All of the Republicans could have voted “no” and it would still pass the Senate. The “no” votes here are nothing but CYA “no” votes for the upcoming elections. The budget already passed the House. Boehner has already given the Senators cover.
F/A-18's are capable of about a 55 degree angle of attack in level flight at very low air speeds. It would not be unusual to see this occur if the pilot is trying to keep it in the air long enough to dump as much fuel as possible. I would assume that this was the pilot's intention.
Specific to the XB-70, it was to allow for the point on the leading edge of the lower portion of the wing at the intake to form a compression wave at high speeds that provided as much as 30% of the lift as the aircraft rode the compression wave much like a surf board.
Blame needs to be placed on Olympia Snowe. That moron helped to get the bill out of committee in the senate to begin with. Had she voted no then, the House would not have had anything to vote on.
Yes, the rivets matter. As do the flat junctions at the ends of the leading edge slats, the straight edges to all of the access panels and bypass vents, the fairings to the actuators on the bottom of the wing. Calling it stealth doesn’t make it invisible to radar. Attention to detail is critical.