X-planes of the US

31 AIRCRAFT WITH
THE X-FACTOR
UDI NG
I N C L

X-1
Breaking the
sound barrier
X-15
Mach 6 to the
edge of space
X-24
Wingless
wonder
X-59
Son of
Concorde

The story behind

NASA’s famous
X-planes
www.keypublishing.com

70 YEARS OF X-RATED NASA AIRCRAFT ISSUE 43 £7.95

AA43_p1.indd 1 08/04/2019 18:14

 AVIATION SPECIALS ESSEN T IAL R E AD I NG F R O M KE Y P U B L I S H I NG

AIRFORCES OF AVIATIONPHOTOGRAPHER RAFANNUALREVIEW2019 US AIR FORCE AIR POWER

THE WORLD 2 The most eminent photographers Providing behind the scenes insight YEARBOOK 2019
From carrier-based fast jets to fixed- take you inside their thought process into the aircraft, equipment, people The fourth edition of the US Air Force
wing patrol aircraft and helicopters, the behind some of the most breath- and operations of one of the world’s Air Power Yearbook comes at a time
region’s maritime air components are taking aviation images ever produced. premier air forces. when readiness is at the forefront of
reviewed in detail the concerns for USAF leaders.

£5.99 inc FREE P&P* £6.99 inc FREE P&P* £6.99 inc FREE P&P* £5.99 inc FREE P&P*

MIG, RED STAR FIGHTERS AIRLINER CLASSICS F-35LIGHTNINGII PATROLLERS AND

A tribute to the designers, Brought to you by the award-winning This 100-page special from the AIRLIFTERS
engineers and crews who have team behind Airliner World, this latest team behind Combat Aircraft The third instalment in the
created, operated and flown the edition of the highly popular Airliner magazine details the F-35’s series focuses on the unsung
most famous of Soviet military Classics series turns the clock back journey to date. heroes involved in the vital
aircraft. once again to bring you the very best roles of transport and maritime
from the glory days of air travel. overwatch.

£6.99 inc FREE P&P* £5.99 inc FREE P&P* £5.99 inc FREE P&P* £5.99 inc FREE P&P*

AVIATION SPECIALS
ESSENTIAL reading from the teams behind your FAVOURITE magazines
FREE Aviation Specials App

HOW TO ORDER Simply download to purchase digital versions

of your favourite aviation specials in one
VISIT PHONE handy place! Once you have the app, you
www.keypublishing.com/shop UK: 01780 480404 will be able to download new, out of
ROW: (+44)1780 480404 print or archive specials for less
than the cover price!
*Prices correct at time of going to press. Free 2nd class P&P on all UK & BFPO orders. Overseas charges apply. Postage charges vary depending on total order value.

281/19
 INTRODUCTION 3

X-planes of the US
The experimental aircraft of NASA
X
: The 24th letter of the alphabet is perhaps its most complete numerical sequence. However, the result is an eclectic mix
enigmatic. It symbolises the mysterious, the unknown, the of supersonic record-breakers, fast jets, vertical take-off, lifting bodies,
unexplainable… it also denotes experimental. Therefore, bizarre configurations and futuristic concepts. To put it more succinctly,
when a sonic boom sent shock waves around the California skies these are the X-planes with the X-factor.
on 14 October 1947, it was entirely apposite that the machine
responsible carried the designation X-1. AVIATION ARCHIVE SERIES
It was indeed the first aircraft to break the speed of sound in level flight, In this 43rd issue of ‘Aviation Archive’, we examine the ‘secret’ world
the first of the supersonic era that would change the world, and the first of US X-planes, some of the most influential, fascinating, strange and
of a long line of X-planes to be produced for the US National Advisory breathtaking aircraft to ever take to the skies. It features stunning
Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), and its more famous successor photographic coverage, including many exclusive and rare shots. We
NASA. From X-1 to X-59, we present a fascinating collection of unique would like to thank the NASA archives for many of the images and aircraft
experimental aircraft that have helped pioneer many aviation concepts histories, together with the manufacturers Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
over the last 70 years. In the interests of maintaining the ‘aviation’ theme
of the series, we have followed the criteria that ‘if it has wings and flies
Cover : X-plane extraordinaire. The unique forward-swept-wing Grumman
like an aircraft, either by pilot or remotely’, it is an X-plane. Pure missiles X-29 was one of the most unusual designs in aviation history.
and spacecraft are considered as X-vehicles and therefore have not been
included. This explains why the following X-planes do not make up a This page: The first of the X-planes and its pilot Charles ‘Chuck’ Yeager.

