From: megazone@obsidian.WPI.EDU (MegaZone23)
Subject: Re: B70
Organization: WPI USAF -- United Society of Animation Fans
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 16:32:46 GMT


From megazone@obsidian.WPI.EDU (MegaZone23)

In article <BvyqqB.5r5@law7.DaytonOH.NCR.COM> turner@udecc.engr.udayton.edu (Bob Turner) writes:
>I hate these long threads of piling on. However to get some facts straight
>from this thread:
>1. The XB70 burned Hydrazine. Apparently real nasty stuff, reactive and
>	toxic, not exactly what the ground crew wants.

In 'High Speed Flight' by Bill Sweetman writes on page 123:
"The entire boron-fuel project was cnacelled in August[1959], after 
persistent problems: the fuel clogged anything that could clog, and was toxic,
so the J93-GE-3 with conventional fuel was substituted in the B-70."

>[mod note -- Let's see some documentation on this -- All I've ever seen on
>the XB-70 was that it burned "standard" jet fuel.  Even the SR-71 burns a
>kerosene based fuel, and the U-2/TR-1 burns a kerosene based fuel ]

As did the actual XB-70s.

>2. One XB70 crashed killing one of the crew. That pilot's capsule
>	(similar if not the same as the crew capsules in the B58) didn't
>	eject.

Time-Life Books Epic of Flight, "Designers and Test Pilots."
"Then on June 8, 1966, one of the Valkyries was demolished in a midair 
collision with an F-104 Starfighter flown by Joe Walker, one of aviation's
finest test pilots. Two years later, the research program was shelved as too
costly, and the surviving XB-70 was retired to the Air Force Museum at Wright-
Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio."

There are a series of photos, captions;
"The XB-70 leads a formation of supersonic jets seconds before Joe Walker's
red-tailed F-104 collides with the bombers right wing tip."
"The doomed Valkyrie continues on course as Walker's F-104 explodes in flames,
Wlaker had no chance to escape."
"Trailing white plumes of fuel, the XB-70 begins to tumble earthward. Its 
pilot, Al White, managed to eject but was badly injured."
"A plume of black smoke rises from the wreckage of the Valkyrie. The copilot,
Carl Cross, went down with the plane.

In other sources I don't have time to dig up right now it states that Al White
had the ejection capsule close on his elbow. He had to wrench his arm free to
get the capsule to close the rest of the way. Then the impact attenuation
bags didn't inflate and he was injured seriously on impact and as the capsule
was pulled along by the chutes.

The F-104 struck the wingtip them rolled across the top sheering off the
verticals on the XB-70.

>5. WINGS alluded to the fact the reason the XB70 production program was
>	cancelled was monetary. The USAF could have either the XB70 or
>	ballistic missiles (probably the minuteman). Plus increasing

Basically correct, missiles were seen as cheaper to build and operate. As
well as being quicker into service. When the XB-70 was proposed as the
RS-70 for recon-strike ti was quietly squashed. The CIA was already involved
with the A-12. Which later became the RS-71, which got messed into the SR-71.
The RS-71 was recon-strike the SR is Strategic Recon. But with the new info
it looks like the SR-71 could have been fitted for weapons carriage in the
sensor bays. At one point a pure strike version was proposed by Lockheed.

The budget was also behind the cancellation of the X-6 nuclear aircraft...

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