Being towed about Mach 0.003

As a Crew Chief I hated going to the wash rack .. but somehow I find myself thinking that I would be stupidly happy volunteering to wash this or any other plane in the Museum for free.

@Frankestein01nl

Ай бұрын

Hahaha, i hate going up in lifts, but for her, i'd make an exception and enjoy the work as well.

@pauldutcher9105

Ай бұрын

To be involved with these great birds would be great. It's akin to the retired sailors that maintain our retired ships. My understanding is some of the sailors you see in the climax of the movie Battleship served on the Missouri.

@ieweg

Ай бұрын

Heck, I'd pay to wash the Valkyrie!

@That_Stealth_Guy

Ай бұрын

@@ieweg Me too, among a few other aircraft they have.

Probably my favorite aircraft in the whole museum.

@USAFmuseum

Ай бұрын

Same!!!

@OSUfan757

Ай бұрын

The simple fact that this is literally the only example left in the world of a research aircraft that almost came to fruition, makes it priceless as well as amazing!

@user-mb4vk8jh6z

Ай бұрын

​@@USAFmuseum So much history to see! I don't know which one brings more to love. The SR71 or this!

Even though it first flew 60 years ago, the XB-70 still looks futuristic.

My most cherished place on the planet, and I've been around. I grew up just down the street from the museum. Visited more times than I can count. I was blessed enough to be around to visit the old location before their move into the current location. I think the XB-70 is the total epitome of what the museum is all about. I hope to be able to return for one last week, before I leave. When I was young, it was all about the aircraft. As I grew, it became more about the men and women who gave us this heritage. Bless the restoration, maintenance and upkeep people for all their work! Same for the volunteers.

@pandorazbocks3737

Ай бұрын

Driving to the museum looking at the housing as I passed by, I often thought to myself how awesome it would be to live so close. And you are so right! The older I got, the more interested I became in learning about the people who served and worked with these beautiful machines.

@Frankestein01nl

Ай бұрын

It's an awsome collection in an amazing place. Had the pleasure of visiting both in 2015 and 2019... Greetings from Europe.

I remember seeing the XB-70 fly at the Carswell AFB airshow with my dad. I will never forget seeing it and it had an F-100 as a chase plane. I'm 73 now and will NEVER forget that flight!!!!

@tinobenfante7315

Ай бұрын

Wow, it must have been absolutely deafening. Never knew they even had the XB-70 demo-ing at air shows years ago haha

@txcal88

Ай бұрын

Oh yes it was amazing seeing it fly especially when Carswell was a master SAC base

@ieweg

Ай бұрын

That would be so awesome to see her flying!!

Sadly I’m old enough to remember when it was always outside, parked In front when the museum was only 1 building. 😊

@Chilly_Billy

Ай бұрын

I remember those days, with the long rows of priceless aircraft and missiles out in the Ohio weather. Thank goodness those days are long gone.

