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The Northrop HL-10, registered N804NA, was also
displayed by the NB-52B at the 1967 Edwards AFB Open House.
Colonel Cotton and Major Reschke launched it on its first glide
flight from the NB-52B on December 22 of 1966 with Bruce Peterson
at the controls. Its stability was so poor in its
original configuration that it did not fly again until March 15,
1968 after it had been modified to improve its flight
characteristics. Photo by Paul Minert via Greg Spahr.
The Martin Marietta X-24A,
serial 66-13551, had made its thirteenth flight five days
earlier, when it was displayed with the NB-52B at the May 19,
1970 Edwards AFB Open house. John Manke was launched by Captain
Larson and Major Fornell from the NB-52B on the fourth powered
flight of the X-24A. Photo by Richard Lockett Sr.
The first glide flight of the X-24A had occurred on April 17, 1969. It was piloted by Jerauld Gentry who was launched from the NB-52B by Lt Colonel Sturmthal and Captain Stroup. Lt Colonel Sturmthal and Captain Stroup then climbed into the NB-52A to launch John Manke in the HL-10 on its fifteenth flight on that same day.
The X-24A's engine was the same four-chambered XLR-11 design that had powered the X-1 on its first supersonic flight twenty three years earlier. The HL-10 and M2-F3 were also powered by the eight thousand pound thrust XLR-11 rocket engine.
The X-24A's last flight in its original configuration was its twenty-eighth flight on June 4, 1971. Manke was launched on that flight by Majors McDowell and Ranz.
The maximum speed attained during the X-24A program was mach 1.60 (1036 miles per hour) on the twenty-fifth flight on March 29, 1971 with John Manke at the controls. He had been launched from the NB-52B by Major Stroup and Captain Fritz.
The maximum altitude of the program was 71,400 feet, achieved during the nineteenth flight of the program, on October 27, 1970, also with John Manke as the pilot. The pilots of the NB-52B were Lt. Colonel Reschke and Squadron Leader Fisher.
The Martin Marietta X-24A is
represented at the Air Force Museum by the originally jet powered
SV-5J, which has been reconfigured to resemble its rocket
propelled sibling. It is seen here on August 16, 1998.
Photographer: Brian Lockett.
The NB-52A
in storage at MASDC on April 24, 1971. The NB-52A had been
retired to the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center
(MASDC) at Davis Monthan AFB near Tucson, Arizona on October 19,
1969. The lox tank system was kept pressurized in the event that
it was needed to be returned to flight status to replace the
NB-52B. Photographer: Brian Lockett.
When the NB-52A was retired it had made just over 410 flights. It had launched the X-15 #1 thirty times, the X-15#2 eleven times, and the X-15#3 thirty-one times. It had launched the M2-F2 four times, the HL-10 eleven times and the X-24A twice.
All subsequent lifting body flights were launched from the NB-52B.
The X-15 mission history of the NB-52A in storage at MASDC on April 24, 1971. Horizontal profiles are captive flights, profiles angled upward are launches of the X-15.
The downward pointing X-15 in the center row corresponds to the second flight of the X-15 #3 on January 17, 1962. Majors Allavie and Bement launched Neil Armstrong (Link: NASA Dryden Biography) on an apparently uneventful flight to mach 5.51. The backward horizontal profile near the right side of the center row represents a return cross-country flight of the NB-52A with the X-15 #3 from Eglin AFB on May 5, 1962.
The Northrop HL-10 was displayed a the May 17,
1972 Edwards AFB Open House, which marked the twenty-fifth
anniversary of the Air Force. It had made the last of its
thirty-seven flights on July 17, 1970, with Hoag at the controls.
He had been launched by Majors Fornell and Bowline. Photo by
Richard Lockett Sr.
The maximum speed attained during the HL-10 program was mach 1.86 (1228 miles per hour) on the thirty-fourth flight on February 18, 1970 with Major Peter Hoag as the pilot. He had been launched from the NB-52B by Captain Fritz and Squadron Leader Fisher.
The maximum altitude of the program was 90,303 feet, achieved on February 27, 1970, during the thirty-fifth flight of the program, with Bill Dana as the pilot. The pilots of the NB-52B were Major Bowline and Captain Larson.
The HL-10 survives on a pylon in front of the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB.
