Airplanes
Oh boy, airplanes! They fly through the air using magic. I have two vintage examples for you today.
Let's start with this rather incredible jet, one of only two built - the North American Aviation XB-70 Valkyrie is a retired prototype version of the planned B-70 nuclear-armed, deep-penetration supersonic strategic bomber for the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command. Designed in the late 1950s by North American Aviation (NAA) to replace the B-52 Stratofortress and B-58 Hustler, the six-engine, delta-winged Valkyrie could cruise for thousands of miles at Mach 3+ while flying at 70,000 feet.
It looks like something out of a sci-fi movie or TV show! To read more about the Valkyrie, see the article on Wikipedia HERE.
I was reminded of the Quest Jet/Dragonfly in Jonny Quest! Yes, I know that there are clear differences, just go along so that I don't freak out.
And... I wasn't looking for this, but here's a cool photo of a Valkyrie with its six engines glowing blue upon takeoff:
Next is this scan from a slide labeled "Japan 1949". Hmmm! Of course I had no idea what this airplane is, but that triangular tail is pretty distinctive. After a little research, I found out that it is a T-6 Texan - coincidentally, also from North American Aviation. The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is a single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Air Force, United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1970s.
The T-6 Texan remains a popular warbird used for airshow demonstrations and static displays. It has also been used many times to simulate various historical aircraft, including the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero. A total of 15,495 T-6s of all variants were built.
2 comments:
In the first photo, I was wondering where the engines were on the Valkyrie. I sorta thought they would be on/under the wings. Then you showed us the photo of the valkyrie taking off... Ah, there they are! Makes much more sense that they would be in the rear. It also makes the plane look really badass!
Where did you get that realistic image of the Quest jet? The series was animated (old-style cel animation) so we never saw anything like this in the series! Is this an actual toy model of the plane against a cloud strewn sky?
I think I've seen the T-6 Texan many times in movies, TV, and air shows. I remember that red engine cowl and red tail. I think we even had a toy model of it made of steel; it was heavy!
It's always neat to see planes! Thanks, Major.
I don't really know much about airplanes! But I've been busy scanning the thousands of slides and negatives in my dad's collection, and came across some slides of the "Valkryie," from when it was first rolled out in May of 1964, in Palmdale, California. I ended up on that same Wikipedia page, trying to learn more about the airplane in the photos. FYI...of the two prototypes made, the one in your photo survived and is in the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, at Wright-Patterson AFB, in Ohio.
Thanks, Major!
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