Never-Seen Photos Of Boeing's 1960s Stealth Jet Concept That Predicted The Future

FoxTrot Alpha ^ | 9/22/15 | Tyler Rogoway

[taildragger]

For years, all the aviation world knew about Boeing’s secret stealth project from the 1960s was limited to a name and a single mysterious photo. It seemed like a relic out of time, possessing many stealthy design features that wouldn’t exist until decades later, and even then, only in highly classified black projects.

[taildragger]

[taildragger]

Read the rest of the article folks, all I can say is wow. Way ahead of it's time. One could only imagine if Mil-Brass allowed a handful to be built just to go "Downtown" just to drop leaflets to thumb their nose at Ho Chi Minh to spook them as it would get their and back probably undetected...

One thing that strikes me is they added the almost "shark fin" ( which is also ahead of it's time ) tips to the ruddervator V-tails just like the wingtips vs the drawings. I wonder if that was done after wind tunnel testing, which begs the question was it wind tunnel tested...

[cripplecreek]

A lot of tech was conceivable long ago but it took modern computing tech to make them reality. The F117s would be extremely unstable without onboard computers sensing conditions and making constant adjustments without pilot input.

[rodguy911]

What a coincidence how many things were invented created (remanufactured) after say “1947”,just sheer coincidence....

[taildragger]

That is true CC. However, I think the Boeing design was probably has positive static stability as it was designed way before fly by wire, and these guys were old-school. It might have made it less maneuverable, but that is ok. The F117 can't fly without the black box/fly-by-wire and we had one with a control system failure and it came apart in flight @ an airshow.

[Gaffer]

Really neat story. I think one reason that the military wasn’t so keen on the design was because of their doctrine the time. Speed, firepower and EW. At that time EW was a strong suit in the arsenal. Radars weren’t all that sophisticated and the entire gamut of EW techniques were coming into their heyday. In essence, they felt they could avoid/obscure detection via standoff or own-ship EW (what’s now called EA/EP).

As radars became more sophisticated, then the area of detectability became more important.

[taildragger]

Gentlemen, ( Aeronaut; Paleo Conservative ) Aviation Ping List Please!!!

[Farmer Dean]

The Germans had some pretty advanced designs on the boards too.

[cripplecreek]

Right about the time we came into the possession of a bunch of nazi scientists who were working on things far advanced beyond us.

[Gaffer]

Yes. Also, IIRC the control surfaces of the B-2 is so important to stable flight it requires quaternary backup of the computer system responsible for it.

[stockpirate]

ping

[Gen.Blather]

There have always been technological outliers; potential weapons or products decades or centuries before their time. In the automotive world disk brakes, rack and pinion steering, overhead valves, fuel injection, safety belts, crush zones and many other inventions, were actually known about decades before they became generally available. There are a myriad of economic and technical reasons for this, but probably the bigger ones are not-invented-here, ego, and just plain stupidity on the part of people who could and did simply say, “no.”

[Gaffer]

I took the comment to be more “Roswell 1947” :0)

[Arthur McGowan]

I remember how Jimmy Carter, in order to counter his image as a wimp, leaked the details of the Stealth aircraft during the 1980 campaign, an act which, if he hadn’t been President, would have landed him in prison for life.

[taildragger]

Oops should read : Boeing design was probably has had positive static stability as it was designed way before fly by wire,

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

I remember that.

[lavaroise]

I think they had a prop plane made entirely out of wood to just that istealthily in Vietnam

[lavaroise]

Stealth became important because unfortunately the Cold War allowed the Soviets to build a nuclear rocket arsenal that would have requires a stealthy first strike. Stealth is only a shield unfortunately.

[elcid1970]

By 1980 Jimmah Carter already hated America and was ready to do something about it. This was but one example.

After his defeat Jimmah was deprived of that power, so ever since then he has tried to harm America’s ally, Israel.

Even Jimmah’s cancer announcement was preceded with “Love him or hate him, you’re all now supposed to feel sorry for him”.

Feh.

[taildragger]

"There have always been technological outliers; potential weapons or products decades or centuries before their time. In the automotive world disk brakes, rack and pinion steering, overhead valves, fuel injection, safety belts, crush zones and many other inventions, were actually known about decades before they became generally available. There are a myriad of economic and technical reasons for this, but probably the bigger ones are not-invented-here, ego, and just plain stupidity on the part of people who could and did simply say, “no.”

Yes, one comes to mind is ( and his was a WWII aircraft mechanic ) is "Hillborn Fuel Injection" for race cars. It is usually demand driven by introducing these items to high end products and they then filter down to average consumers as they become fungible or sadly the need is driven by Fedzilla regs. Sometimes it is materials, they aren't their yet. And a big yes to the people who say "No". Off comments on that one coming your way....