Magnesium Overcast

Basic Craft Info

1 Toggles Flaps
2 Toggles Elevator Trim Tab

A stock aircraft called Convair YB-60. Built with 643 of the finest parts, its root part is Size3MediumTank.
Built in the SPH in KSP version 1.2.2.

Details

• Type: SPH
• Class: aircraft
• Part Count: 643
• Pure Stock

• Top Speed: 160m/s
• Weight: 150 tons
• Dimensions: 55x62x16 meters LWH

Project Overview

In 1950, Convair created a concept model B-36G, a swept-wing B-36 to be powered exclusively by jet engines. In 1951, the United States Air Force showed interest and authorized the conversion of two B-36F’s to the B-36G configuration. As the design evolved and grew away from its B-36 origins, the project name changed to YB-60

Design

Straying from the traditional ‘glass-bottomed-cockpit’ so common on propeller-driven craft with bombardier crew, Convair instead opted to have the YB-60’s nose taper to a needle-like instrument probe, while still using the B-36 style bubble canopy. resulting in an unmistakable look. The massive jet bomber also shared 72% parts commonality with its parent design (B-36).

The competitor to the YB-60 was Boeing’s XB-52 Stratofortress. The Boeing proposal was much more expensive because it did not rely on a past design with new modifications, meaning that part of the B-52’s cost would include creating all-new machinery and tooling for manufacture of the new bomber. To counter this though, the B-52 was 100mph faster than the YB-60, and the YB-60 also experienced severe handling issues, whereas Boeing’s design did not. A plus for the Convair design, though, was that it could claim a 72,000lb bomb load—almost double the B-52’s 43,000lb claim. The Air Force did not see value in this extra capacity, though. Both aircraft required 5 crew members, a definite upgrade from the B-36’s 10.

Although anecdotal, it should be noted that the XB-52 flew 3 days before the Convair.