XB-70 VALKYRIE | Wake Vortex crash explained
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- čas přidán 21. 05. 2024
- This is the story of the Valkyrie XB70 nuclear strike bomber, big brother of the SR-71 Blackbird. Both first flew in 1964. Wake turbulence is explained and how this played a role in a tragic midair crash. The analysis is illustrated with 3D animations and presented in an easy to understand manner.
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Music is by Borrtex.
Changing • Borrtex - Changing
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Light • Borrtex - Light (Offic...
Plants • Plants (Remastered)
|Paper plane wake vortex| thanks to Nick Schrader for permission to use • Wake Turbulence From a...
|Sea Fury smoke trails| thanks to Elliot Seguin for permission to use • Sanders Smoke Demo 10....
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The Valkyrie was the fastest and largest nuclear strike bomber ever made and could fly its whole mission at a staggering Mach 3. It still looks futuristic today even though it is almost 60 years old.
This was a remarkable design with many innovations which pushed the boundaries of aeronautics, propulsion, and materials. But its history was cut short and only 2 of these planes ever flew.
One of these was destroyed in a tragic mid-air crash in 1966 while flying in close formation.
This was a tragic freak accident which highlighted the dangers of wake turbulence.
Aircraft disturb the air they pass through. In the process they churn up these horizontal mini tornadoes.
Wake turbulence can be dangerous and violent. It can easily flip a smaller aircraft upside down.
The Valkyrie was a cutting-edge wonder from North American Aviation. Their previous designs included the World War 2 Mustang. The Korean War Sabre and the X15 rocket plane.
In 1957 a contract was awarded with the intent to build a fleet of these bombers.
The plan was to make it immune from Soviet defences by flying too fast and too high.
However Intercontinental ballistic missiles would deliver nuclear weapons faster, cheaper and without risking pilots and the Soviets developed missiles that could potentially shoot down the bomber.
The windshield and nose ramp pivoted. They were lowered so the pilot could see ahead at slow speed and raised when supersonic for streamlining.
Its wingtips folded in flight. They could be set to 25 and 65 degrees. When lowered they harnessed compression lift from the supersonic shock wave and improved directional stability when flying at Mach 3.
The formation flew for 40 minutes in a racetrack pattern over the California desert.
On this day, Al White was piloting the Valkyrie. For co-pilot Carl Cross this was his first flight in the bomber.
Jo Cotton was flying as observer in the passenger seat of the T-38.
The other aircraft involved in this crash was a F104 starfighter. It was flown by Joe Walker.
Air traffic control from Edwards Air force base reported a B58 on a speed run at much higher altitude and posing no hazard. This radio call came 20 Seconds before the collision.
Joe Walker may have looked up to locate the aircraft and drifted into the wake of the bomber while momentarily distracted.
His tail hit the wing tip and he pitched up. The inside wing entered the dirty air of the vortex. It lost lift from stalling in the steep angle of the airflow. The stalled wing dropped from the reduced lift which flipped the fighter upside down. As it slid across the top of the bomber it sheared off most of the fins. The huge craft flew on straight for 15 to 20 seconds but then fell into a snap roll and lost part of its left wing. It tumbled and rolled into a flat spin while spewing fuel.
Al White ejected from the bomber. It remains a mystery why the co-pilot did not use his ejection capsule.
The pilots had specially designed ejection capsules with clamshell doors for protection from the Mach 3 air blast. Before closing the doors, the pilot had to retract into the capsule and pull in his feet.
Carl Cross went down with the huge craft which crashed in the California desert north of Barstow.
It seems inconceivable that Jo Walker with his exceptional skill and experience would collide in mid-air like this.
The length of the precision formation flying may have been a factor. This required 40 minutes of unbroken focused concentration.
Music is by Borrtex.
We are Saved • Borrtex - We Are Saved
Light • Borrtex - Light (Offic...
Sea Fury smoke trails. Thanks to Elliot Seguin • Sanders Smoke Demo 10....
Paper plane wake. Thanks to Nick Schrader • Wake Turbulence From a...
Delta wing primary vortices • Video - Věda a technologie
As a former USAF Pilot, I was humbled by the fact that such a great pilot could have such an accident. This video could be shown to all incoming USAF student pilots to teach them about safety and always being aware to never let their guard down.
You look like you fly transports..
