# YB-49 = Edwards AFB



## starlord (Mar 30, 2011)

I found a web page that give the history of the YB-49 flying wing. It told how the flight crew caused the plane to crash. Also the co-pilet of the plane had a airforce base named after him, one which we all know to well, as the space shuttle has landed there many times. name? Edwards SFB, CA. and the crash site was just 8 miles outside of the city of Mojave.
:thumbsup:


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Flying wind, you say?


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## Scorpitat (Oct 7, 2004)

Flying wind..............wow......sounds FAST!


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

I can pass the wind....

Steve


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

I'm not sure it's fair to say that the flight crew caused the crash. The aircraft had some very odd flight characteristics during stalls. Remember the YB-49 was a huge departure from what could be called a normal aircraft of the time.


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## nautilusnut (Jul 9, 2008)

I actually have some pieces of the plane recovered from the crash site.
As I understand it, the plane had been doing stall tests, as it entered a dive it most likely exceeded safe g-forces and some skin panels were torn off the plane. The spin in conjunction with the loss of lift cause the crash.

The YB-49 was a very "Clean" aircraft and could accelerate to unsafe speeds rapidly in a dive. It was also as fast as many fighters of the day and could out turn many of the front-line fighters at high altitudes.


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

Jack Northrop had irritated the AirForce brass by agreeing with the Navy brass about Aircraft Carriers. The flying wings were as troublesome as any new design. Convair's B36 was conventional and Convair knew how to "play ball" The wings were cancelled and then destroyed due to politics....

Steve


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## starlord (Mar 30, 2011)

yes the yb-49 which was the just powered flying wing. you could say, it was the for runner of the B2.


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## starlord (Mar 30, 2011)

it said that the airforce could never figure out way the plane crashed, but the photo of the area, you could see the out line of the plane. and all they would say that the plane came apart in the air, while the crew was coming down frome an altude of 65,000ft under power.
and there was at lest 12 of the planes that had been built and where ready to be turned over to the air force. instead they where cut up for junk and sold as such. there are zero flying wings yb-49's left anywhere.


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## starlord (Mar 30, 2011)

the film that I watched back in 83, said the the then hear of the Aif foce had worked for 
convair and it was HIS say so that stoped the yb-49 and instad the used the B-36 which was totaly out of date at the time. But look at our bomer fleet now, The flying wing is still alive even today.


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## starlord (Mar 30, 2011)

about 3 years ago, there was a notice in the Mojave newspaper telling that some guy that had been searching the desert land to set up plans for a housing park and he came into Mojave with some metal parts he'd found and he turned over to the air force which said they where from the YB49 crash so long ago.


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

starlord said:


> I found a web page that give the history of the YB-49 flying wind. It told how the flight crew caused the plane to crash.


Does that mean they broke wind? :tongue:


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## rowdylex (Jan 19, 2010)

scotpens said:


> Does that mean they broke wind? :tongue:


No, the pilot performed a "Blue Flame".


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## Y3a (Jan 18, 2001)

That flying wing had a one-time emergency 'helper' that would assist in pulling out of a dive. The problem was that it was only able to be used ONCE.


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## btbrush (Sep 20, 2010)

proof-reading is a lost art


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## starlord (Mar 30, 2011)

some of these guys should go back and re read the message. then stand behind a jet engine and take a full lung full of jet hot air.


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## starlord (Mar 30, 2011)

*yb-49's lined up for Air Force*

I found a photo of the YB-49's that had been waiting to the US Air Force to have them picked up.


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## Cajjunwolfman (Nov 15, 2004)

Starlord:

Very interesting indeed as you pointed out. The pilot that Edwards AFB is named after perished in a crash of the Northrop flying wing. 
Flying wing aircraft are inherently instable in the yaw (left/right) direction since they have no stabilizer fin or tail. At the time the Horton brothers and Jack Northrop tried to develop the flying wing the technology of “fly by wire” was not available. I would contend that during that time period no aircraft of this type or size could be made to fly properly The B2 has something like 268 computers assisting in controlling the aircraft during flight. When observing pictures of the B 2 during flight you may notice that it does not posses traditional ailerons. Instead if has a device that looks like a clamp or a split v. If will open multiple times in rapid succession to maintain the aircraft stability or assist in a turn.


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## nautilusnut (Jul 9, 2008)

I've always found it interesting that the Air Force required the remaining wings to be completely destroyed. Northrop wanted to save one but was refused.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

I believe the "split aileron" style of yaw control is called a "drag rudder."


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## starlord (Mar 30, 2011)

some of the users here should go fly a kite in a t storm.


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## starlord (Mar 30, 2011)

At a open house on Edwards AFB about 3 years ago, they showed a small prop driven one 
seat flying wing that had been found in a warehose for one of the diaplay places back east.
it had been rebuild with new engines and had be OKED for flight. At the edwards show, it flew very good.


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## nautilusnut (Jul 9, 2008)

Starlord,

The flying wing you are referring to is the Northrop N9M. This was a flying proof of concept aircraft which was 1/3 the size of the actual bomber. Here's a photo of it flying at the Chino Air Show. This is the only Northrop Flying wing in existence.


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## cmckenn (Jan 8, 2012)

They did keep one for testing (YRB49A) but there was an accident and the pilots canopy came off in flight. (it landed ok). The plane was then put in a hanger and never flown again. It was scrapped in December 1953. (ref. Northrop Flying Wings by Garry Pape)


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## Ace Airspeed (May 16, 2010)

starlord said:


> I found a web page that give the history of the YB-49 flying wing. It told how *the flight crew caused the plane to crash.* Also the co-pilet of the plane had a airforce base named after him, one which we all know to well, as the space shuttle has landed there many times. name? Edwards SFB, CA. and the crash site was just 8 miles outside of the city of Mojave.
> :thumbsup:


The crew did not cause the crash. They were doing stall testing and the airplane got away from them, was unrecoverable and crashed. The Northrop wing was also a political hot potato and all built examples were scrapped when the project was cancelled. 

Jack Northrop was invited to see a scale model of the B-2 while it was still a "black project" before he died......vindication of his efforts.


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## starlord (Mar 30, 2011)

John P said:


> Flying wind, you say?


NO, it says flying WING


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Sure, NOW! :lol:


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## Ductapeforever (Mar 6, 2008)

btbrush said:


> proof-reading is a lost art




Spell Check !


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## starlord (Mar 30, 2011)

Today I was moving a stack of papers and there was one of the aerospace papers and on the back side it had a photo of a XYB-49 taking off from Edwards I'll try to use mt canon camera and see if I can get it to make a copy of it.


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## starlord (Mar 30, 2011)

that was the same one that was flying at the Edwards Open House about 4 years ago.


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## starlord (Mar 30, 2011)

I have found two B/W photos that are on hardwood mounts for display, one is of the YB that was tested with prop engine, the 2nd one is of the JET engine YB during one of it's flights. I'm going try and copy then with my A620 and post here.


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## starlord (Mar 30, 2011)

the photo in the last post is the Prop driven on, here is the jet one.


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## Scorpitat (Oct 7, 2004)

Flying wind, passing wind....they all go fast and disappear quick! :tongue:


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