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North American XB-70 Valkyrie

By Chris Banyai-Riepl

Warbird Tech Volume 34
By Dennis R. Jenkins & Tony Landis
Specialty Press, 2002
104 Pages, Softbound
ISBN 1-58007-056-6
$16.95

When it comes to memorable aircraft, the XB-70 has to be near the top of the list, even though only two were ever built. Large, fast and white best describe the appearance of this innovative aircraft and the two airframes provided massive amounts of high-altitude, high-speed research throughout the 1960s. A tragic crash brought the XB-70 program to a close, ending the last hopes of a Mach 3 strategic bomber.

There was more to the XB-70 than just being a fast plane, though. It was innovative in many different areas, from the flight control systems down to the actual paint used on the plane (standard paint didn’t hold up to the temperatures achieved at sustained Mach 3 flight). This book does a great job of covering all the technical details of the XB-70, including a fair amount of information on the actual research flights. Like other titles in this series, there are plenty of photos, both black and white and color, as well as drawings and sketches of various components. The text is well written and reads well, bringing this interesting project to life.

While there aren’t many kits of the XB-70 out there, there are a few and this book would be an excellent reference for detailing them. The differences between the two planes are outlined so you will know what needs to be done to make either plane. If you’re interested in getting a copy for yourself, you order it direct from Specialty Press either at their website or by calling 800-895-4585 . There is a $4.95 shipping & handling added to every order.

Our thanks to Specialty Press for the review sample.