@@tumslucks9781 you sound like you fly an office chair
@@BlueZirnitra well said
So you are saying that walker should have been taught about safety and about never letting his guard down. Thank you.
Hahahahahahhaha
I've been waiting for someone to do a continuous animation of the crash sequence for years - well done, this is absolutely excellent.
Very happy when my efforts are appreciated. Thanks 😊
There we go. Yes thanks dear fellow
The animation of the view from the cockpit of the overflying B-58 speaks volumes. Meanwhile, I didn’t realize they been flying around for so long. What the heck it does it take to take a photograph? On station for more than 15 minutes?! Seriously WTF.
Fascinating history, stunning looking airplane.
@@JoeOvercoat Well, it takes quite a lot more than 15 minutes. In 15 mins you can get maybe a couple of good photos while walking on ground around the plane, IF you have made a strict pre-plans on what viewpoints you want photos from. When flying in the air, you are very lucky to get just one. From your comment it is clear that you lack the relevant knowledge on both taking photos and how planes behave in air to make an informed opinion about it.
Seriously WTF. Why the hell people need to have their stupid opinions voiced? Go learn these thing. Make yourself informed and then make your opinion. Otherwise you'll just make yourself a fool.
I've been an aircraft designer for over 20 years but when I see the Valkyrie I am floored by the innovation and skill of the engineers 60 years ago. Those guys were all stars for sure.
People have no clue the endless effort and genius that goes into an aircraft design. When it appears effortless is when is when it was a truly fantastic team effort. Its the same with a great building.
How far was the British Vulcan made before its time.
Without PCs, with some using slide rules and actual drawing/drafting boards...
Then came people who copied it and made a concorde😂😂😎🇺🇸
@@JoeBiden1776The Concorde was not a copy of anything. If you put these 2 next to each other you see more differences than similarities.
This is the first time I've ever heard the duration of flight and distraction of the B 58 being mentioned.
Thanks for adding that extra information and the stunning visuals.
Glad it was helpful!
I was intrigued by the new info of the higher flying B-58. This is the first I’ve heard of a possible distracting visual. I recall being in highschool when this accident occurred. And all for a brochure cover photo! Certainly
wasn’t worth the cost of 2 expert top flight pilots! Thank you for the excellent description
and clarifying visuals!
The geese formation paradigm was just excellent. Makes the phenomenon instantly imprinted.
This was the first video I saw about that accident that mentioned the stress to be highly concentrated for 40 minutes and the effect of a short distraction. In some other videos or newspaper article I heard or read that the accident was caused by Joe Walker flying to close by recklessnes. Everybody who flies know how fast a short distraction can get you in a bad situation.
Thanks for mention that. That puts that accident in a different light!
Now I wonder why they were in this formation or anything like it for so long. Especially back in the day you could only take so many photographs. It was film. What were they thinking burning that much gas even?
Fact: Walker flew into the Valkyrie. Was it a stupid mission? Was he distracted? Maybe and maybe. Explanations don’t change facts tho. It was an unfortunate, unforced error.
@@JoeOvercoat they probably realized that this was their 1 chance for a photo op, so they better make the most of it. Also, unlike digital cameras, film cameras can't show you previews of your shot, so you have to take as many as possible.
This is a guess, but there was probably some hope that a splashy photo spread might lead to renewed consideration of the B-70 or even newer planes.
@@winternow2242 yes, I think they were concentrating on getting that ‘best shot’ in a difficult shooting environment and became complacent as to the dangerous conditions that the formation required. Personally, I lay the blame on the leadership that dreamed this whole stunt up and then didn’t put strict limitations on what would be involved in the shoot like not pushing the safety envelope. All for what? A great calendar shot, might even had made the cover for that one year.
It's true. I was a butcher at a high end shop, and the only time I ever cut myself was when a gorgeous woman walked in and I did a double take lol. Stabbed my thumb to the bone once while steeling and one of my favorite customers came in...oh my twenties, if I could redo you...