Aviation Archive Series

X-planes of the US: The experimental aircraft of NASA
• Editor: Allan Burney • Design: Philip Hempell
• Group CEO and Publisher: Adrian Cox • Commercial Director: Ann Saundry
• Distribution: Seymour Distribution Ltd +44 (0)20 7429 4000 • Printing: Warners (Midlands) PLC, The Maltings, Manor Lane, Bourne, Lincs PE10 9PH.
All rights reserved. The entire content of Aviation Archive is © Key Publishing 2019. Reproduction in whole or in part and in any form whatsoever is strictly prohibited without the prior permission of the Publisher. We are unable to guarantee the
bona fides of any of our advertisers. Readers are strongly recommended to take their own precautions before parting with any information or item of value, including, but not limited to, money, manuscripts, photographs or personal information in
response to any advertisements within this publication. Published by Key Publishing Ltd, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincs PE19 1XQ. Tel: +44 (0) 1780 755131. Fax: +44 (0) 1780 757261. Website: www.keypublishing.com ISBN: 9781912205851

AA43_p3.indd 3 08/04/2019 12:30

 4 CONTENTS

X-planes of the US
The experimental aircraft of NACA /NA

The only man to have travelled at Mach 6.7 in a winged aircraft,

US Air Force pilot William J. ‘Pete’ Knight is photographed alongside X-15A-2 56-6671.

AA43_p4-5.indd 4 05/04/2019 10:46

 CONTENTS 5

NASA
6 WHAT IS AN X-PLANE?
8 BELL X-1
18 BELL X-2
21 DOUGLAS X-3 STILETTO
26 NORTHROP X-4 BANTAM
30 BELL X-5
34 CONVAIR X-6
36 NORTH AMERICAN X-10
38 RYAN X-13 VERTIJET
BELL X-14
44 NORTH AMERICAN X-15
52 HILLER X-18
54 CURTISS WRIGHT X-19
55 NORTHROP X-21
56 BELL X-22
58 MARTIN MARIETTA X-24
66 BENSEN X-25
67 SCHWEIZER X-26
68 GRUMMAN X-29
74 ROCKWELL-MBB X-31
78 BOEING X-32
81 LOCKHEED MARTIN X-35
86 MCDONNELL DOUGLAS X-36
87 BOEING X-45
88 NORTHROP GRUMMAN X-47
89 BOEING X-48
90 BOEING X-53
92 LOCKHEED MARTIN X-55
93 LOCKHEED MARTIN X-56
94 NASA X-57 MAXWELL
95 LOCKHEED MARTIN X-59 QUESST
96 NORTH AMERICAN XB-70

AA43_p4-5.indd 5 03/04/2019 12:27

 6 X-PLANES
What is an X-plane?
W
hat exactly is the definition of an
X-plane and what does the future
hold for these most enigmatic of
aircraft? Jim Banke of NASA’s Aeronautics
Research Mission Directorate answers these
questions, and more…
History is about to repeat itself. There have
been periods of time during the past seven
decades – some busier than others – when the
best minds in [US] aviation designed, built and
flew a series of experimental airplanes to test
the latest fanciful and practical ideas related to
flight. Short wings. Long wings. Delta-shaped
wings. Forward swept wings. Big tails. No tails.
High speed. Low speed. Jet propulsion. Rocket
propulsion. Even nuclear propulsion – although
that technology was never actually flown.
Individually each of these pioneering aircraft
has its own story of triumph and setback –
Below: The first of the X-planes, the history-making Bell X-1, in which Capt Charles
‘Chuck’ Yeager ‘broke’ the sound barrier in 1947.
Right: X-men and X-plane. Test pilots of the legendary X-15 in front of the Mach 6
capable machine.
AA43_p6-7.indd 6
even tragedy. Together they are known as plan is to design, build and fly a series of
X-planes – or X-vehicles, since some were X-planes as a means to accelerate the adoption
missiles or spacecraft – and the very mention of advanced green aviation technologies
of them prompts a warm feeling and a touch by industry. Goals include showcasing how
of nostalgia among aviation enthusiasts airliners can burn half the fuel and generate
worldwide. And now, NASA’s aeronautical 75 percent less pollution during each flight as
innovators once again are preparing to put compared to now, while also
in the sky an array of new experimental
aircraft, each intended
to carry on the legacy
of demonstrating
advanced technologies
that will push back the
frontiers of aviation.
NASA’s renewed
emphasis on X-planes
is called ‘New Aviation
Horizons’, an initiative
announced in 2016. The
05/04/2019 10:46