@fyrmnjim1

Ай бұрын

I'm old enough to remember when they moved her from the old museum in area A. 😩

@Bluswede

Ай бұрын

I'm old enough to know for sure that one of those sonic booms I heard as a kid was that beautiful girl headed to Dayton on her last flight. I like to think, anyway, that she flew over my school to say goodbye...I was 6 yr, 5 mo, and 3 days old that Monday, and well aware of her presence in the world from a kids' propaganda book that I checked out of the rolling library that visited our tiny rural village every couple weeks. Lots of loud b-BANGs in those days...you'd hear them and look up into a perfect, CAVU sky...nothing, not even a barn swallow! Another flavor of those years was when flights of ANG B-52s would practice knap-of-the-earth approaches to the RADAR Base about 15 miles to the northeast of my home. Imagine three good-sized airliners about 200 ft AGL, each with EIGHT not-so-quiet turbojets, and wasting no time!! They used a ridge about 1 1/2 miles north of the house as RADAR cover. You could see them deftly rise over it, then sink out of sight on the other side!! If you ran outside to the field across the road when the first plane passed over, you were likely to catch the second flight with nothing but air between you and them...that'll make a farm kid's whole month! The third flavor of those days just before 1968 was the daily air service, Green Bay to Minneapolis, from Wisconsin Central Airline. Douglas DC-3s on straight-in approach to runway 29, Wausau Municipal Airport, 25 miles west-northwest. Yup! Six years old...passenger service by 1930s aircraft, B-52 crews practicing to blow up North Vietnam, and a Mach 3 heavy bomber designed to blow up Russia instead doing research for the American SST that never happened. Add to that college riots, four dead in Ohio, Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy killed. 1968 was definitely 'a year'. '68 ended, though, with three guys in Apollo 8 doing a planned reading from Genisis...after having seen the 'Good Earth' from Lunar orbit and being WAY more affected than they had dreamed. The color photo, Earthrise, shot by Bill Anders that day is, sadly, as needed now in America as it was 56 years ago. Generational forgetfulness is why we don't seem to have nice things that last.

@baddog5900

Ай бұрын

I have a picture of it sitting outside.

The XB-70 looks right at home with the sun, sky and clouds behind her. Such a beautiful aircraft and marvel of engineering. I visited the museum and was completely in awe. This is one aircraft I've wanted to see all my life, I was amazed. It is staggering to see the size of the XB-70 in person. Glad she is at the museum and preserved for all to see.

I do wish my father was still alive today to see just how modern and forward thinking his aircraft still looks. Many thanks for the great care the museum has taken care of it.

Beyond doubt that is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE in the experimental hanger of the museum. MAJESTIC!

I had a painting of the XB-70 personally signed by Al White. Given to me by North American Aviation. I was 13 or 14 at the time. Donated it to the AF Museum at Edwards AFB. Thanks for the memories. Jon P.S. also had a painting of the X-15 signed by Scott Crossfield. Gave that to the museum too. J.

I remember seeing this, I think the best exhibit in the best aviation museum in the world

@USAFmuseum

Ай бұрын

Thanks so much Greg!!!

"What did you do today, honey?" "Oh, not much...Just powerwashed the coolest plane on earth. No biggie..."

@USAFmuseum

Ай бұрын

We can see our guys saying that to their spouses, especially Duane who lead the wash crew.

@TairnKA

Ай бұрын

I'd say, second coolest. I don't have to say what's the coolest, do I? ;-)

@amd1857

Ай бұрын

@@TairnKA Ah yes, the Caproni CA 60. 😂

@Colorado_Native

Ай бұрын

​@@amd1857Ah yes, the Caproni Ca. 60 Transaero, the Noviplano. I was just a young lad when this building with nine wings flew over our house March 4, 1921. The sound of all 8 engines was spellbinding. "There will never be anything bigger, faster or higher flying," my dad said as all 100 passengers waved to us. Curse the SR-71 for taking away this plane's bragging rights. Loved your comment. I am retired USAF and did flight training. Never got to fly anything like the Habu, but did get to fly the simulator at Beale AFB in California and saw many of them at Kadena AB in Okinawa. A friend took me into the hangar to see the one (Ichiban) that crashed into the South China Sea in 1989. What is crazy is there were four titanium bolts holding the cockpit to the rest of the fuselage. When they found the fuselage, they didn't see the cockpit. The four bolts had broken exactly as designed to do, and it was resting under the fuselage in more than 25,000 feet of water. The concern was the Soviets would recover it. Some fishermen picked up the crew. What was neat was getting an up-close look at it and seeing just how densely packed everything was. A remarkable feat.

@JohnsonPadder

Ай бұрын

*jetwashed ;)

My dad was a propulsion engineer at WPAFB for 38 years and worked on the development of the jet engines. It was one of the last engines he worked on.

Will be driving from Massachusetts this Fall ….. just to see the Valkyrie - a dream of many years. Glad she got a bath!

