Airborne with the wing

Air Classics, Jun 2002 by O'Leary, Michael

AFTER NEARLY EIGHT YEARS, OF SUCCESSFUL OPERATION. WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE NORTHROP N9M FLYING WING OPERATED BY PLANES Of FAME

On 8 March, George Hulett and myself arrived at the Palm Springs Air Museum to meet with Ron Hackworth and Mark Foster. The purpose was to undertake a thorough briefing before doing an air-- to-air photographic session with Ron in the Northrop N9M-B Flying Wing. As readers well-know, this magnificent aircraft was the product of years of hard work by a dedicated band of volunteers. The Northrop belongs to The Air Museum Planes of Fame and is one of the highlights of that organization's massive collection.

It is a bit hard to believe, but the restored N9M-B has been successfully operating for nearly eight years and we wanted to discuss with Ron what it has been like keeping such a unique and valuable aircraft in the air. But first, let's take a quick look at the history of the N9M project.

JACK NORTHROP'S VISION

During the first attacks on Afghanistan this past October, precision bombing was undertaken by the Northrop B-2 Stealth Bomber. Even if the enemy had any radar, which they didn't, it would not have made much difference since this magnificent American warplane is virtually invisible to the enemy - making it an ideal platform from which to drop a variety of weapons on enemy targets.

The creative vision of Jack Northrop for the construction and operation of flying wing aircraft goes back to his little Avion of 1929 (see Air Classics October 2001 for the history of this fascinating plane). The building of a true flying wing was put on the back burner while Northrop established his company and became a builder of high-performance "conventional" aircraft.

It was not until 1940, that Northrop built the NlM which was a true flying wing. This craft was successfully flown numerous times and its progress was monitored by the military. The war in Europe was raging and chances did not look good for the British. If the island nation was defeated, and if America did enter the war, a long-range bomber would be needed to hit Nazi targets. The military wanted an aircraft that could carry a 10,000-lb bomb payload and fly it 10,000 miles.

Northrop proposed the XB-35 - a massive flying wing with a span of 172 feet and power coming from four Pratt & Whitney R-4360s (3000-hp each). To defend itself from predicted heavy onslaughts of Luftwaffe fighters, the XB-- 35 was designed with a battery of 20 .50-caliber weapons fitted in remote controlled turrets. The jump from the NIM to the XB-35 was considerable. To aid in development, a smaller flying wing test bed was also proposed. When the military awarded a contract for the XB-35, an order was also placed for two one-third scale flying models which received the designation N9M-1 and N9M-2. It is interesting to note that even though these were manned aircraft, they were considered part of the tooling for the XB-35 (and were even listed on the government contract under tooling as mockups, the designation standing for Northrop mockup number nine) and were not issued the standard USAAF serial numbers. These aircraft would test the theories behind the XB-35.

The contract would be extended to cover four flying models: The N9M-1 (lost in a fatal crash early in the program), the N9M-2, the N9M-A, and the N9M-B - the craft in The Air Museum's collection.

The N9M-B was the last of the flying models to be built and the plane had finalized features which were incorporated in the XB-35. After test work was completed, the aircraft were used as military trainers. The N9M-2 and N9M-A were retired fairly early in the program because of problems with the inline Menasco engines that, theoretically, developed 260-hp each. The N9M-B soldiered on and made its last flight during May 1949. The plane was then painted silver and put out on a test range at Edwards AFB where it was used as a target for high-altitude photography.

A cleaning-out of older airframes was undertaken at Edwards in the late 1950s and the now rather bedraggled N9M-B was offered to Ed Maloney for his fledgling The Air Museum.

RESTORATION

The remains of the N9M-B were moved to several different locations as Ed Maloney searched for a permanent home for The Air Museum. That home was finally established at historic Chino Airport and in 1979, Bion Provost - a retired Northrop employee - inspected the Flying Wing. Realizing that the craft was the last substantial remnant of the B-35/B-49 programs, he volunteered to put together a volunteer restoration program that would bring the N9M back to its former glory.

Approval in place, some work started at Chino and at a hangar at Hawthorne Airport (now John Northrop Field) but in 1981 the entire project was moved to a permanent facility in Signal Hill, California. Work was divided into two major areas: The center section built out of aircraft tubing which contained the pilot compartment, engines, and landing gear; and the wooden outer wing panels.

A great deal of early restoration work went into the center section which was carefully disassembled and all parts tagged and numbered. Propellers, engines, and landing gear were sent out for professional overhaul. The tube structure was sandblasted, checked for cracks, and repaired where necessary. The entire structure was corrosion-- proofed and then given a coat of paint.