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An aircraft like no other built either before it or since, the North American Aviation Valkyrie was, like the modern day Northrop B-2, a massive endorsement of the almost sacrosanct SAC philosophy that the manned bomber will always get through. In this photo the XB-70 has its wingtips folded downwards at 25 degrees to increase stability and reduce trim drag. This configuration was also chosen for missions involving low altitude supersonic flight while for the very high altitude supersonic missions that the aircraft was principally designed for, the tips would be folded down to the 65 degree angle.
Profile- North American XB-70 Valkyrie
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North American Xb-70 Valkyrie
The story of the North American XB-70 Valkyrie starts with the very reason for its creation.
During World War 11, the service ceiling of strategic bombers rose from the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley’s 17,600 feet, through the Heinke! He-111’s 27,900 feet to the Boeing B-29 Superfortress· 31,800 feet. This increase in ceiling was an attempt to evade fighters and to put the bombers out of the effective range of ever more powerful anti-aircraft guns. The payload range also dramatically increased during the war years from the He-111’s 5,500Ibs (2,500kg) over 1,250 miles to the Superfortress’ 20,000lbs (9,100kg) over 4,100 miles.
These two performance criteria, ceiling and payload range, continued to be the most important factors of strategic bomber design for many decades. After the war, bombers grew larger so that they could accommodate more engines, fuel and bombs to achieve greater heights, bigger payloads and longer ranges. This design philosophy culminated in the eight engined Boeing B-52 Stratofortress which could carry a 66,000lb (29,900kg) conventional bomb load for 8,500 miles at 55,000 feet.
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