Loving it. For such a big bird it is so sporty.
James
It has a lot to do with purpose it was designed for James .
This is not a do all airplane . It was design to cruise fast at a low power setting and get to Russia without taking on extra fuel.
Sort of Make me think of the XB-70 design . Very clean and very fast.
Cheers, Christian B)
Too bad it pooped its payload out the back though. Still it did make a good recce platform.
A most interesting design . As I recall, the payload situation was never really successful but as the mission changed the payload was replaced by multiple fuel cells which were supposed to be jettisonable one at a time as the fuel load was used up, making it easier for the jet to maintain a high rate of speed.
I don't think it was very successful either but it maintained a very clean airframe for high speed.
I only had the pleasure to see one but even on the ramp during it's operational career. It was very clean just sitting there with all the unnecessary gear doors closed up.
These designers were really thinking out of the box
Cheers, Christian B)
James