A technological tour de force of epic proportions, the legend of the XB-70 Valkyrie very nearly surpasses the performance of this extraordinary aircraft. Built in the 1960s as a result of a USAF proposal for a supersonic bomber with high subsonic cruising speed and supersonic dash capabilities, the massive XB-70 was to have carried the same bombload as the B-52 Stratofortress at a higher supersonic speed than the Air Force's current strategic bomber, the B-58 Hustler. A later requirement specified that the plane be able to fly the entire mission at Mach 3.0 or greater, with a range of up to 10,500 miles and a maximum gross weight of 490,000 pounds. In the event, technology quickly relegated the Valkyrie to the role of supersonic research testbed and flagship of the USAF's public relations fleet. Ground-to-air missiles and advanced radar made the XB-70's supersonic mission impossible. The bomb bay of the aircraft was instead packed with data acquisition equipment.
*** For FSX STEAM EDITION only ***
Features
- high quality exterior model with detailed textures
- large set of custom XB-70 gauges in 2D panel and virtual cockpit
- highly authentic flight model with carefully illustrated checklist
- animated folding wingtips
- animated afterburner petals
- authentic gear retraction sequence
- automatic (on throttle) staged animated afterburner visual effect with corresponding performance boost
- simulated XB-70 soundset included
- pilots togglable
- automatic smoke trail, wing surface vapour flash and canard tip vortices effects