“Flight Testing Northrop’s Flying Wings” – Is Subject of Inland Empire Aviation Roundtable at March Field Air Museum on June 21
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – “Flight Testing Northrop’s Flying Wings: From the N-1 to the B-2 Stealth Bomber” is the topic of the next Inland Empire Aviation Roundtable event hosted by the March Field Air Museum on Wednesday evening, June 21, 2017, beginning at 7 p.m. A highly regarded American aircraft industrialist and designer, Jack Northrop’s early flying wing technology was way ahead of his time and gave way to many advancements in aviation. A “flying wing” aircraft is one that is tailless and lacking a definitive fuselage; such aircraft have been experimented with since mankind’s earliest attempts to fly. Free and open to the public, the Inland Empire Aviation Roundtable is proudly sponsored by the March Field Air Museum.
Retired Lt. Col. Bill Flanagan, USAF, will be the guest presenter for the upcoming Roundtable event and his discussion will be focused on Jack Northrop’s development of flying wing aircraft, starting in 1929. He will highlight and explain results of flight testing from World War II to the present. Flanagan will also dispel some myths about flying wing characteristics that have arisen and remain even today. The presentation will include imagery of early Northrop designs, as well as the current B-2 Spirit stealth bomber.
Lt. Col. Flanagan was a flight test Weapon System Operator (WSO) on the B-2 bomber for 20 years. A former United States Air Force navigator, he is a 1976 graduate of the USAF Test Pilot School. He has more than 4,000 flying hours with 500 hours in the B-2, and has been mission-qualified in the F-4, F-111, SR-71, T-38, and C-135 aircraft as well. His extensive aviation experience includes flying in 169 combat missions in the RF-4C Phantom in Southeast Asia.
The March Field Air Museum is located alongside Interstate Highway 215 at Van Buren Boulevard, just south of downtown Riverside and adjacent to March Air Reserve Base. For more information about the Roundtable or Museum in general, please call 951-902-5949 or visit www.marchfield.org.
About March Field Air Museum
The March Field Air Museum is a nonprofit educational institution dedicated to promoting an understanding of humanity’s reach for the skies and March Field’s pivotal role in the development of flight. Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and rated the #1 Attraction in Riverside by TripAdvisor, the museum is open Tuesday through Sunday and located alongside Interstate Highway 215 at Van Buren Boulevard, just south of downtown Riverside and adjacent to March Air Reserve Base. More than 70 aircraft are on display, ranging from the world’s fastest manned air-breathing aircraft (the SR-71 Blackbird) and a modern-day MQ-1 Predator (remotely piloted aircraft), to early examples of military aircraft, to some of America’s most iconic military planes including World War II bombers. For more information about the museum, visit www.marchfield.org or call (951) 902-5949.
The March Field Air Museum is located alongside Interstate Highway 215 at Van Buren Boulevard, just south of downtown Riverside and adjacent to March Air Reserve Base. For more information about the Roundtable or Museum in general, please call 951-902-5949 or visit www.marchfield.org.
About March Field Air Museum
The March Field Air Museum is a nonprofit educational institution dedicated to promoting an understanding of humanity’s reach for the skies and March Field’s pivotal role in the development of flight. Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and rated the #1 Attraction in Riverside by TripAdvisor, the museum is open Tuesday through Sunday and located alongside Interstate Highway 215 at Van Buren Boulevard, just south of downtown Riverside and adjacent to March Air Reserve Base. More than 70 aircraft are on display, ranging from the world’s fastest manned air-breathing aircraft (the SR-71 Blackbird) and a modern-day MQ-1 Predator (remotely piloted aircraft), to early examples of military aircraft, to some of America’s most iconic military planes including World War II bombers. For more information about the museum, visit www.marchfield.org or call (951) 902-5949.
