TACIT BLUE BSAX - Denny Jarvi (Part 2)

[@jean-francoislemieux5509]

your channel is a goldmine of interesting insights on amazing aviation history by the people who were involved. There is nothing comparable out there!

[@Francoismag1]

This one hour felt like 5 minutes ! Very interesting subject and interview about this very unique aircraft Your channel is just awesome

[@terrancemccaffrey9954]

Another historically important interview. Many have heard of TACIT BLUE, but this is actually the first time I saw a picture of it! There is a Northrup family resemblance in the cockpit area to the B-2. Thanks, as always, for giving us this kind of amazing insight Steve!

[@10percenttrue]

Thanks, Marco. I will make sure that Denny knows how much everyone has appreciated him giving up his time to share his experiences.

[@rsuminsby]

You can see the actual airplane at the National Museum of the AF at Wright Pat.

[@FloridaManMatty]

If you ever get to see Tacit Blue in person, turn around 180° and look at the YF-23. Then go look at the B-2. The family lineage is undeniable.

[@anthonymaddison9588]

Heroes.

[@ngfan7476]

Great as always, Steve! Great info on Tacit Blue and Denny's recollections and his experiences with the program. Now we need somebody talking about the Bird of Prey...

[@rsuminsby]

I know a guy... 😎

[@bertjilk3456]

High quality aviation information with no ads. I’ve just found KZbin heaven! Thanks very much, subscribed.

[@larrybloxham]

Important R&D. Thanks Denny Jarvi for the open information.

[@paulloveless4122]

Having spent dozens of hours at WPAFB Museum I can say that Tacit Blu is one of the strangest airplanes I've ever seen. It's made out of what feels like ABS plastic and you can grab the front of the chine and it will compress like a cheap toy. It's so strange.

[@robert375cheytac8]

Regarding IR - he mentioned coating the airframe to keep it cool. The reason the ATF3 engine was selected was due to the low IR signature experienced with the compass cope. The engine exhaust exits at its mid section through 8 equally spaced cascades about the engine’s circumference (the first “mixer nozzle”). The same power plants were used on the CG Falcon, and as an off-the-cuff experiment an F16 came up behind one and was unable to get a lock.

[@PaulStewartAviation]

how was the exhaust cooled? Was it mixed with cold by-pass air like the B-2?

[@jacknab5171]

As always, i find these very informative. Thanks so much for these great stories!

[@lrw3984]

excellent yet again!

[@sedlo]

What a fascinating interview! It is such an honour to hear Mr. Jarvi’s stories of this amazing program. 10/10!

[@Jam_Gordon]

Another excellent interview ^^ This is a jet that just doesn't seem to get enough attention (somewhat understable of course given the classification), thanks for giving us this.

[@KrisRamJ]

Fascinating stuff, I'm sure lessons from Tacit Blue are still being applied over at Palmdale today

[@lexioncombine9403]

Palmdale is Lockheed.

[@KrisRamJ]

@@lexioncombine9403 It's also where Northrop Grumman are making the B-21 Raider

[@lexioncombine9403]

@@KrisRamJ Plant 42 is an A.F facility, if that's what you are referencing.

[@KrisRamJ]

​@@lexioncombine9403 Yes indeed, the government owned/contractor operated Northrop Grumman facility at Plant 42, Palmdale

[@lexioncombine9403]

@@KrisRamJ Plant 42 is in Antelope Valley, which is NEAR Palmdale.

[@lubtp7133]

Great interview. Got referred here from Sub Brief and am looking forward to watching your other videos.

[@10percenttrue]

Thanks for dropping by and for kind words!

[@rsuminsby]

I’d heard of Tacit Blue, and seen it at the National Museum of the AF. What surprised me in this interview was that it actually had a low-probability-of-intercept (LPI) radar installed. I had assumed it was just built to demonstrate the signature reduction. That work on LPI radar probably had a lot to do with the eventual B-2 radar.

[@rsuminsby]

For those interested in this topic, I recommend the book “Stealth” by Peter Westwick.

[@10percenttrue]

I've heard good things about this book, Rob.

[@0MoTheG]

The IR shielding V-tail looks like a radar reflector. I wonder how that worked? Glass fiber and the actuators inside the metal frame?

[@Fannyschmeler]

Amazing content,thanks.

[@sashD7609]

Really great interview as usual. Enjoy the depth and detail of the interviews.

[@FloridaManMatty]

One of my most prized possessions is a photo I got in August 2018 of me booping BSAX’s nose. The idea that I could touch an airplane that could have landed me in a Supermax just for seeing 25 years before is bananas.

[@user-os6ch5pt7w]

Hey, Steve. Long time listener/watcher, and I have to say you find interesting guests on programs that many overlook, or know nothing about. Do you happen to have part I of the interview?

[@10percenttrue]

Thanks for tuning in! Part 1 of the Denny Jarvi series here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJSme6R5mL9mfMU

[@chrisjones2149]

Fascinating interview, thanks for sharing!

[@10percenttrue]

Glad you enjoyed it, Chris.

[@vote1barkerblairbarker227]

awesome interview, important history and nice to see TWZ gave this marvellous I/V a big plug

[@10percenttrue]

Thank you!

[@lexioncombine9403]

To watch it fly, you'd never think it was difficult to control.

