Northrop N-1M Flying Jeep
(also known as 'Jeep' and 'Pickup')

Status: proof-of-concept flying-wing vehicle

Engines: 2 x Lycoming O-146

First flight: July 3, 1940

Aviation pioneer John Northrop spent decades developing the concept of an all-wing aircraft, trading the weight and drag of a conventional fuselage and tail for greater speed and range. As early as 1923, Jack Northrop had been convinced that the flying wing, in which the aircraft carried all loads and controls within the wing and dispensed with fuselage and tail sections, was the next major step forward in aircraft design. In support of the flying wing idea, Jack Northrop built a number of small-scale demonstrators to evaluate the concept. One of these was the N-1M flying wing demonstrator which flew for the first time on July 3, 1940.

The N-1M was the world's first pure all wing airplane, and high ranking officials of the Army Air Corps were soon impressed by the flight characteristics of the spectacular research vehicle. The Army Air Forces (established in June 1941) applied the designation XB-35 to the N-1M's military variant, which was subsequently ordered.

In 1945, following completion of its test program, Northrop sent the N-1M to the Army Air Forces for display in the Wright Patterson Museum, Dayton, Ohio. The Air Force eventually transferred the N-1M to the Smithsonian Institution, which stored it at Silver Hill, Maryland.

Population:

Specs:
Length: 17.9
Height: 4.92
Wingspan: 38.72
Wingarea: 300.0 sq ft 27.8 sq m
Gross Weight: 3,900 lb 1,768 kg

Performance:
Range: 300 miles 483 km
Cruise Speed: 160 mph 257 km/h 138 kt
Max Speed: 200 mph 322 km/h 174 kt
Ceiling: 4,000 ft 1,219 m

Crew/passengers: