Almost five years after the prototype was ordered, company test pilots Beryl A. Erickson and G.S. “Gus” Green and a crew of seven make the first flight of the mammoth Convair XB-36 prototype at Fort Worth, Tex.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