[@unclebob6728]

Thank You!

[@10percenttrue]

Welcome!

[@ScienceAppliedForGood]

It was a very interesting talk. Thanks for making this video.

[@10percenttrue]

My pleasure. Thanks for the comment!

[@tsechejak7598]

Radar energy “flow” was a spooky EM quality tested on tacit blue and utilized on the B-2. This technique is not just skipping radar energy off at extreme angles away from radar receiver but actually have the radar energy flow to a degree around prior to skipping off. This is info given by a designer in thr B-2 and Tacit blue programs they gave in a book. I apologize I can’t remember the engineers name. They mentioned the inspiration came to them while sitting around waiting for family at Disneyland

[@0MoTheG]

The aircraft does not look unstable from a CoG standpoint. My guess is that the sharp lip at the front is the issue. When they made the nose of the F-5 longer they had the issue that the lift it generated at AoA became too high. The drag and lift of the lip will likely flip the aircraft if some critical angle is reached.

[@10percenttrue]

Sounds like a reasonable analysis. I'll ask Denny whether he can expound on the matter and post his response here (assuming he has one).

[@0MoTheG]

@@10percenttrue We can eliminate any other reason than those related to the LO shape. There is nothing else in the front that could cause aerodynamic force. Too flat and wide a belly would also be an issue, but aside from the lip that doesn't seem to be the case. The lip is similar to that of the edge of the B-2 in that it is asymmetrical and not blunt. Any sharp leading edge will have a strong increase in low pressure, lift, drag locally with any AoA resulting in positive feedback.

[@Dan-qp1el]

Love the modesty

[@tsechejak7598]

F-117 had a larger radar cross section then the B-2. The F-117 cross section “speculatively” is the size of bat guano let alone the size of a bat, if it has great upkeep on surfaces prior to test

[@JoshuaC923]

Came here from jive turkey🙋🏻‍♂️

[@10percenttrue]

Welcome!

[@stuntmanmike37]

Sorry if I missed it, but, did Denny mention how the pilot actually got into the airplane? I've been staring at pictures of this thing for years and can't figure out if it had a side door, a belly hatch with a ladder or an overhead hatch above the cockpit? Do you know or have a source for that info? Great interview, btw. Thanks.

[@10percenttrue]

Michael, there is an entry hatch on the starboard underside at the front. You can get a sense of where it is from this: www.nmusafvirtualtour.com/cockpits/RD_tour/RD-5.html

[@swenic]

Hey dude, I enjoy your podcast but when there are several parts you really need to include the playlist in the description. I don't want to start with episode two and then maybe three before I find the first, if even that. It is so annoying that it is ruining the experience. Thanks. Also, would be interesting to hear your story, you look like a very insightful person.

[@10percenttrue]

Good feedback, thanks. It'll take a little while, but I'll add the playlists to the description.

[@Xoferif]

It may be just me, but as I look at the Tacit Blue aircraft I can see a faint glimmer of the YF-23...

[@10percenttrue]

Yeah, there was certainly technology transfer to the YF-23. I also understand that the RQ-170 certainly owes much to TB. And let's not forget the B-2 - the classified portions of TB that Denny referred to have found their way onto that platform...

[@bushgreen260]

*The classifed aircraft he said he asked to be declassified but was told they will never be declassified, is it because they are using technologies and propulsions that is still not public knowledge?*

[@10percenttrue]

He said “programmes”, which could mean technology instead of aircraft. Best bet is that the programmes led to the development of capabilities for the B-2…

[@LRRPFco52]

We used to see a large silent aircraft flying in the pattern into Plant 42 on a fairly regular basis, only at night. It had nav lights, but literally made no discernable noise. This was in the late 1980s, 1987-1988 specifically. We would be in the jacuzzi out back next to our pool.

[@LRRPFco52]

There are things within the USAP world that have come and gone and died with the people who worked on them. That dates back even to the early 1900s. Look at the history of RADAR and what it was initially experimenting with.

[@bushgreen260]

@@LRRPFco52 interesting

[@LRRPFco52]

B-2 prototype AV-2 has a "tail" code of 82-0167. There were 6x B-2 prototypes. AV-1 was converted into a B-2A Block 10. The 2 digit prefix indicates the year production started for the airframe, not the delivery year. The aircraft we were used to seeing were the size of the B-2, but we couldn't hear anything.

[@mhamma6560]

Speaking of radar -- The B2's radar had to get changed out because the FCC sold its frequency block.....

[@10percenttrue]

Madness.

[@LRRPFco52]

FCC, EPA, FDA, OSHA, and even multiple offices within DoD were penetrated or even created by the Soviets as part of their aggressive active measures programs.

[@ronjon7942]

Oh wow, u tripped on a goldmine here. In one swoop you practically stubbed on a book opportunity .

[@Jimbo898]

Pretty sure my dad knew this guy.

[@craftpaint1644]

I immediately told my son to change his Xbox player name to "Wobbly Goblin"

[@10percenttrue]

I hope he did it!

[@LRRPFco52]

F-117A pilots said it was actually very stable, very honest. Handled much like an F-4 without burner according to one pilot who flew Phantoms before going into -117.

[@eddiesomerset8863]

really professional compared to Aircrew interviews with his childish presentation