being much quieter than today’s jets – perhaps
even when flying supersonic.
Pushing the boundaries is something NASA
has known how to do going way back to
the days of its predecessor organisation, the
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
(NACA), and the very first X-plane, fittingly
called the X-1, a project the NACA worked on
with the then newly formed US Air Force. Built
by Bell Aircraft, the X-1 was the first aircraft to
fly faster than the speed of sound in level flight,
thus breaking the ‘sound barrier’, a popular
but fundamentally misleading term that spoke
more to the romantic notion of the challenges
of high speed flight than an insurmountable
physical wall in the sky.
It was 14 October 1947 when US Air Force
Capt Chuck Yeager climbed into the bright
orange Glamorous Glennis and flew the X-1
into its moment in history. On that day the
Antelope Valley, home to Edwards AFB in
California, reportedly echoed with its first sonic
boom. But whether or not anyone there actually
heard a sonic boom, thousands more echoed
over the valley in the decades to come as
supersonic flight over the military base became
routine. The X-1 also marked the first in what
became a long line of experimental aircraft
programmes managed by the NACA (and later
NASA), the US Air Force, the US Navy, and other
government agencies.
What is an X-plane?
The current list of X-planes that have been
assigned numbers stands at 59, but that doesn’t
mean that there have been 59 X-planes.
Some had multiple models using the same
number. And still more experimental vehicles
were designed, built and flown but were never
given X-numbers. And some X-vehicles received
numbers but were never built. The X-52 was
skipped altogether because no one wanted to
confuse that aircraft with the B-52 bomber.
Moreover, some X-planes weren’t
experimental research planes at all, but rather
AA43_p6-7.indd 7
prototypes of production aircraft or spacecraft,
further muddying the waters over what is truly
considered an X-plane and what isn’t.
Examples of experimental aircraft not called
X-planes include some of NASA’s lifting bodies,
and the US Navy’s D-558-II Skyrocket, which
pilot Scott Crossfield flew in 1953 to become
the first airplane to travel twice the speed of
sound, or Mach 2.
And it gets even more confusing: some
of the early X-planes were called the XS‑1,
XS-2 and so on – the XS being short for
‘experiment, supersonic’. Although it’s not
clearly documented, at some point XS became
X, because XS sounded too much like ‘excess’.
There also have been aircraft like the XB-70,
a supersonic jet demonstrator considered an
X-plane in most circles, but officially not part of
the 59 X-planes numbered to date.
Although the X-plane designation has become
a very amorphous term through history, it’s a
term that people today now identify as being a
cutting-edge research aircraft.
The future of X-planes
In this age of high-speed computers capable of
generating sophisticated simulations, and with
the availability of world-class wind tunnels to
test high-fidelity models, why is there still the
need to fly something like an X-plane?
The answer has to do with what is described
as the necessity of a ‘three-legged stool’ when it
comes to aviation research.
One leg represents computational
capabilities. This involves the high-speed super
computers that can model the physics of air
flowing over an object – be it a wing, a rudder
or a full airplane – that exists only in the ones
and zeros of a simulation.
A second leg represents experimental
methods. This is where scientists put what is
most often a scale model of an object or part of
an object – be it a wing, a rudder or an airplane
– in a wind tunnel to take measurements of
air flow. Measurements taken in the wind
WHAT IS AN X-PLANE? 7
Left: Back to the future. The sonic boom is being
revisited by one of NASA’s ‘next generation’ of
X-planes, the X-59 QueSST.
tunnel can help improve the computer model,
and the computer model can help inform
improvements to the airplane design, which
can then be tested again in the wind tunnel.
Each of these is great on its own and each
helps the other, but each also can introduce
errors into the inferences that might be made
based on the results. So, the third leg of the stool
