Airshow at Edwards AFB

B-2 Stealth Bomber (Spirit)

Part of the reason why funding for the B-1 Bomber was rejected by President Carter in 1977 was that there was talk of developing a more sophisticated bomber, then dubbed the B-2. Back then however, nobody knew what "stealth" really meant and what type of sophistication this bomber would posses.

Developed in the 1980's and rolled out in 1990, the B-2 Stealth Bomber used a design that was originally spearheaded by Jack Northrop back in the late 1940's. This "flying wing" design was developed by Northrop Aircraft but they were never able to get funding for the production if it - until now. All of the experience gained by the people at Northrop who built the flying wing was now put to use. Before he passed away, Jack Northrop was able to see his life-long "dream plane" become reality when the United States Air Force ordered 21 of the bombers with his flying wing design.

The B-2 was built in the same facility as the B-1 (Palmdale's Air Force Plant 42) and, also like the B-1, it was flight tested all over the Mojave Desert in the mid 1990's.

These bombers saw action in both the Bosnia and Afghanistan conflicts where they flew half way across the world, non-stop, from their base in Missouri. Unlike other bombers, the B-2 is operated by a crew of only two people.

	The B-2 takes off for a demonstration flight.
	After takeoff, it heads southeast towards Victorville. Notice the B-2's control surfaces (flaps), used for maneuvering, at the end of each wing.
	This shot shows the narrow engine exhaust slits. The B-2 actually has four engines delivering almost 70,000 pounds of thrust. Compare this to the 120,000 pounds of thrust from the B-1 and 136,000 pounds of thrust from the eight B-52 engines.
	The B-2's odd and unique shape is seen in the distance.
	The pilots make a sharp bank to the left, allowing the crowd to see the bottom of the B-2.
	Next, the pilots take the B-2 on a sweeping right turn, allowing the crowd to see the top of the aircraft.
	From the look of a Chinese fighting kite in the previous pictures, the plane now looks like a flying saucer.
	Another shot of the B-2 going away from the crowd.
	The B-2 prepares to buzz the crowd. Below, an F-16 taxies for takeoff.
	A low and slow pass near the crowd to show the bomb-bay doors opening and...
	...bombs away!
	With another flyby, the pilots show the landing gear configuration.
	Here you can see the landing gear has just been retracted and the gear doors are beginning to close.
	Here, the B-2 shares the sky with the original "flying wing" design of the propeller driven N9MB.

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Last updated August 04, 2005.