I've seen lots of videos of the incident, but this is the very first time any mention of the B-58 flying way over head that might have caused a distraction . a small little side note as an older teenager who built lots of models. On my display shelf in my bedroom I had a XB-70 and a B-58 sitting side by side. Right next to the Saturn 5 rocket that could separate into all the staging to include the Lunar lander you could attach to the nose of the Command Module. So many more from the SR71 to the X-15 and my pride and joy a completely transparent P-51D on a stand that you could raise and lower the landing gear and spin the props by pushing a control button. I was a teenager who is now 68 years old :- ( . memories....🙂
Being big into Rocketry, I had a few extra D-cell engines I mounted into the XB-70. I went to my local school yard and set them off. The flame warped one engine port side and sent the XB-70 into a corkscrew about 10' off the ground and 40 feet off the launch pad. I've got pictures with exhaust trails of about 3 complete turns around everyone. The X-15 had a joined epoxied 2 D cell and was last seen screaming out over the Pacific coast at 100 foot altitude straight to the horizon 🙂. Many of my models met their end in much the same glorious way.
It's cool to hear your stories of your models. In the mid 1960's my folks had a little hobby shop in Ft Worth, Texas near the Camp Bowie traffic circle. It, (and the elementary school I attended), were right under the flight path north of Carswell AFB and so we got to see lots of B-52s, tankers, Hustlers, the F1-11 and other fighters I never learned the names of flying pretty low in and out of the base. Every year the base had an air show and we could see the Thunderbirds performing from that area. One year, I'm pretty sure it was 1965, one of the X-B70's came to the air show. The local radio stations actually tracked it's movements so locals could go outside at the right time to see it. It flew over my school coming in to land on its arrival. Then when it left for California after the show everybody was able to come out to see it take off over our heads. It was absolutely the most beautiful, charismatic airplane ever. I fell in love with it and have never recovered. As a kid I thought it looked like a big, white dragon. It was really loud on takeoff. We were used to loud takeoffs but NOTHING compared to those six engines roaring when it blew over. It made a second pass and then headed west. I've heard that the one that came to Carswell was the one that crashed. Makes me sad, but I feel lucky to have seen it.
Anyway, Ft Worth had a pretty active modeling community then. We sold RC, control line and free flight planes, and we flew every weekend to support the business. There were always people out flying. There was also a group who built plastic models. They built them carefully and did research to do the paint jobs really accurately. We would display their models in our shop window. The Aurora plastic movie monster kits were big too, as was Rat Fink and all the Big Daddy Roth character car kits, Davey, Daddy, Digger, and Danny. They were intentionally grotesque and funny. All the kids loved them. Rocketry got big later.
Anyway, it was a fun time and place to be a kid.
@@justicewokeisutterbs8641 I too got into rocketry and launched many at my school But I went a step further. I modified 2 D cell motors and epoxied them into one long stage. Mounted it into a X-15 and lunched it out over Monterey Bay from a small cliff. Last seen screaming at Mach 10 flying level at 50 feet to the horizon. My SR 71 didn't fair quite so well.😄
@@MatthewPettyST1300
That is so cool! Great memories of great fun. I think there was something special about putting all the work into a model, rig something wild like your X-15 with modified engines and then risking it in flight. There's nothing quite like it. 😎👍
Damn. On the one hand those toys sound expensive for the time, on the other your passion saved your parents entire days wondering what presents to give you, so that’s something i guess.
What a superb, well crafted documentary. It's never pleasant to focus the blame on a deceased, experienced, talented professional but there are few other contributing factors. Wake vortex was a known quantity to all those pilots in the photo-shoot. RIP to both men.
Thanks Wayne
Told me things I didn't know. Just watching bits if footage over the years I thought the pilot of the small plane was a maverick showoff. Sorry.
Everything about this is superbly done. The copy. The rendering. The selective use of graphics. The clarity.
Thanks very much. It is great you appreciate my efforts… 😊
Great video and animation. Been following this since I was a kid in the 1960s, and my father was a USAF bomber pilot in the 1950s and 60s. He told me that I might be flying it one day, as a replacement for the B-52 that he flew. I got up close and personal with the remaining XB-70 at Wright-Pat AFB in 1980, before the AF museum was revamped. The XB-70 was outside in front of the museum and I was there just before closing, when almost no-one was there and it was getting dusk. There was a jack-up extended maintenance stand a few dozen yards from it, and since I had used them when I was a USAF crew chief, I thought why not get a picture of the cockpit. I screwed up the jack stand pods and pushed it over to the XB-70, then jacked up the stairs until they were level with the cockpit and ran up the stairs to the platform. I got several pictures before a patrolling Security Police airman saw me and yelled at me to get down from there, which I did, but I was close enough to touch the side windscreen although I did not touch it. A moment of magical wonder for me at that time.
