The Northrop YB-49 was the jet-propelled variant of the company\\\'s XB-35 bomber. Eight Allison J35 engines, each delivering 3,750 pounds of thrust, gave the flying wing a top speed of 510 mph, or more than 100 mph faster than its prop-driven predecessor. The YB-49 had great promise, but flight testing soon revealed that it also had a lot of things wrong with it. Most prototypes do, particularly those designs that push hard against the boundaries of aeronautical possibilities. Many of the YB-49\\\'s problems lay in its engineering design, and the compromises necessary in converting a piston engine design to jet propulsion. Some of these problems could have been corrected, but others could not be.
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