Northrop N-1M

History of the Northrop N-1M

John "Jack" Northrop has long been fascinated by the concept of a "flying wing," an aircraft that does not rely on traditional tail or vertical features for stable flight and handling. The flying wing concept provides more efficient airflow for weapons and fuel storage through reduced drag and superior internal volume, while providing longer flight range.

It wasn't until the 1940s that his dream of flying wings led to the first true flying wing design in the United States, the Northrop "N-1M" prototype aircraft. The aircraft made its maiden flight in July 1941, before the United States entered World War II.

Before founding the legendary Northrop Company (which continues today), Jack Northrop worked for the Douglas Aircraft Company and rival Lockheed in the 1920s, where he put his talents to use Designed the Lockheed Vega, which was popular in the 1927s, in which Mr. Northrop began to turn his attention to the concept of an all-wing aircraft??, leading him to leave Lockheed to form Avion, his first independent business . In 1929, he designed an all-metal stress-skinned "pseudo-flying wing" named "Flying Wing X-216H". The aircraft still retains the traditional tail, with a double-arm arrangement and a single "thrust" propeller arrangement.

During this period, funding and other commitments limited Northrop's adventures in full-wing designs.

However, in 1939, Northrop officially formed the company with Douglas's backing, which went by the Northrop Company name and became the driving force behind the full-wing concept he needed. Coupled with the support of emerging wind tunnel technology and aerodynamic experts, the N-1M program is starting to gain traction even as the world heads for global war.

En route to 1940, an airworthy prototype took shape and made its maiden flight from Baker Dry Lake in California on July 3 the plane was accidentally blown up in a taxi with an altitude limit of just 5 foot! A more viable aircraft product will undoubtedly require adjustment.

By design, the N-1M has a solid triangular shape with air intakes recessed into the leading edge for a streamlined shape. With the exception of the wing area around the cockpit, the cockpit tub is sunk into the front wing area and the view is largely unobstructed.

The wingtips are curved and the trailing edge straight, broken only by the various hinge surfaces needed for control. The aircraft relies on a twin-engine layout buried in the mixed-wing fuselage area to reduce the aircraft's drag bulge. The stem accommodates a rearwardly extending shaft to carry the three-bladed propeller assembly in "thrust" propulsion. The landing gear is a three-wheeled arrangement, fully retractable, with a single-wheeled front leg and a larger single-wheeled main leg, the latter being anchored under the mass of the aircraft.

The construction of the N-1M is primarily steel pipe (for the frame) and plywood.

Originally, the aircraft was powered by two Lycoming 0-145 4-cylinder engines, each producing 65 hp. However, these proved too weak for the heavy duty design and later gave way to 2 x Franklin 6AC264F2 air-cooled 6-cylinder engines making 120 hp.

Testing continued until 1941, when the aircraft had completed more than 25 flights while showing promise, but with inherent limitations. The rudderless aircraft turned out to be so rich in tuning that test pilots always saw the "dangerous air" with this revolutionary design.

The test program continued until 1943 during World War II, during which time the N-1M ultimately proved to be the most problematic machine. The engine chosen was always underpowered and the aircraft proved to be a heavy design. It was in 1945, the last year of the war, that many of the US Air Force's promising military programs were cancelled, the N-1M was officially withdrawn from testing, and its ownership was transferred to the US Army Air Force (USAAF), which finally received it Listed as a protected museum exhibit.

Today, the N-1M (in bright yellow livery) can be found in the WWII section of the Udvar Hazy Museum (part of the National Air and Space Museum) outside Washington, D.C.

Although the N-1M testbed had a rather incomplete career, the design has undoubtedly proved critical to the development of other post-WWII Northrop flying wings, such as the XB-35 and YB-49, elsewhere in this article A description page was made. However, it wasn't until the arrival of the famous Northrop B-2 "Ghost" stealth bomber that the flying wing envisioned by Jack Northrop really came to fruition.

Mr Northrop was able to see a scale model of this masterpiece before his death in 1981.

When built, the N-1M test item had a top speed of just 200 mph - much slower than any competitive military combat type in service at the time. Service range is up to 300 miles and service ceiling is up to 4,000 feet.

The N-1M was by no means an acceptable military design, but the elaboration of concepts inherent in the design made it an influential aircraft in the 1940s and 1950s. Dimensions include a length of 18 feet, a wingspan of 38.7 feet, and a height of 5 feet. Gross weight is listed as 3,900 lbs.

During its development career, the N-1M earned the nickname "Jeep", and only the only airworthy prototype ever built.

The Germans of World War II implemented their own slightly more advanced flying wing concept during this period of aviation history, exemplified by the twin-engine single-seat Go. The 229 design was created by the Horten brothers and the aircraft is described elsewhere on this page.

Specification

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