@knowingyourmind

Ай бұрын

I hope you are planning to visit for a couple of days because it will take that much when your appetite is increased by the XB-70. :-)

I was around 12 or so growing up in South Africa when i came across an amazing magazine all about experimental planes or those that never went into production. XB-70 was in it. Loved reading all about it and immediately became my favorite plane that ever flew and to this day remains so. Emigrated to the USA in 82 and while doing my residency in Cleveland was fortunate enough to get to go to Dayton during the residency for part of it. Well obviously i had to go see my favorite plane which I did. It was parked outside in those days. All i can say is my gosh. Far more impressive in person than the magazine photos. Will never forget that visit.

So cool! The 1950s & 1960s were the time to be in aerospace!

@jimmyjohnjames6397

Ай бұрын

One of my neighbors is a retired aerospace engineer. He said the greatest thing about being in the field back then was "You eventually just had to build the damn thing to see if it would really fly.'

That looks fast just sitting still!

Designed by men who wore skinny ties, pocket protectors and knew how to use a slide rule. Love the silver tires and the wheel speed small tires on the main landing gear.

my compliments to the drone pilot! Very interesting and unique viewpoints of the aircraft!

My family was on a company picnic when we heard about the crash. It was on June 8, 1966. It also happened on my birthday. That is a beautiful airplane. If you are ever near the museum, go. I am retired USAF and loved having access to aircraft the average citizen would never have. Thanks for posting.

I drive by there for work a lot and was wondering why it was outside. Now I know!

Well, it doesn't really get much cooler than that.

I was there in October and saw my favorite plane. It did look dirty so it is awesome to see it get a bath! At first, I thought it was going to be flown!! Thanks for all of your hard work at this beautiful museum.

Wow! I was just there on May 18 2024, the XB-70 was the high point for me, although the B-36 was a close second. What a beautiful aircraft, nice to see it getting a bath! Great work!

@kevinfedorchak9330

Ай бұрын

Going in a few days. Planning on spending two days there. Really looking forward to it.

@glenmiller4995

Ай бұрын

@@kevinfedorchak9330 Nice!!! you will love it!!

What a gorgeous specimen. Thanks guys for keeping her looking great!

Was there just in April a day after the eclipse...so glad I got a chance to see this marvelous aircraft 👍

Easily the coolest machine - flying or otherwise- on the planet.

I grew up with this museum, I remember when there was only one or two buildings.

I worked in Aviation for 20 yrs and retired from it . One thing that was very important to safety was to keep your airplane clean . Should anything with fluids leak then they would show up much quicker and especially on a pre-flight . Seen it happen a few times and when i cleaned them also. Cleaning the XB - 70 had to be a honor .I would have cleaned that work of art with a soft bristle tooth brush . I have been to the Air Force Museum and have seen the XB - 70. Good gosh is it big . If you go to the Museum then plan at least 2 days.They gave a lot of " OH WOW airplanes and more than a few " ” " GOOD GOLLY LOOK AT THATs" too But you really should go.I sure am going to try .

What an elegant, and beautiful aircraft.

When I was 7 there was a cesna airport near me so I saw them all the time. My parents then took me to the local SAC base where there was a little museum but that's when I saw this massive beautiful plane.

An absolutely amazing place to visit! The XB-70 is majestic.

I recall Neil Armstrong being a presenter on an amazing aviation documentary series back in the 90s. In one episode he was walking out of the left inlet of the XB-70 and talking to the camera. Very cool. Neil was a cool dude.....in an aviation nerd sort of way. I beleive that same episode he flew left seat in an Air Force B1 Bomber. I'm pretty sure the Air Force doesn't let a lot of civilians fly their planes. But then, Neil Armstrong was no ordinary citizen.

Magnificent! We should've had 100 of these before the B-1s. 👍

What do you guys do about tires, dry rot, and them sitting in the same position for years on end? Do you have to plan for tire replacements every so often?

It's amazing how futuristic it still looks decades after trials stopped . What a fantastic Musium or collection of engineering and scientific excellence. Thank you for sharing.

