XB-70 Valkyrie On the Move in Dayton

November 1, 2015 Richard Mallory Allnutt (Chief Editor) Aviation Museum News, Warbirds News 0
The XB-70 still looks like she's stepped out of a futuristic science fiction movie, such are the grace and menace of her lines. (NMUSAF photo by Don Popp)
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North American's magnificent XB-70 Valkyrie Mach 3 bomber at the National Museum of the US Air Force. (NMUSAF photo)
North American’s magnificent XB-70 Valkyrie Mach 3 bomber at the National Museum of the US Air Force. (NMUSAF photo by Will Haas)

The massive North American XB-70 Valkyrie strategic bomber prototype recently saw daylight for the first time in many years as staff at the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio moved the massive beast into her newly-constructed hangar. WarbirdsNews recently posted a piece on some of the other aircraft from the museum’s Research & Development Collection as they made the journey to their new home (click HERE), but nothing could be as impressive as seeing this formidable piece of technology in the open air again. Museum photographers and videographers were on the scene to record the move….

The move began shortly after dawn on October 27th. (NMUSAF photo by Ken LaRock)
The move began shortly after dawn on October 27th. (NMUSAF photo by Ken LaRock)

Museum staff and volunteers orchestrated the move shortly after dawn on October 27th, which also provided a great opportunity to give the vintage Mach 3 jet a good clean, so the procession paused for a period while a team hosed the Valkyrie down.

Cleaning the Valkyrie. (NMUSAF photo by Ken LaRock)
Cleaning the Valkyrie. (NMUSAF photo by Ken LaRock)

The hose-down of the Valkyrie continues... (NMUSAF photo by Ken LaRock)
The hose-down of the Valkyrie continues… (NMUSAF photo by Ken LaRock)

Valkyrie en plein air. (NMUSAF photo by Ken LaRock)
Another great study of the Valkyrie’s clean process. (NMUSAF photo by Ken LaRock)

Once the Valkyrie was sparkling again, there was another pause for a few photographs before the aircraft tug slowly backed the behemoth Valkyrie into the newly-constructed building four.

Some of the museum restoration staff pose in front of the freshly-cleaned XB-70 Valkyrie. (NMUSAF photo by Don Popp)
Some of the museum restoration staff pose in front of the freshly-cleaned XB-70 Valkyrie. (NMUSAF photo by Don Popp)

Valkyrie en plein air. (NMUSAF photo by Will Haas)
Valkyrie en plein air. (NMUSAF photo by Will Haas)

Another shot of the Valkyrie with a few of the remaining museum aircraft not currently under cover shown in the background. The new building will hopefully allow space for these aircraft in the now-vacated hangars where the XB-70 and others had recently occupied. (NMUSAF photo by Will Haas)
Another shot of the Valkyrie with a few of the remaining museum aircraft not currently under cover shown in the background. The new building will hopefully allow space for these aircraft in the now-vacated hangars which the XB-70 and others had recently occupied. (NMUSAF photo by Will Haas)

The XB-70 slowly moving under cover once more. (NMUSAF photo by Don Popp)
The XB-70 slowly moving under cover once more. (NMUSAF photo by Don Popp)

XB-70 inside new hangar
Almost there… (NMUSAF photo by Don Popp)

The XB-70 still looks like she's stepped out of a futuristic science fiction movie, such are the grace and menace of her lines. (NMUSAF photo by Don Popp)
The XB-70 still looks like she’s stepped out of a futuristic science fiction movie, such are the grace and menace of her lines. (NMUSAF photo by Don Popp)

The XB-70 safely in position in the newly-constructed fourth building at Dayton. Some of the other exhibits are already in position. (NMUSAF photo by Doug Lantry)
The XB-70 safely in position in the newly-constructed fourth building at Dayton. Some of the other exhibits are already in position. (NMUSAF photo by Doug Lantry)

The XB-70 will become a feature exhibit in the Research & Development Gallery within the fourth building at the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. Three other galleries will fill out the 224,000 square foot facility; these being: Space, Global Reach and Presidential. Three Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Learning Nodes will also feature in the hangar as part of the museum’s education out-reach program. More airframes will be moving in over the coming weeks. There is a public viewing area for people interested in watching the transitions take place, and the museum regularly updates the move schedule HERE. The new building is scheduled to open in June, 2016, and the layout is planned as shown in the image below.

This is the proposed layout for the new fourth building at the Dayton, Ohio museum. The aircraft shown in red represent the Research & Development aircraft collection. It is mostly these airframes which were involved in the recent moves. (image via US Air Force Museum)
This is the proposed layout for the new fourth building at the Dayton, Ohio museum. The aircraft shown in red represent the Research & Development aircraft collection. It is mostly these airframes which were involved in the recent moves. (image via US Air Force Museum)

The National Museum of the US Air Force also released a short video of the XB-70’s move, and we thought our readers would enjoy seeing this too. Many thanks to the National Museum of the US Air Force and their photographers/videographers for providing these images for us all to share.

 

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