Grandpa and his Bomber Plane (at Wright Patterson)


The Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio is a fantastic accumulation of aviation history. The stunning displays and exhibits are top tier but the impressive collection wasn’t the only reason I wanted to visit. The main goal of the trip was to snap a photo of my 87 year old Grandfather with the XB-70 Valkyrie airplane that he worked on from 1961-1963.  Grandpa Ralph worked on the XB-70 during the Cold War where he was the Product Engineer of its revolutionary braking system.  He implemented an anti-skid braking system because the pilot couldn’t decipher whether the plane was properly landing. The XB-70 first took flight in 1964 as part of supersonic test flights and retired to Air Force history in 1969.  

My proud grandpa Ralph hadn’t seen the plane in over fifty years and was thrilled to revisit a part of history he contributed to.


Comments (2)

  1. Dedicated servers

    It is one of the few B- still in flying condition, and the only flying survivor to see action in Europe during World War II. She featured as the fictional B-17F Mother and Country, in addition to The Pink Lady, in the film, Memphis Belle. Sometimes, even in the bloodiest, darkest days of war, a glimmer of hope and humanity has manifested itself among foes in the spirit of Christmas.

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    • admin

      Very interesting. I had no idea it was still in flying condition. I was just so happy to see how my grandpa’s eyes lit up when he spoke about it.

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