That was one fast plane!!

@USAFmuseum

Ай бұрын

The futuristic XB-70A was originally conceived in the 1950s as a high-altitude, nuclear strike bomber that could fly at Mach 3 (three times the speed of sound) -- any potential enemy would have been unable to defend against such a bomber.

I've never seen a picture of opened weapons bays on the XB-70. Does it have weapon bays?

@user-fe8bf2lj2y

Ай бұрын

I haven't seen them either. My guess is that they had the space planned out for them but for the initial test jets, they had not yet actually been fitted with them. Just my somewhat educated guess.

@winternow2242

26 күн бұрын

They had payload bays for instruments. They weren't weapons bays and couldn't be opened in flight.

Was there on 1979 when this beauty was parked outside. Benn meaning to get back all these years and will do so this spring. Can’t wait!

Ya know, once a year the Air Force should be allowed to back it out of the hangar, chain it down, and run those engines to take-off power for a few seconds. If they sold tickets to that show they could fund the museum for a year or two, I'd bet. Same with the X-15 or the Thunder Screech.

@wfoj2

Ай бұрын

hate to be the Kill-joy. but how much would all that fuel cost?

@irvan36mm

Ай бұрын

It would probably take more than put fuel in it & hook up the start cart. Those engines probably haven’t been spun up since it flew to the museum in 1969.

@Cee64E

Ай бұрын

@@irvan36mm, Oh, no doubt about it. There might not even be engines in there anymore since all we see is the afterburner flame rings. But imagine if the National Museum of the United States Air Force could do the kinds of things the Conservation Air Force and Red Bull Aviation, among others, do; keeping large portions of their collections in flight-worthy condition and bringing them out now and again to show off. Take a couple circuits around the pattern or even just a start and run-up or fast taxi show. I'd pay money to see that.

@donaldsmith3127

Ай бұрын

@@Cee64E Yeah, I'm sure they could fly it. Just go get the two pilots who flew it in out of suspended animation. They keep them up the hill with the aliens from Roswell. 😜Oh wait, I don't think Wright Field's runway is long enough. Nice to dream about it, though.

@Cee64E

Ай бұрын

@@donaldsmith3127, While I agree it might be hard to find someone to pilot it, I'm pretty sure that it can fly off the runways at the museum. Pretty sure it has before, when it was a working airbase.

I got the grand tour of one of those aircraft when I was a kid. Amazing.

*That Republic XF-84H **_"Thunder Screech"_** Turboprop parked underneath the XB-70 was **_LOUDER_** than the Valkyrie's 6-pack.*

@smark1180

Ай бұрын

XF-84H

@Imnotyourdoormat

Ай бұрын

@@smark1180 *Touche...And Thank You. Making the correction now. And its Kool.*

Thank you for sharing that beautiful vision .

That's an impressive sight, wiw!

DO to my health I;m not able to get up there,,,,,,,,, growing up in the 50;s-60,s. it is the one aircraft I wanted to see before I pass. I have no one word to describe it. Dear Lord what a bird!

Valkyrie walkies!

This thing is awesome!! I wish she could still fly though.

Quite possibly the world’s most beautiful aircraft

My all time favorite aircraft

My Grandfather was an engineer and worked on the XB-70 project. I have some of his photos he took of the plane after completion. It's too cool only two were built, and only this one survives for all to see.

What an AWESOME machine!

I took the fam here four days before. Wow, did we miss the timing!

I just gotta say this museum makes me happy and sad I’m happy to see the aircraft being cared for and sad the we really can’t interact with them except just ogle them for afar I would love to just be able to look Inside the cockpit of some of those planes. I understand why they are so reserved with there aircraft but man I would love some more interactive stuff with the planes

@user-fe8bf2lj2y

Ай бұрын

If you go to the museum's website, they have videos of the cockpits of many of their aircraft on display, including the XB-70's. It's amazing videography.

Such a gorgeous airplane

Love to see her back in the sky someday!

