B-1A Ship 2

Here are 4 previously unpublished pictures of B-1A prototype Ship two.

Ship 2 was never supposed to fly. It was the airframe that went to the shaker, the airframe stress test environmnet that (basically)shook, twisted, and stressed the airframe through 2 1/2 normal lifetimes for failure anaylsis and lifecycle information.

But, things being what they are, not flying a billion dollar airplane is not possible, so ship two flew. A lot.

Ship 2 was a speedster, and a weapons testbed. Didn't have much in the way of defensive systems, that was ship 4's job.

Ship 2 was one of the two aircraft taken out of mothballs for the B-1B program, ship 4 was the other. Ship 2 was also the aircraft we lost in the desert above Cal City.

Prior to major modification

After major mods, 2000 flight hours

Pretty bird in flight

Hot brakes!