Northrop N-9M

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The Northrop N-9M was a one-third scale aircraft used for the development of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and YB-35 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] long-range bomber program. First flown in 1942, the N-9M (M for Model) was the third in a lineage of all-wing Northrop aircraft designs that began in 1929 when [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] succeeded in early experiments with his single-prop, twin-tailed, stressed metal skin Northrop Flying Wing monoplane, and a decade later, the dual-prop [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] of 1939–1941.


^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]} Northrop's pioneering all-wing aircraft would lead [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] many years later to eventually develop the advanced [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] stealth bomber, which debuted in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] inventory in 1989.

Design and development

On 30 October 1941, the preliminary order for development of the B-35 Flying Wing bomber was confirmed, including engineering, testing, and - most importantly - a 60 ft (18 m) wingspan, one-third scale aircraft, designated N-9M.

It was to be used in gathering data on flight performance and for familiarizing pilots with the program's radical, all-wing design.

The first N-9M was ordered in the original contract, but this was later expanded to three test aircraft in early 1943.

A fourth was ordered a few months later and would incorporate flight test improvements, including different, more powerful engines.

They were designated N-9M-1, -2, -A, and -B, respectively.

The N-9M framework was partially constructed of wood to reduce its overall weight.

The wings' outer surfaces were also skinned in a strong laminated [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The central section (roughly equivalent to the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]) was made of tubular steel.

The aircraft was powered by two [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]-1 engines, driving twin-bladed [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The original engines were 290 hp (216 ); the N-9MB later upgraded to 400 hp (298 kW) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] engines.

Réplique

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Operational history

The first flight of the N-9M occurred on 27 December 1942 with Northrop test pilot John Myers at the controls.^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien][Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]}

During the next five months, 45 flights were made. Nearly all were terminated by mechanical failures of one sort or another, the Menasco engines being the primary source of those problems.

After roughly 22.5 hours of accumulated flight time, the first N-9M crashed approximately 12 miles (19 km) west of [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] on 19 May 1943.

The pilot, Max Constant, was killed as he attempted to recover the aircraft from a right-hand, 60° nose-down spin.

The investigation found that Constant had suffered control reversal, the control column had been pressed against his chest during his recovery attempt from the steep spin, preventing him for parachuting to safety.

Steps were taken to fix this problem and prevent it from happening on other N-9M test aircraft.

When Northrop's Flying Wing bomber program was canceled, all remaining N-9M flight test aircraft, except for the final N-9MB, were scrapped.

For more than three decades, it slowly deteriorated until the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Air Museum acquired the aircraft in 1982 and began the labor intensive restoration process. For the next two decades, former Northrop employees
and other skilled volunteers, slowly returned the N-9MB to last flight
configuation.^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien][Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]}

Since 2001, the yellow-and-blue Flying Wing has been exhibited, with flight demonstrations at several airshows every year.
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In April 2006, the N-9MB suffered an in-flight engine fire. The aircraft was landed safely with limited damage. Donations to the museum were solicited for its repair, and the aircraft was fully repaired to flight status.

It was once again flown during the annual Chino airshow on 15–16 May 2010.