Aviation Week and Space Technology
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Boeing
APRIL 16, 1997
P. 74 (4 Pages)
B-2
AUGUST 7,1995
P. 20, 21
Su-27 (as shown) and MiG-31 interceptors and A-50 AWACS aircraft set up an aerial blockade of Chechnya to prevent the aerial resupply of arms, food and volunteers to the rebels.
DECEMBER 16, 1996
P. 75, 76
"Depaint" technicians in protective suits use a mixture of high-pressure air and crystallized wheat starch to remove paint layers without damaging the B-2's composite skin. Each nozzle will strip 0.5-1.0 sq. ft./min.
NOVEMBER 28, 1988
P. 20 (4 Pages)
Comparison of the Northrop YB-49 (top), B-2 (center) and the Rockwell B-lB (bottom) shows similarity of the flying wings versus the conventional B-lB design. Drawings are not exact scale.
NOVEMBER 11, 1991
P. 80
Baseline advanced technology bomber (B-2) planform referenced by the DSB featured a 35deg. leading edge sweep and an airfoil adapted from a NASA laminar flow shape. A new requirement for high-speed, low-altitude flight prompted a major redesign in 1983.
OCTOMBER 3, 2005
P. 26, 27
Spacecraft Propulsion Research Facility (B-2) NASA Glenn Research Center Plum Brook Station
MARCH 27, 2006
P. 60, 61
Then-Northrop CEO Thomas V. Jones (left) and then-vice president of test operations Albert F. Myers (center; arms crossed) listen to the company's chief B-2 test pilot, Bruce Hinds, and the USAF B-2 combined test force commander, Col. Richard S. Couch, after the pilots' first flight of the stealth bomber on July 17,1989.
MARCH 28, 2005
P. 60
Ice and ground debris combined with the distorted airflow from the S-shaped air ducts on B-2s are damaging F118 engines enough to require unscheduled replacements. GE has designed a thicker fan blade that is expected to save money by reducing damage.
JULY 27, 1998
P. 79, 80
The GLAS cuts in half the wing bending moment due to gusts and is effective at gust frequencies up to 20 radians per sec. (3 Hz.). GLAS made the B-2 feasible.
JULY 27, 1998
P. 79, 80
APRIL 17, 1995
P. 55 (4 Pages)
B-2 pilots and mission commanders train as a two-person team, emphasizing crew resource management.
APRIL 17, 1995
P. 55 (4 Pages)
B-2 reliability enhances pilot training, but maintenance crews complain of a "Maytag repairman" situation.
MARCH 31, 2008
P. 18, 19
MARCH 17, 2008
P. 24
MARCH 17, 2008
P. 24
MAY 6, 1996
P. 55
USAF/Northrop Grumman B-2 bomber recently completed cold-weather tests in Alaska. Framed by green tendrils of the Aurora Borealis, the "Fire & Ice" stealth bomber's "Spirit" call sign and nickname seem appropriate.
MARCH 24, 1997
P. 41
The B-2 bomber is capable of delivering conventional or nuclear weapons anywhere in the world within 24 hr. Test flights cleared the B-2 for "iron bomb" drops last year (shown). Tests have been successful, but accuracies have not been revealed.
DECEMBER 5, 1994
P. 62, 63
Northrop Grumman is offering to build 20 more B-2 bombers at a guaranteed average unit price of $570 million and a total program cost of $13.6 billion.
JULY 11, 1994
P. 23
Industrial base concerns helped bolster support in the Senate for preserving B-2 bomber tooling and sustaining lower-tier suppliers on the program.
MAY 7/14, 2007
P. 30 (3 Pages)
Some critics say USAF needs an unmanned, supersonic aircraft. Each competitor has a pilotless concept on the drawing board.