lent by Ames Research Center
This model of the supersonic XB-70 bomber was specifically designed to
measure the aerodynamic loads or forces acting on the model. These
loads (drag, lift and side force) are measurements using a balance;
think of a bathroom scale, to understand the performance characteristics
of the vehicle. The XB-70 was created as a Mach 3 bomber at the height
of the Cold War, making its first flight on September 21, 1964 and
flying three times the speed of sound on October 14, 1965. It was
designed to utilize the lift generated by the supersonic shock wave with
the plane riding, in part, on that phenomenon. Constructed mostly of
stainless steel and titanium, two prototypes were built, but one crashed
in a mid-air collision on June 8, 1966. The other flew high-speed
research missions until February 4, 1969 when it was given to the Air
Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio.
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