Great story! Thanks for sharing. I would love to see your pictures 👍
Great story! I have a soft spot for the B-52, but oh my, the B-70 was magical.
Joe Walker flew the X-15 above the Karman Line on 2 successive flights....and was the first person to enter space twice.
Still have a memory of seeing both aircraft at Edwards AFB in May 1966, just weeks before the accident. A/V1 was on static display while A/V2 was in flight.
F1 cars also develop these vortices-->either from the rear wing end plates or from the Y250(250 millimeters from the central axis of the car)vortex generated by the front wings and elements. F1 engineers want as strong a Y250 vortex as possible as those vortices come together into 1 big vortex which is then spread out to the outside of the F1 sidepods by the bargeboard. Interesting to see under heavy humid conditions or when its raining by either the front wing and rear wing on an F1 car.
Excellently done, and includes film footage of the XB-70 I've never seen in any other video of the plane. This video also explains the role of wake turbulence in the incident better than any I've seen. It's narrated clearly and the graphics, mixed with actual footage, are outstanding. The research done on sonic booms, using the XB-70 is slightly tainted, because the use of compression lift with the drooped wingtips tended to focus the supersonic shock wave downward, increasing its energy in that direction. I was a youngster when this plane flew, and it has always been my favorite, alongside the SR-71. It's truly a huge aircraft, I've walked under it at the USAF Museum when it was housed in the Museum Annex hangar at Wright-Patterson AFB. The SR-71 is half its size, maybe less.
I recall as a child born in 65 and becoming an aeronautics and space junky, the first time seeing a picture of the XB-70 on the ground. I did not think it was real, I thought it was a futuristic mock up of a someday plane. When eventually learning of Her reality and history, (remember, we didn't have internet. Just books and magazines) I was brought to tears. Well done.
The cause of this accident was partially due to choosing the Learjet as the photo ship.
All the other aircraft are supersonic capable, mach 2+ aircraft.
At supersonic speeds, wake turbulence is less a factor. If the XB-70 was at speed, with wingtips deflected into waverider configuration, the supersonic shock wave would have been generating additional lift, in conjunction with higher Q, meaning lower angle of attack in supersonic cruise, the wake vortex's would have been substantially reduced or eliminated.
Great video. I always thought there was something else to it, considering the talent involved.
They never would have done a photo shoot at supersonic speed anyway.
Superb job. Best ever made on this subject. Thank you, from a retired F/A-18 pilot and DT/OT test pilot.
Glad you liked it!
This is the best treatment of this bit of history that I have viewed yet. Thanks for dealing thoroughly with the lives of the pilots.
Thanks. I am glad you appreciate my efforts
I've seen the surviving XB-70, back in the 70s when it was first parked outside the Airforce Museum. A truly awesome aircraft to behold.
I don't think it's inconceivable at all that an highly experienced pilot of an aircraft could make a slight error. When one gets very experienced, where they feel they could do a certain task in your sleep, they get COMPLACENT. And maybe they aren't as hyperalert as they would be if they were somewhat less experienced. I think he was too close to begin with for safety's sake, but had a lot of confidence at how close he could get and how his plane handled. He glanced up, and that tiny distraction, as close as he was to the XB-70, was enough. This not a slam on the pilot, but he was human like the rest of us. So many accidents can be traced to complacency on the part of the machine operator.
Excellent presentation, thanks for making this. Seeing this plane up close in Dayton is absolutely awe-inspiring. Cheers!
Glad you enjoyed it. I would love to it up close in Dayton someday....
@@Mike-Bell They have an X-15 there, and so many other special planes. But walking up to the Valkyrie, it seemingly defies reality.
It is an amazing museum.
This flight helped the Airforce design better planes ✈️ and saved much more future embarrassments and accidents.
@@Mike-Bell when I visited Dayton I realized that the Air Force had been designing an aircraft for every mission. By every mission I don’t mean interception versus interdiction. I mean like for every mission like bombing a certain place they would design a particular aircraft for it. Dream-sheeting all the way. When you go, plan on not less than three days. Also the sign said to not touch the SR 71 but I how could i not? …the wing tip is right there. ☺️
This was really well done. I did not know about the B-58 before watching this, and the animation of the tragic incident was very professional in execution. You’ve got a new subscriber.
