Saw a B2 Stealth today

[antijoke]

Sadly I lack the patience to complete such an intricate model

 

[ReeVo.uK]

Yer it was me, just thought I would take it for a spin

 

[khimbar]

I would have given my eye teeth not to have been stuck at Fairford for 2+hrs after the event trying to get out of a carpark! The parking was diabolical!

Dude, part the fun of airshows is the parking fury.

 

[Cosimo]

Northrop Grumman’s B2 site.

They have a nice picture gallery and some videos:

http://www.as.northropgrumman.com/products/b2spirit/gallery.html

 

[Skii]

Northrop Grumman’s B2 site.

They have a nice picture gallery and some videos:

http://www.as.northropgrumman.com/products/b2spirit/gallery.html

Also a great place for pics (apart from Airliners.net) is the official US Air Force site http://www.af.mil/photos/ - I found some fantastic reference pics there.

 

[ChroniC]

Does any other air force bar the US own these?

 

[The Funktopus]

Does any other air force bar the US own these?

Nope. And there's only ever been 21 built. However, one crashed on takeoff from Andersen Air Force Base on Guam last year, so there's now 20 remaining.


That's what $1,400,000,000 looks like on fire.

 

[Thunderbolt]

Nice aircraft, as long as it's not raining, the radar proof skin doesn't work too well when wet
They didn't find this out for quite a while as they were tested in Arizona, afaik, and were a bit miffed when they showed up on our radar.

 

[Infam0us]

Pew Pew Pew!

 

[NeilF]

Nope. And there's only ever been 21 built. However, one crashed on takeoff from Andersen Air Force Base on Guam last year, so there's now 20 remaining.


That's what $1,400,000,000 looks like on fire.

And think at what the money from ten those could have done for the space program... Of course 10 instead of 20 odd would have compromised security

 

[Ziggy]

Skii, you've built something that;'s better than the real thing.

 

[ZG002]

It's called a B-2 Spirit. I'm pedantic.

I saw one at RAF Fairford in 1997 and it was truly awe-inspiring. I've never known a crowd react to a plane like that before or since.

I'm pretty sure that is when I saw one also. My lasting memory of it was, It sitting at the end of the runway ready to take off surrounded in heat haze. It looked beautiful and evil all in one go! Amazing

 

[G-MAN2004]

I've always loved the look of the B-2, F-117 and the SR-71. Amazing planes.

That F15 fly by is awesome!

 

[Grimley]

Warming up the engines so they can be used to drop something large on Argentina

I hope it lands square on Diego Maradona's house. I've never liked that little cheat.

I would like to see the B2 & the F117a on display at Duxford one day when the USAF retire both of them (the latter is more probable as its now retired)

 

[Hodge]

Nice sounds but nothing beat's the Vulcan on full afterburner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_h7hVF7UIc

 

[Gerard]

Is the b1 by any chance the same plane near the end of transformers 2 that drops the large bombs? Looked very similar in the flyby vid.

 

[Tonyator]

$737 million (1997 cost for each aircraft only)

Bargain! I might get 2!

 

[thingemajib]

They didn't find this out for quite a while as they were tested in Arizona, afaik, and were a bit miffed when they showed up on our radar.

clearly they just found an excuse to cover up the fact that they seriously misjudged our radar's capabilities ... or our weather XD

 

[Tonyator]

Nope. And there's only ever been 21 built. However, one crashed on takeoff from Andersen Air Force Base on Guam last year, so there's now 20 remaining.


That's what $1,400,000,000 looks like on fire.

The findings of the subsequent investigation stated that the B-2 crashed after "heavy, lashing rains" caused water to enter skin-flush air-data sensors, which feed angle of attack and yaw data to the computerized flight-control system. The water distorted preflight readings in three of the plane's 24 sensors, causing the flight-control system to send an erroneous correction to the B-2 on takeoff. The B-2 quickly stalled, became unrecoverable, and subsequently crashed

LOL! It crashed because of rain!

 

[BigglesPiP]

LOL! It crashed because of rain!

The F-117 also doesn't work if it's raining, Rapier has no trouble at all tracking a wet one.