is to go out and actually fly the design. Whether
it’s flying an X-plane or a full-scale prototype of
a new aircraft, the data recorded in actual flight
can then be applied to validate and improve
the computational and experimental methods
used in developing the design in the first place.
One of the first of the ‘New Aviation Horizons’
X-planes to actually fly will be the Lockheed
Martin X-59 QueSST, short for Quiet Supersonic
Technology. Scheduled to take to the air in
2020, QueSST aims to fix something the X-1 first
introduced to the flying world over 70 years ago
– the publicly annoying loud sonic boom.
Recent research has shown it is possible for a
supersonic airplane to be shaped in such a way
that the shock waves it forms when flying faster
than the speed of sound generate a sonic boom
so quiet it hardly will be noticed by the public,
if at all. The resulting sonic ‘boom’ has variously
been described as like distant thunder, the
sound of your neighbour forcefully shutting
his car door outside while you are inside, or
as the thump of a ‘supersonic’ heartbeat. It is
hoped data gathered from flying QueSST will
help the Federal Aviation Administration and
its international counterparts establish noise-
related regulations that will make it possible for
commercial supersonic airliners to fly over land
across country.
Meanwhile, other experimental aircraft also
are under consideration, including those with
novel shapes that break the mould of the
traditional tube and wing airplane, and others
that are propelled by hybrid electric power.
Exactly what these X-planes will look like, how
they will be operated and where they will be
flown, all have yet to be precisely defined.
Interestingly, despite these future test aircraft
being referred to as X-planes, it is entirely
possible only some of them will actually get an
official X-plane number.
So, whether NASA winds up calling these new
planes by an X-number or a catchy acronym
– or both – one thing is clear: NASA’s flight
research programme is on its way to creating a
renaissance of an exciting era in the history of
aviation research.
03/04/2019 12:28
 8 X-PLANES
Bell X-1
Breaking the barrier
I
t is entirely apposite that the first of the
X-planes is the most famous of them all.
History records that on 14 October 1947,
Capt Charles ‘Chuck’ Yeager ignited the
rocket engines of the diminutive Bell X-1 and
proceeded to break through the mythical
‘sound barrier’, creating a thunderous boom
that heralded the dawning of the supersonic
age. It was aviation at its most pioneering…
and most dangerous.
The XS-1 (as it was originally designated)
was part of a co-operative programme initiated
in 1944 by the National Advisory Committee
for Aeronautics (NACA) and the US Army Air
Forces (later the US Air Force) to develop special
manned transonic and supersonic research
AA43_p8-17.indd 8
aircraft. On 16 March 1945, the US Army Air masked an extremely crowded fuselage
Technical Service Command awarded the Bell containing two propellant tanks, 12 nitrogen
Aircraft Corporation of Buffalo, NY, a contract spheres for fuel and cabin pressurisation, the
to develop three research aircraft under pilot’s pressurised cockpit, three pressure
project designation MX-653. The USAAF regulators, a retractable landing gear, the wing
assigned the designation XS-1 for Experimental carry-through structure, a Reaction Motors
Sonic. The XS-1 was the first US high-speed 6,000lb-thrust rocket engine, and more than
aircraft built purely for aviation research 500lb of special flight-test instrumentation.
purposes and was never intended for Though originally designed for conventional
production. The smooth contours of the XS-1, ground take-offs, all X-1 aircraft were
patterned on the lines of a machine gun bullet, air-launched from Boeing B-29 or B-50
Below: The Bell X-1 rocket plane was the first to break the sound barrier (or Mach 1) on 14 October
1947. US Air Force Capt Chuck Yeager was at the controls as the X-1 was flown over what is now called
Edwards AFB. Famously, the aircraft was nicknamed Glamorous Glennis by Chuck Yeager in honour of
his wife. This historic machine is now on permanent display in the Smithsonian Institution’s National
Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.
05/04/2019 10:47