Thanks Scott. Lots more like this to look forward to...
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Probably the most comprehensive & clearly-presented description of the crash I've ever seen. Thank you!
This brought together details and therefore a more complete story. Thank you.
Excellent vid with clear, concise info. Uncanny parallels exist when two Sea Venoms of the Royal Navy fatally collided at RAF Chivenor in Devon; 19 Sept. 1959. I witnessed this crash and ever since, I and others at the Airshow, have always maintained the two aircraft were too close. The subsequent enquiry did not mention vortices but the Valkyrie collision shows that they could have played a part in the collision. RIP Observer Robin W.H. Miller and Chief Petty Officer David S. Chapman.
While there's always some wake turbulence, small and light planes can fly very close to each others. Like this "mild" formation flying:
czcams.com/video/yfES5uNJa4g/video.html
This 360 recording allows turning view:
czcams.com/video/weoK_L7yjRY/video.html
I’ve seen other reports on this horrible accident.
I knew that the crash took place during a commercial photo shoot but I didn’t know that they flew in a formation for 40 minutes….
And in a circle to boot.
As for the cause of the accident, we’ll never know what happened
Good video
After watching your excellent video, I remember having a model of the XB70. Beautiful plane.
I love learning about aerodynamics and how lift works, I am at that stage where I know enough about the subject to know I know absolutely nothing about the subject.
But Oh My God, the 15 seconds of animation after 2:11 made something click.
You're always pushing the same weight in air down as the plane weighs, and spreading that energy out over a longer wing will per definition make wing-tip vortices less energetic and cause less drag.
That was such a satisfying AHA!! moment, and I only got it because you made this video. That was a really cool thing of you to do friend, I am grateful.
Amazing work, definitely deserves more recognition
Thank you so much 😀
Wow, I usually blow past most of these kinds of videos. But this is excellent, not just in visually recreating the incident but in explaining it and in exploring the concept of wake vortices. Very well done.
Even though she was too much too late, it was one of the most beautiful aircraft ever built.
I think she's always been my favorite, though the B-58 was also something special.
@@TysoniusRex oh yeh, there was one on static at my tech school Chanute, I’d walk around that ol girl all the time. It had the Tokyo to ? I forgot on the nose, it was a record holder. ✌️🇺🇸
@@deborahchesser7375 Chanute? Wow, that brings back memories. My dad used to fly there (never stationed there) many, many years ago. The closest he was stationed was at F.E. Warren in Wyoming. Also, didn't that one end up in the USAF museum in Dayton?
@@TysoniusRex I think it did, at least I sure hope so. There were a few at Lackland too, I was always staring up into the sky, at least I was out on the flight line right? I got a ride in an F-4 before they phased them out, took a couple hops it was cool I should have stayed in and retired.
@@TysoniusRex I got orders for Minot and said oh shit I gotta trade with somebody, luckily a guy I’d gone all the way from basic to tech school with was from out west somewhere and he had orders to Pope AFB North Carolina, now if I had to pick the state to live in with north in the name it would be Carolina so I did. -60* during winter? No thanks ! Paul Harvey’s son froze to death in the gear well of a B-52 sitting at the ready, probably during the 60’s I’m guessing.
One of the pilots who witnessed this said the F-104 paused for just a moment and hammered the XB-70 like a woodpecker before falling away and exploding. But this looks accurate from every description I've read.
My understanding, from researching sources on this incident which fascinated me since I was a kid (I was about three months old when this happened), was that after the crash and during the investigation, some of the senior command involved in organizing this whole shebang paid with their careers, for letting a bunch of civvies bully past the safety protocols just to get cool film footage. One day I want to get up close and personal with the surviving plane.
On a side note, when I was in Germany about eight years ago, there was a Soldier, a PFC, who I swear was a near-carbon-copy of Joe Walker...so much so I had to wonder if he had any genetic relation to him! When I showed him a picture of Walker, even he was surprised by the resemblance, as were a few others who also saw the picture.
I went at last to the Wright-Patterson Museum two years ago with my two kids. I have planned it for at least 15 years, too bad it was too late to elicit a lofty vocation from such an awesome sight.
