American Aviation Historical Society

1924

Army planes broke up cloud formation with electrified sand

1949

Martin test pilot O.E. (Pat) Tibbs completes the first flight of the prototype Martin XB-51 trijet bomber, flying from the Martin plant at Middle River, Baltimore, MD, to the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, MD. The XB-51, a unique airplane, had three General Electric J-47 engines, a T-tail, and swept wings with variable angle-of-incidence selection for takeoff and for landing. The XB-51 uses spoiler ailerons for lateral control. It also has bicycle landing gear, the main landing gear retracting into