Superfortress aircraft. The performance
penalties and safety hazards associated with
operating rocket-propelled aircraft from the
ground caused mission planners to resort to
air-launching instead. Bell Aircraft chief test
pilot Jack Woolams became the first person
to fly the XS-1 making ten glide-flights before
March 1946, when the aircraft was returned
to Bell for modifications to prepare for the
powered flight tests. These were performed at
Muroc Army Air Field (now Edwards AFB) near
Palmdale, CA, with Chalmers ‘Slick’ Goodlin as
the primary Bell Aircraft test pilot for the X-1-1
(serial 46-062). He made 26 successful flights
in both X-1s from September 1946 through to
June 1947.
The USAAF was unhappy with the cautious
pace of flight envelope expansion so the test
programme was acquired from Bell. Flight tests
of the X-1-2 (serial 46-063) would be conducted
by NACA to provide design data for later
production high-performance aircraft.
The momentous first manned supersonic
flight occurred on 14 October 1947, less than a
AA43_p8-17.indd 9
BELL X-1 9
month after the US Air Force had been created 71,902ft (21,916m), the highest flight made by
as a separate service. Two days before his the little rocket aircraft.
historic flight, test pilot Capt Charles ‘Chuck’ In all, there were five versions of the Bell X-1
Yeager was thrown from a horse while riding rocket-powered research aircraft that flew at
with his wife and broke two ribs. Knowing the NACA High-Speed Flight Research Station.
that he would never be allowed to fly such a The three initial X-1s were designated X-1-1,
critical mission in this condition, he travelled X-1-2, and X-1-3, and they were followed by the
to a doctor off base and had his ribs taped X-1A, X-1B, a short-lived X-1D and the X-1E, the
up. Because of his incapacity, he was unable latter modified from the X-1-2.
to close and latch the side door by hand, so
at the suggestion of a fellow pilot he used a
broom handle as a lever. Yeager and the X-1,
Bell X-1
nicknamed Glamorous Glennis for his wife, Crew: 1
were dropped from the B-29, and quickly shot Length: 30ft 11in (9.4m)
away. As the X-1 accelerated to Mach 1.06 Wingspan: 28ft (8.5m)
(700mph/1,100km/h), controllers on the ground Height: 10ft (3.3m)
heard the first sonic boom. Following burn-out Powerplant: 1 x Reaction Motors
of the engine, Yeager glided to a landing on the XLR-11-RM3 liquid-
dry lake bed. History had been made. propellant rocket of
6,000lb thrust
Flight testing continued and the maximum
Max speed: Mach 1.45, 957mph
speed attained by the X-1-1 was Mach 1.45 at
(1,541km/h)
40,130ft (12,232m) during a flight by Yeager on Max T/O weight: 12,250lb (5,557kg)
26 March 1948. On 8 August 1949, Maj Frank K. Service ceiling: 71,902ft (21,916m)
Everest, Jr, US Air Force, reached an altitude of
05/04/2019 10:47
 10 X-PLANES

