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Quiz about The XB70 Do you know the ways of the Valkyrie

The XB-70. Do you know the ways of the Valkyrie? Quiz

How much do you know about the greatest bomber prototype of all time?

A multiple-choice quiz by Chainsawofdoom. Estimated time: 7 mins.

Author
Chainsawofdoom

Time
7 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
124,963

Updated
Oct 29 23

# Qns
15

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
8 / 15

Plays
1064

Awards
Top 20% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 15

1. What was the name of the company that researched, designed, and finally developed the XB-70? Hint

Northrop

Lockheed Martin

North American

NASA

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Question 2 of 15

2. What was the Valkyrie designed to do? Hint

Low level, nape-of-the-earth strategic bomber.

High speed, high altitude research platform.

Recon platform, with interim strike capabilities.

High altitude, high speed penetration nuclear bomber

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Question 3 of 15

3. There were only two Valkyries ever built. Why? Hint

During the construction of the second aircraft, the government redesignated the project to research.

The cost was too great after the second Valkyrie was built, and the budget for the project ran out.

The aircraft showed a flawed design.

There were many Valkyries built, not just two. They still fly to this day.

4. The Valkyrie was the first aircraft to employ a revolutionary material composite in it's construction. Designed to withstand the extreme heat and stress encountered in its flight enviroment, it was called: Hint

Carbon Fiber

Stainless steel honeycomb and Titanium

Boron Ethylene fuel, used as a coolant

Solid Titanium construction.

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Question 5 of 15

5. OK, here's a tough one. What was the tail number of the first Valkyrie? (USAF designation #) Hint

The Valkyries were prototypes. Thus, they had no tail insigna.

20207

20001

20887

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Question 6 of 15

6. How many tires did the Valkyrie have? (Hint: Not all were used to support the weight of the plane!) Hint

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Question 7 of 15

7. Needless to say, the tires on the Valkyrie needed to be very special and tough in order to be able to withstand the enormous weight of the aircraft, as well as the ferocious heat of high MACH flight. How were they built to cope with these problems? Hint

They were solid rubber, with no air inside to expand and blow up.

They were normal bomber tires, but filled with inert nitrogen gas instead of air.

They were made of solid steel.

They were made of aluminum impregnated 48 ply rubber.

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Question 8 of 15

8. During the first flight of the #1 aircraft, something malfunctioned seriously in the main landing gears, and forced the craft to cut short its maiden flight and return to Edwards AFB straight away. What happened? Hint

The right main gear wheelwell door jammed, and bent some of the hydraulic lines, leading to loss of braking.

Three tires burst on the left main gear during takeoff.

The main gears refused to fold up properly, only turning perpendicular instead of stowing safely.

The nose gear became damaged by a bird strike on takeoff.

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Question 9 of 15

9. Following the malfunction of the landing gear on the first flight, the perils of the first flight were not over. What frightening thing happened after the first Valkyrie touched down on its first flight and almost caused the loss of the plane? Hint

The nose gear failed to support the weight of the aircraft during this hard landing and almost collapsed.

The left main landing gear caught fire.

The braking paracutes failed to deploy, causing the speeding Valkyrie to overshoot the end of the runway.

The winds had picked up and made landing the plane extemely difficult.

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Question 10 of 15

10. What were the names of the pilots to first fly the Valkyrie, on her maiden flight? Hint

John Glenn and Chuck Yeager

Chuck Yeager and Col. Frank Bishop

Al White and Joe Cotton

Fitz Fulton and Al White

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Question 11 of 15

11. After almost every high-speed flight, ship one lost much of its _____ due to the flexibility of the aircraft. Hint

Tires. They were destroyed on every landing.

Fuel

Paint

Engine lifespan

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Question 12 of 15

12. What colors were the XB-70 Valkyrie prototypes? Hint

Black

White

Dull Gray

Camouflage

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Question 13 of 15

13. The second Valkyrie differed from the first in a subtle design change. What was the change? Hint

5 degrees of dihedral was added to the wings

It was the first to actually carry and test weapons. The first could not.

It had larger tailfins with small horizontal stabilizers.

The entire nose could droop like the Concorde, so that pilots could see the runway on landing.

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Question 14 of 15

14. OK, here's a nice tough one. The XB-70 had the worlds largest moving surface on an aircraft and a unique ability to droop the outer portions of the wings, from 25 degrees to a severe 70 degrees. This was to take advantage of a newly discovered phenomenon. What was this effect called? Hint

Shockwave channeling.

Compression Lift

Fly-by-wire.

