Horten Nurflügelflugzeuge files

[Eric JB]

What a fantastic file you have there Akira, thank you for showing us such a historical gem here on WAF, Bravo !

yours friendly

Eric-Jan

[randy@treadways]

Has it been established that the designers of the F-117 Fighter and/or the B-2 Bomber had working knowledge of the Horten brothers and their Ho229 and HoV -- obvious as that may seem?

Br. James

The F-117 has nothing to do with a flying wing design [you may be thinking about Lockheed's RQ-170 drone, the "Beast of Kandahar" which is indeed a flying wing]. The B-2, on the other hand, comes directly from Northrop's experience with flying wings in the late 1940's. And there is little doubt that those inspirations came directly from allied inspection of the Horton work.

Like Northrop's late 40's flying wings, the Horton aircraft may have proved to be extremely difficult to control without the computer-automated flight controls that didn't became available until the 1980's and 90's (which made the B-2 possible).

P.S.- I work for Boeing, and there are designs on the drawing board for 'blended wing' cargo aircraft and/or bombers that are pretty amazing. Even a passenger aircraft concept where the passengers would sit inside the wing. But only the first class passengers would have windows (in the leading edge)... so not sure how pleasant a flight it would be for the others without any windows. But one could carry enough passengers to make it extremely fuel efficient, making cheaper tickets possible.
A main drawback would be very wide wingspans and short fuselages would make existing airport gates and jetways useless... would need a huge redesign of airport facilities to make it practical.

[frankandfrank]

Great photos.

[Akira Takiguchi]

Thank you everyone for your comments!

I like the English term "Flying wing" than the German "Only-wing aircraft" :-), though it is the literal explanation of the real thing :-) [ and in Japanese we say 全翼機, entirely-wing aircraft ]

Horten flying wings, as well as Natter rocket interceptors, were wonders for the young world war II students, like me in 70's. These super technical stuff attracted many youth who have never been to war... The real war had to be learned elsewhere.

[Mogdala]

great addition for your collection!

[Koenigstiger]

Nice and rare files...!!
Like to see these very clear pics.

Best regards,
Koeti

[Br. James]

Thanks Randy...very helpful, as always!

Br. James