On display in the R&D Gallery at NMUSAF under the XB-70 Valkyrie. Convair researched the high-speed delta wing after World War II. In response to a USAF requirement for a supersonic interceptor, it built prototype XF-92A. The landing gear, engine, canopy and ejection seat were borrowed from other aircraft. First flown on 18 Sep 48, it was tested by Frank Everest, Chuck Yeager and Scott Crossfield. It was under-powered despite engine changes, and Mach 1.01 was obtained on a dive. This aircraft helped in development of Convair's F-102 Delta Dagger, F-106 Delta Dart and B-58 Hustler.

Constructed as YB-36, all updated features were added to this one while on the production line; retained by Convair. 4 Dec '47: First flight. 15 Dec '47: Third flight, reached 40,000+ ft. 1948: Redesignated YB-36A after several modifications. 31 May '49: TOS USAF; assigned to 72nd Bombardment Wing (Heavy) (SAC), Ramey AFB, PR 10/50: Converted to RB-36E with added four J-47 jet engines to the wings and returned to 72nd BW. 18 Feb 1957: Flown from Ramey AFB to Patterson Field, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, for display at the Air Force Museum. 1971: Scrapped. Parts to Walter Soplata of Newbury, OH.

On display in the Research & Development Gallery at NMUSAF. The gyrocopter was an experimental concept to allow flyers downed over Vietnam to use one of these to escape on the ground to a safer area. It was to be stowed in the aircraft and integrated with the aircraft ejection seat. A 90 hp McCullough 4318G four-cylinder horizontally-opposed air-cooled engine powered the X-25A, which would give the pilot limited fly-away capability. First flown on 05 June 1968, it went to the museum in 1969.

This aircraft was on display in a San Diego, CA. playground for many years. In 1959 it was transferred to the USAF Museum. It underwent an in depth restoration from 2000 through 2008, and is now on display in the WW2 Gallery. This slide was taken in the outdoor aircraft display area at the original museum on Patterson AFB.

On display in the Presidential Gallery at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. This short body T-39A Sabreliner with two triangular windows is one of ten Presidential aircraft in the gallery. Retrofitted to a VIP configuration, it was used by former President Lyndon B. Johnson from 1968 to 1973 to travel to his ranch. Later, it flew as an avionics and communication test bed. It went to the museum in October 1984. One can see the air brake extended behind the nose wheel.

On display in the Cold War Gallery at NMUSAF. The swept-wing F-84F Thunderstreak was completely different to the straight-wing F-84 Thunderjet. It was powered by a Wright J65-W-3 engine rather than the Thunderjet's Allison J35. The Thunderstreak equipped USAFE squadrons and a large number were supplied to NATO countries under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program during the Cold War. It could deliver a nuclear bomb using LABS. This aircraft served in Europe and the Ohio ANG before being flown to the museum in 1970.

This second prototype F-107A was used for weapons trials from 1956 until the program was cancelled in 1957. Transferred to the USAF Museum in Dayton, it was displayed outside for twenty-two years before being restored and placed inside as the museum grew.

On display in the Research and Development Gallery at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. Dwarfing the SR-71, this exotic Valkyrie was intended to be a Mach 3 nuclear bomber. A sharp-edged splitter plate of the wedge-fronted intake reduced airflow to Mach 1.3, the design helping the XB-70 to surf on its shockwave. The wingtips folded downward on the AV-1 at 25 and 65 deg. at supersonic speeds to add to stability, also adding to lift. It had a retractable visor, delta canards and all-moving vertical stabilizers. Power was from six YJ93-GE-3 turbojets using JP-6 fuel.

Photographer: Jack Morris.

Photographer: Jack Morris

Photographer: Jack Morris.

Photographer: Richard Sullivan

Photographer: Jack Morris. Formerly US Navy Bureau Number 149405.

On display in the Research and Development Gallery at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) produced a Pulsed Detonation Engine (PDE) in the 2000s using off-the-shelf automotive components. Shockwaves from controlled detonations of the fuel-air mixture provided a peak thrust of about 200 lb at around 125 decibels through four tubes at the back. After AFRL's five-year joint effort with Innovative Scientific Solutions Inc. (ISSI), Pete Siebold flew the first manned PDE flight in this modified Rutan Long-EZ "Borealis" on 31 Jan 08 at Mojave.

On display in the Research & Development Gallery at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. This was the world's first VSTOL tilt-rotor aircraft, powered by a single P&W R-985 Wasp. It was the result of a joint initiative in 1951 between the US Army and USAF. Two were built, and the first hover tests began in 1955. Take off to horizontal flight and back was achieved on 18 Dec 58. It never went into production, but paved the way later for the CV-22 Osprey. The first XV-3 was written off, and this is the only surviving example.