Boost-glide recovery.

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Question 15 of 15

15. The second Valkyrie prototype could be easily differentiated from the first to the astute eye. What two external visual markings were on ship two that allowed it to be told apart from ship one? Hint

There was an eagle painted on the tailfins and a red line down the spine of the plane.

The fuselage under the nose was painted black and the tail numbers were 20207.

Ship two had eight engines and the nose was painted black to reduce glare.

The tail number was 20558 and the pitot tubes were black.

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What was the name of the company that researched, designed, and finally developed the XB-70?

Answer: North American

North American, later North American Rockwell, designed and built the XB-70 Valkyrie as a bomber prototype. Twenty years after the Valkyrie was designed, flown, and finally cancelled, it later built the B1a and B1-b bomber.

2. What was the Valkyrie designed to do?

Answer: High altitude, high speed penetration nuclear bomber

The original design, issued by the USAF, called for an extremely high speed, high altitude bomber that could fly higher and faster than any interceptor of the time, and shower the then USSR with nuclear warheads. The Valkyrie was also required to have "intercontinental" range.

3. There were only two Valkyries ever built. Why?

Answer: During the construction of the second aircraft, the government redesignated the project to research.

Sadly and perhaps unfortunately, only two XB-70 Valkyries were ever built.

Answer: Stainless steel honeycomb and Titanium

Some of the outer skins used on the airplane were less than .007" (Seven one thousanths!) of an inch thick!

5. OK, here's a tough one. What was the tail number of the first Valkyrie? (USAF designation #)

Answer: 20001

Ship one held the tail number 20001. Ship two was designated 20207.

6. How many tires did the Valkyrie have? (Hint: Not all were used to support the weight of the plane!)

Answer: 12

There were a total of 12 tires in all, four on each of the main landing gears and two on the nose wheel. However, on the main gears closest to the aircraft center of gravity, there were two smaller "bogie" tires that were used to assess ground speed, anti-lock functions for the brakes, and other data.

Answer: They were made of aluminum impregnated 48 ply rubber.

All tires were specially designed and build by Bridgestone, out of 48 ply (!) aluminum impregnated rubber, and then filled to approx 500 lbs. of pressure. This gave them the ability to withstand tremendous heat and the enormous friction encountered during landing or takeoff. In fact, they have so much aluminum in them that they appear silver instead of black!

Answer: The main gears refused to fold up properly, only turning perpendicular instead of stowing safely.

When the pilots tried to raise the complicated landing gears to increase speeds, the main gears jammed and turned only 90 degrees inward and refused to fold up and stow away. Thankfully, when the lever was thrown back into the "wheels down" position, they returned to the correct position. Fearing any more malfunctions, the pilots landed quickly thereafter.

Answer: The left main landing gear caught fire.

During the rollout after a perfect landing, the brakes locked on the left main landing gear and caused the screeching tires to catch fire. Thankfully, there were several firetrucks at the ready and the fire was extinguished quickly. The flames were, for a minute or two, raging about 5 feet from over a hundred thousand pounds of fuel!

10. What were the names of the pilots to first fly the Valkyrie, on her maiden flight?

Answer: Al White and Joe Cotton

Al White was the commander of the flight, and stayed with the Valkyrie program throughout most of its lifespan. He made more flights in the XB-70 than anyone else (lucky guy!)

11. After almost every high-speed flight, ship one lost much of its _____ due to the flexibility of the aircraft.

Answer: Paint

The aircraft was highly flexible and twisted and flexed during flight, and even stretched a few inches due to the metal expanding under the intense air friction. Large portions of the white paint would flake and peel away.

12. What colors were the XB-70 Valkyrie prototypes?

Answer: White

Both Valkyries were painted high-gloss white.

13. The second Valkyrie differed from the first in a subtle design change. What was the change?

Answer: 5 degrees of dihedral was added to the wings

The first Valkyrie demonstrated some sideslip instability, so some dihedral (upward cant on the wings) was added to the second prototype.

Answer: Compression Lift

The Valkyries were designed to take advantage of the enormous shockwave that was formed as the plane blasted through the air twice as fast as a rifle bullet. The wings could be lowered to channel and shape the shockwave, and allow the XB-70 to "ride" on this shockwave, greatly reducing drag and creating enormous lift.

Answer: The fuselage under the nose was painted black and the tail numbers were 20207.

Ship two's tail number was 20207, while ship one was 20001. Also, the underside of the cockpit area was painted black, as ship two had a look-down terrain scanning radar, and ship one did not.

Source: Author Chainsawofdoom

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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