Northrop N9MB 'Flying Wing' | Planes of Fame Air Museum

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Northrop N9MB 'Flying Wing'

HISTORY

This aircraft was built in 1945 as the fourth and final in a series of 1/3 scale test models for the Northrop XB-35flying Wing bombers. Each of the N9Ms was painted in a different color scheme.
The primary mission of the N9Ms was to provide flight test information from which the maneuverability, controllability and performance of the XB-35 could be predicted. It was flown at Muroc Army Airfield (later Edwards Air Force Base) by well-known pilots including Robert Cardenas, Russ Schleeh, John Myers, and Bob Hoover.
The final configuration of the N9MB featured leading edge slots, flaps, elevons and split rudders. These were used on the XB-35, the YB-49, and many years later, with some modifications, on the B-2 Stealth Bomber.
The N9MB was obtained from the U. S. Air Force by Ed Maloney of Planes of Fame Air Museum in the 1950s. Restoration was begun by Museum staff in 1981 and was completed 13 years later. It was painted in its original yellow-over-blue scheme. Flight testing was completed in 1996.

The aircraft was one of four prototypes built by Northrop, but the only surviving one left.
This aircraft was 75 years old in 2019 and is the grandfather of today's B-2 Stealth Bomber.
The N9MB was also the first aircraft to utilize a fully hydraulic flight control system with airspeed-sensitive feedback.