Northrop M2-F3,
registered N803NA, sits on static display at the May 16, 1973
Edwards AFB Open House next to the HL-10. Its sixteen glide
flights in its original M2-F2 configuration ran from July 12,
1966 to May 10, 1967. Following Bruce Peterson's accident on
the sixteenth flight, it was rebuilt with a third vertical
stabilizer. Its first flight as the M2-F3 took place on June 2,
1970 with Bill Dana flying the lifting body. He had been launched
from the NB-52B by Squadron Leader Fisher and Captain Fritz. The
M2-F3 made twenty-seven flights after modification. The last
flight was made on December 20, 1972 by John Manke, six months
before this picture was taken. Photo by Richard Lockett Sr.
The maximum speed attained during the M2-F3 program was mach 1.61 (1064 miles per hour) on the twenty-sixth flight on December 13, 1972 with Bill Dana as the pilot. He had been launched from the NB-52B by Majors Luck and Fiedler.
The maximum altitude of the program was 71,500 feet, achieved on the last flight on December 20, 1972, with John Manke as the pilot. The pilots of the NB-52B were again Majors Luck and Fiedler.
Martin Marrieta created an entirely
new aerodynamic shape for the X-24B
by building an aluminum glove over the existing X-24A airframe.
It is seen here at the May 16, 1973 Edwards AFB Open House. Its
first glide flight was the following August 1, piloted by John
Manke. The pilots of the NB-52B were Lt. Colonel Ranz and Captain
Higgins. Photo by Richard Lockett Sr.
Back at MASDC, the NB-52A sat unused on November 12,
1973. Photographer: Brian Lockett.
Close-up of the X-15 pylon on the NB-52A in MASDC
on November 12, 1973. Photographer: Brian Lockett.
The NB-52B
appeared at the December 1, 1974 Edwards AFB Open House in the
company of the X-24B. The rear fuselage of the X-24B had been
painted white. The next X-24B flight was on December 17. Lt.
Colonel Michael Love piloted the X-24B to mach 1.585 (1005 miles
per hour) and and altitude of 68780 feet on its eighteenth flight
in its new configuration. Note the tail of KC-135A, serial
55-3135 just beyond the NB-52B. That stratotanker is still seen
performing tanker demonstrations at the open house. Photo by T.
Waddington via Paul Minert and Greg Spahr.
The NB-52B
on the ramp at Edwards AFB on July 6, 1975. The mount adapter for
the X-24B is attached to the X-15 pylon. Photographer: Brian
Lockett.
Detail shot of the X-24B mount adapter on the NB-52B
at Edwards AFB on July 6, 1975. Photographer: Brian Lockett.
After the November 16, 1975 Edwards
AFB Open House, the X-24B
would make two more flights on November 19 and 26. They would
mark the last flights of the four-chambered XLR-11 rocket engine
that had first powered the X-1 in 1947. The last flight was
piloted by Captain Francis Scobee. Photographer: Brian Lockett.
The maximum speed attained during the thirty-six flights of the X-24B program was mach 1.76 (1163 miles per hour) on the sixteenth flight on October 26, 1974 with Mike Love as the pilot.
The maximum altitude of the program was 74,130 feet, achieved on the twenty-third flight on May 22, 1975, with John Manke as the pilot.
The Martin Marietta
X-24B is displayed under the wing of the North American
XB-70A Valkyrie at the Air Force Museum. It is seen here on
August 16, 1998. Photographer: Brian Lockett.
Boeing NB-52B
Stratofortress Mothership.
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The card set includes a photo of the NB-52B, 52-0008 taking off with X-38 Crew Return Vehicle, V-131R.
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Books about
Lifting Bodies, Edwards Air Force Base, and the X-15 available
from 
Flying Without Wings : Nasa Lifting
Bodies and the Birth of the Space Shuttle by Milton O. Thompson
Test Colors: The Aircraft of Muroc Army Airfield
and Edwards Air Force Base by Rene Francillon
X-Planes at Edwards (Enthusiast Color
Series) by
Steve Pace
Edwards Air Force Base : Open House at the USAF
Flight Test Center 1957-1966 : A Photo Chronicle of
Aircraft Displayed (Schiffer Military History) by Robert D. Archer
The X-Planes: X-1 to X-45: 3rd Edition
by Jay Miller
Angle of Attack : Harrison Storms and the Race to
the Moon by Mike Gray. The biography of Harrison Storms, who
was instrumental in the development and operation of the X-15.
At the Edge of Space : The X-15 Flight Program
by Milton O. Thompson. The story of test flying the X-15 from the
point of view of the pilot.
Send a message to Brian.
Go to home page of the Goleta Air and Space Museum.
