Word: mache
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...tends to get nose-heavy at high speeds when the wing's center of lift shifts toward the stern. To counteract this tendency, two small wings called canards are set like large trim tabs, just aft of the cabin. But even the canards are not enough; as Mach 3 approaches, the tips of the delta wing will be folded downward. This will shift the center of lift forward and add directional stability. It also adds a hazardous complication to the plane's construction...
...made by B.F. Goodrich out of material that stands twice the temperature that melts ordinary airplane tires. To dispel the heat that will fight its way toward the crew, North American's engineers decided to make the fuel carry it away. While the XB-70A is cruising at Mach 3, its fuel will circulate, cooling the interior, absorbing enough heat every minute to evaporate four gallons of water. Inside, if nothing goes wrong, an air-conditioning unit will be able to keep the cabin comfortable...
...first reports came from Cuban exiles in Miami and New York. They were given weight by friendly diplomatic sources in Havana. They added up to a grim warning: Cuban pilots in MIG-21 jetfighters, capable of speeds up to Mach 2.2 and bristling with Soviet infrared homing rockets, were plotting to shoot down President Johnson as he flew to Miami for a Democratic fund-raising dinner on Feb. 27. If they failed in that, the Cubans would try to flash in and ram the President's plane kamikaze-style...
Happily, the peaceful value of the All outweighs its military possibilities. Except for the X-15, which uses impractical rocket propulsion for short bursts of speed, it is the fastest airplane that has ever flown, and it has accumulated vast experience in Mach 3 flight. It is not an airliner itself; it carries only a three-man crew, and most of its fuselage is crammed with fuel. But the great supersonic airliners that the U.S. is anxious to start building will fly at All speed and altitude. In many vital aspects they will be the children of Kelly Johnson...
...more power to the Concorde's Bristol Siddeley engines and to enlarge its Sud-Aviation wings so that the plane can fly as far as New York-Frankfurt. Even with those hurry-up changes, it would not be able to reach Rome or to speed up to Mach 3. Reason: its designers are committed to building it out of aluminum, which warps and melts at the higher speed, instead of waiting to master the techniques of working with tougher titanium, used...