Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Identifying Rarer Military Aircraft

Thanks for the link. I did not have that one.

The General Electric jet engine group had asked the airforce for some jets that were equipped their engines. GE wanted to do a flying photo shoot for PR purposes. I believe the GE photographer was in a Lear Jet.

The group of aircraft rendezvoused near Victorville, CA, outside Edwards AFB airspace. (You can see the photo shoot pictures here.) It was reported that the GE photographer radioed the F104 pilot and asked him to get closer to the XB80. "Closer." "Closer." "Closer." The Starfighter got caught in the XB70 turbulence and was flipped into the Valkyrie's tail. The F104 pilot was killed instantly.

The airwaves crackled, "Midair!" The XB70 crew wondered who got hit. They did not realize it was them. In the spin downward, only the copilot was able to eject. The chief test pilot was apparently pinned helpless in the spinning aircraft.