The Valkyrie by itself is worth the trip.
I live 2 hours away from the Air Force museum and have seen the XB-70 several times. It amazes me each and every time I see it. It is such a huge aircraft.
Col Joe Cotton, the guy in the flight suit @9:49, was one of those officers.
My dad, Carl Hite, worked at Edwards AFB at the time as a jet engine mechanic on this XB-70. He told me that Cross couldn’t eject because he had dropped a flight manual on the floor which prevented the safety ejection pod door from fully closing. They are clamped to the seat when eject is initiated and he couldn’t move. He also said that Carl Cross, like most test pilots did, calmly talked the plane into the ground.
Excellent video, a must see to comprehend the massive size of this beautiful plane. Dayton Ohio USAF Museum is well worth a trip...
Just one brief moment of lapsed concentration is all it took, and then it was all over. What a tragedy.
Fantastic video as always, Mike. You really are one of the best creators on this platform.
I've been fascinated by this aircraft since it's inception and recall my father talking about Joe Walker, nice to finally learn more about the accident. Well done, thank you.
Well done video. Rest In Peace My Brother Airmen ✝. I'm retired USAF.
One of my favorite aircraft back to my earlies time loving aviation. Great job putting this story together. I thought I knew everything about the XB-70 but I learned something new today. Thanks for posting this.
Many thanks!
thank you for explaining what happened. Such a sad loss for everyone involved.
OMG this was fantastic! Hats off! I am one of those that call the Valkyrie my favorite plane. Seeing it at the USAF museum as a child left quite the impression on me. The most I ever saw on it was WINGS, and they briefly touch on this but I had no idea. I wonder if the newbie had trouble with the clamshell capsule as well.
It is wild how I found this. I was researching surfside because of a suggested video, and yours by far was the best I found and soothed my curiosity. It was so good I figured I would see what else you had, and wow.
So well done!
Thanks so much!
The thing I love about this design was it rode it's own supersonic shockwave at highspeed. Such a smart use of that to increase lift.
Outstanding. Very well done. Your channel deserves much more.
Wow, thank you!
Fantastic video - I had never heard this tragic story before today.
Thanks Bosco. Appreciate the comment.
Beautiful animations 😍
Very well done video, wow! I have always wondered why this incident occurred, now you have laid it out in an excellent fashion, complete with great animation. It really does show the demand on these excellent pilots is almost by-the-second dependent. Again, thanks for the informative video.
I can say this is one of the best documentaries out there. It feels like you can't compress more the useful information in less time. The transitions are just perfect. The volume of the speaker is on point. The CGI is absolutely understandable for the elderly aswell... I can go on and on, I wish most science stuff for the average guy like me has the levels of production and explaining things how they are, without beeing too mathematical or too "for kids" if that makes sense. Thanks for this. Knew about the vortex effect on helicopters, but this opened my eyes further on on how hard it is to reach the sky.
Thanks for the compliments. Keep watching for more like this.
1957!!!??? Mach 3 nuclear bomber and thst design gives me substantial faith we have not the slightest clue of the capabilities of projects currently starting. What amazing aircraft.
Thank you for such excellent research and production. Very well done!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Good video; I can only hope this helps to clear the air about the late Joe Walker and why his F-104 collided with the XB-70.
Amazing analysis. Finally someone covered this topic.
Excellent video, I have always been intrigued by this aircraft and the accident that destroyed it. Thanks for creating this.
That's an incredible video narration , explanation and visual. I understood so much from your clear and light explanation of such a complex world like aviation. thank you so much for sharing this contents and explaining it to also the general public like me
Thanks for the feedback. My aim is for the viewer to see and understand in an effortless manner and I'm so glad you could appreciate this... 😊
I used to pick up and deliver construction materials near Pearson Airport in Toronto, and we'd get to watch the wakes roll over us while we worked. Good times, minus the crippling back pain.
Excellent and very interesting video, Mike!
Beautifully presented. Such a terrible incident.
In 1976 I've seen the XB70 aged 6 years old in reality at Wright Patterson Museum, Dayton and I was impressed at once by the design of that plane! And this impression of design still lasts until today!
As an ex-3D artist, I liked animation very much.
Thank you for making this video. When this tragic accident occurred, I was a teenager and aviation buff. This video provided much insight into how the mishap occurred.