Sad that something so beautiful and groundbreaking will never take to the skies again

It is so huge, I could t even touch the bottom of the engines.

Can you just imagine those 6 engines at full chat with the noise

Our cub scout den leader, who I think worked at the base, took us out to see the Valkyrie soon after it arrived at the museum. I remember standing under it when we were suddenly surrounded by a bunch of armed military guys in jeeps. I don't think we supposed to be there.

It looks like a bird released from its cage it's happy like it wants to fly very very fast !!!

I can still remember the 2 of them flying out of the flight test center the SR 71 sounds like a small kitten next to this plane taking off with all 6 engines in full Mil power sadly the one that crashed was the faster of the two and had all the updates they had learned from the first one

This aircraft scared the USSR more than any aircraft we ever developed. They built the Mig-25 just to counter it.

Curious what is causing the large wrinkling on the fuselage skin above the stars and bars on the port side??

@johnhutchison9782

Ай бұрын

Middle age, perhaps?😊

It still looks like something out of a sci-fi film.

Love seeing this old girl pushed out of the hangar. It's like she's about to take flight. "Valkyrie heavy, taxi to runway 5L and hold short..."

She literally looks like she's ready to go.😮

Ok - admit this airplane ( XB-70) came out of the hanger specifically for the bath. What is that second one that also came out? Ser #19307- clear view at 3:30 ? SM-62 Snark my first guess, see you have one - but think I am wrong. more looking believe it is the North American X-10- only one remaining - REALLY cool video. mixed thoughts of the music for the second half of video.

0:38 What’s the aircraft on the left?

@USAFmuseum

Ай бұрын

That is the North American X-10. Check out the fact sheet on our website here: www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/195756/north-american-x-10/

@jaybee9269

Ай бұрын

@@USAFmuseum >> Always something new!

@2:30 looks like war of the worlds.

If today’s aerospace engineers were asked to design a plane with the same performance goals how much would it look like the XB-70?

I bet if you added fuel and a few batteries she would start. Nice bird

Makes the SR71 look small.

Tell me about any missions this beast was engaged in

@fyrmnjim1

Ай бұрын

She was a prototype in the 60's. Her twin crashed during a test flight and the program was discontinued.

A CHARIOT FOR THE GODS OF VALHALLA

Imagine being the guy that damages the one of a kind, only remaining Valkyrie while moving it or something. *Whew* No pressure buddy! Also, let's take her out for a spin dry. 😏😉

Question for anyone that worked on her...I noticed a lot of wrinkles in some areas of the skin. Are those areas original, or are they patches? No old jokes please.

This machine is stupidly cool. Way before it's time, but to late to the 'cold war' party. ICBM? Your not nearly as neat as the XB-70.

At 0:26, ugly wrinkles, 0:42, more wrinkles above logo, 1:20 and some more... I presume that's the real plane, but with all those wrinkles, I'm not 100% sure it's not a mockup? ;-) Either way, it's a cool aircraft.

@glennwolf2361

Ай бұрын

Just wait an see how many wrinkles you'll have when you're 60 years old

@TairnKA

29 күн бұрын

@@glennwolf2361 Good point. btw - I'm 68. ;-D

Well the music made this awful

Looks beautiful. Shame it was useless.

@bdockett

Ай бұрын

Soviet Union spent vast sums in money/time/effort building an air defense optimized for high speed/high altitude interception to counter a fleet of attacking B-70's. They (the USSR) were unprepared when the real threat emerged as the ground hugging B1 Lancer. XB-70 helped bankrupt the USSR.

@winternow2242

26 күн бұрын

​@@bdockettwhen did the Soviets spend money on defenses against the XB-70A?

@bdockett

26 күн бұрын

@@winternow2242 That the well-publicized XB-70 program caused the Soviets to rework their air defense is part of the established narrative of the history of the XB-70. Is the narrative true? I don't really know. Perhaps you are prepared to refute all or part of that narrative. If so, please enlighten us.