One of my favorites, the YB-70 Valkyrie.

http://www.cybermodeler.com/aircraft...-1234p-017.jpg

It's beautiful, and any country (including the Russians) would have given their left nut to have it in their military.


I am shocked it didn't catch on.

what a sec....
on that F-16XL....where are the horizontal stabs?:eek::hmmm:

the Euro Fighter doesn't have them, but use the canards in lieu of them...


the F-16XL must have a double secret probation badass flight management system.

Yep, put some canards on it and its very similar

The EA-6 Prowler. It has such a powerful electronics package that they had to impregnate the canopy with gold to protect the guys from radiation. LMAO

wow. never seen that one.

I always liked how similar the B1 and the Tu-160 Blackjack were. crazy arms race in the late 40s through mid 70's.

You have to watch some documentaries on the 70. The plane would be considered amazing even by today's standards.


It harnessed the shockwave between the wings (folded down) and used the energy (compression lift) to cruise long distances at Mach 3+.


Insane performance, but ultimately shut down due to SAM's.

http://www.aircraftinformation.info/...alkyrie_10.jpg

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/sy.../ec68-2131.jpg

your fun fact of the day regarding NATO designations of aircraft from the cold war (and probably still the case to a degree).

NATO names given to FSU aircraft to help easily and quickly identify and refer to them.

so, names like, Mig-21 Fishbed, Su-25 (i think?)Frogfoot, Tu-90 Bear, Tu-160 Blackjack, Mig 19 ( I think?)Farmer, MiG-29 Fulcrum etc.

2 syllables = jet
1 = prop

F - Fighter
B- Bomber

there's lots of other designators/names, but those are the most commonly talked about.

wow. interesting. Never heard of the plane/prgram. I"ll have to read up on it. the Cold War era is my sick hobby.

Rooskie pilots supposedly owned the Fulcrum moniker once they learned of it.

Jesus...just saw those other two pictures.

wow.

The weapon this guy is wielding is not a sword, it is a knife:

http://sda.masterplanfoundation.com/...messer70_n.jpg

Valkyrie was also done in by the mid air collision between it and a F-104 during a LM photo op

The Valkyrie looks very Russian with that arcing fuselage and nose, very SU-35ish... gotta admit I kinda like that look, kinda like a huge wasp, Russia has some good looking fighters

I wonder what aerodynamic/performance characteristics it actually provides

https://www.google.com/search?q=russ...jUuvEyb_I8M%3A

https://www.google.com/search?q=russ...6qkskw7ltUM%3A