The geese formation paradigm was just excellent. Makes the phenomenon instantly imprinted.. The geese formation paradigm was just excellent. Makes the phenomenon instantly imprinted..
Very well done explanation - clear and concise.
Glad you enjoyed it!
As a kid I thought this was the most beautiful airplane I’d ever seen.
Me too. As an adult, I still think so. Have a picture of me under it when I was about 3 with my mom. Fortunately, or unfortunately, she is inside a hanger now, so it is difficult to get a good shot of her, but I tried last summer.
Interesting insights. Thank you for showing this
Amazing animations, they really help explain what happened.
I was a young boy of three siblings to a father that worked on the valkyrie in Palmdale California
Very well done ! I knew about the accident and I wondered how it might had happened. Thank you !
Excellent video, Mike. Thx a bunch.
Glad you liked it!
Great video! Explained the way everybody understand. Thank you for that!
Glad it was helpful!
Hi Mike, here are 2 Masterpieces : this nice bird, and your documentary. I'm amazed how much information you can put in 11 minutes, with such qualitative illustrations. I send you a Mach 3 Thanks for sharing your tremendous work.
👏👏👏👍👍👍
Many thanks!
2:32 how underrated are those beautiful, elegant, and non-polluting sail planes, though...
Amazing job. Especially matching the original photos with your CG.
Thank you very much!
Excellent presentation. Thank you for explaining and showing what happened. RIP to the pilots who lost their lives
Beautiful one, very well presented, thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent presentation, thank you.
Excellent video with brilliant graphics. Thank you.. 👍
Many thanks!
Very good descritpion of what happened and why it might have happened. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
This was wonderful, tragic but wonderful. Nice job. RIP
Very cool video! Good work! 👍
Thank you! Cheers!
Great presentation Mike ...
As you get closer to the edge the room for error reduces.
If you're flying right at the edge there is no room for error.
This video was absolutely top notch quality! Unbelievable
Wow, thanks!
This whole video was fantastic...just very well done. Than you👍
So nice of you
Great explanation! Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Superbly crafted, a masterpiece like the XB-70 deserves to be superbly narrated.
I look forward to see you do the B-52 that crashed at Fairchild AFB. A lot of controversy still subsists.
Thanks. Glad you appreciate my efforts.
I was under the impression that B52 was flown beyond its limits by a careless pilot. I didn’t know of any controversy.
@@Mike-Bell except for the pilot was still allowed to fly before hand
@@Mike-Bell my comments and references are being deleted, I sent you twice the url to that adverse testimony.
@@DakarBlues I didnt see any comments come through. That’s weird. Try again now that this comment successfully posted.
@@Mike-Bell CZcams is blocking links these days, break them up with spaces
very great and excellent documentary, well done.
Awesome video. Super ambitious and skilled. Thanks 👏👏👏👏
Glad you liked it!
Amazing production. 🙌
Thank you 🙌
I remember standing below the one of the runways near Boston Logan on Point Shirley and being able to hear the vortex (like a high pitched whistle) a few seconds after a plane passed overhead. Also note that most airplanes now have winglets or upturned wings to avoid the inefficiency of losing the lifting at the end of the wings to the sides of the aircraft.
Good job. Excellent animation 👍
Thanks!
An AirForce 1 version of the Valkyrie would have been beautiful. Imagine the airport scene at G summits or UN meetings where all the dignitary aircraft are parked, and the USA has a beautiful supersonic jet while everyone else has a Boeing or Ilyushin.
The Valkyrie is my second favorite aircraft to the SR-71
Great video and info thank you
Glad you enjoyed it
Excellent! Thank you👍🏻
Glad you enjoyed it!
My 3rd cousin was Carl Cross but he was killed on the crash before I was born. My grandfathers last name was Cross. I visited Carl’s grave In Tennessee when I was a child. An amazing aircraft!!!
Thanks so much for sharing. 😉👌🏻
Very well done explaination.
Glad you liked it
This is a very well made mini documentary.
Awesome! Thanks.
Thanks for clearing Joe Walker's name off of the blame list! 🙏🏻👍🏻
introductorily (a newbie), I understood e v e r y t h i n g as well as the virtually-conclusively telling snub . . . Bravo! 🍺
Glad you learnt something 👍🏻
Great video. Great work.
Thank you very much!