Right: Various wing configurations for the X-1

were tested on wind-tunnel models.

Below: The X-1-1 was painted a bright orange

by Bell Aircraft. It was thought that the aircraft
would be more visible to those doing the tracking
during a flight. Subsequently, when NACA
received the aircraft they were painted white,
which was an easier colour to follow in the skies
over Muroc Air Field, CA.

Bottom: The Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1-2 sitting

on the ramp at NACA High-Speed Flight Research
Station with the Boeing B-29 launch ship behind.
The painting near the nose of the B-29 depicts
a stork carrying a bundle which is symbolic of
the ‘mothership’ launching her babe (X-1-2). The
pilot access door is open to the cockpit of the
X-1-2 aircraft. On the X-1-2’s fin is the old NACA
shield, which was later replaced with a yellow
band and the letters ‘NACA’ plus wings that were
both black.

AA43_p8-17.indd 10 03/04/2019 12:30

 BELL X-1 11

Above: On test missions the X-1 was carried

under the ‘mothership’ and released between
25,000-35,000ft. After release, the rocket engine
was fired under full throttle for less than five
minutes. After all fuel (an alcohol-water mixture)
and liquid oxygen had been consumed, the pilot
glided back to earth for a landing.

Top right: ‘Chuck’ Yeager’s view in the cramped

cockpit of the Bell X-1. Note the all-important
Mach meter at the top right of the control panel
that goes up to Mach 1.5.

Right: The Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1-1

(46-062) in flight. The shock wave pattern in the
exhaust plume is visible. The X-1 aircraft were
almost 31ft (9.5m) long and had a wingspan of
28ft (8.54m). The X-1 was built of conventional
aluminium stressed-skin to extremely high
structural standards.

Below: The first man to fly faster than the speed of

sound in level flight, Capt Charles ‘Chuck’ Yeager,
stands alongside the Bell X-1 supersonic research
aircraft Glamorous Glennis.

AA43_p8-17.indd 11 03/04/2019 12:30

 12 X-PLANES
X-1A
The X-1A was created to explore stability and
control characteristics at speeds in excess of
Mach 2 and altitudes greater than 90,000ft. It
was a ‘stretched’ second-generation version
of the X-1 which incorporated a low-pressure
turbopump fuel system, increased fuel capacity
which would permit 4.65min of full four-
chamber burn time for its 6,000lb thrust XLR-11
engine, as well as a host of other improvements.
The canopy was altered and the nose boom
carried an angle-of-attack and angle-of-sideslip
vane, along with a pitot tube for measuring
static and impact pressures. The fuselage length
was 35ft 8in (10.9m), with a wingspan of 28ft
(8.53m). Bell predicted that the X-1A would be
able to achieve 2.5 times the speed of sound.
The X-1A was flown six times by Bell Aircraft
Company pilot Jean ‘Skip’ Ziegler in 1953. US Air
Force test pilots Maj Charles ‘Chuck’ Yeager and
Maj Arthur ‘Kit’ Murray made 18 flights between
21 November 1953 and 26 August 1954. One
of Yeager’s flights was particularly memorable,
Below: US Air Force test pilot Maj Arthur ‘Kit’
Murray is shown with the Bell X-1A rocket plane.
Murray and Maj Charles ‘Chuck’ Yeager made 18
test flights between 21 November 1953 and 26
August 1954 when the X-1A was turned over to
the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
(NACA) for further flight research.
AA43_p8-17.indd 12
both in that it exceeded Mach 2.4 (the fastest
speed yet) and that it nearly marked the end
for both aircraft and pilot. In his pilot’s report,
Yeager matter-of-factly described the sequence
of events following launch:
‘After a normal drop at 31,000ft, chambers
No 4, No 2, and No 1 were ignited and [the]
airplane was accelerated up to .8 Mach number.
A flight path was formed holding .8 Mach
number up to 43,000ft where chamber No 3
was ignited and the airplane accelerated in
level flight to 1.1 Mach number. A climb was
again started passing through 50,000ft at 1.1
Mach number, 60,000ft at 1.2 Mach number
and a push-over was started at 62,000ft. The
top of the round-out occurred at 76,000ft and
1.9 Mach number. The airplane was accelerated
in level flight up to 2.4 [2.535 indicated] Mach
number where all of the rocket chambers
were cut. The flight path was very normal and
nothing uneventful [sic] happened up to this
point. After the engine was cut, the airplane
went into a Dutch roll for approximately 2
oscillations and then started rolling to the
right at a very rapid rate of roll. Full aileron and
opposite rudder were applied with no effect on
the rate of roll of the airplane.
‘After approximately 8 to 10 complete rolls,
the airplane stopped rolling in the inverted
position and after approximately one-half of
one second started rolling to the left at a rate in
excess of 360 degrees per second. At this point
the pilot was completely disoriented and was
not sure what maneuvers [sic] the airplane
went through following the high rates of roll.
‘Several very high ‘g’ loads both positive and
negative and side loads were felt by the pilot.
At one point during a negative ‘g’ load, the
pilot felt the inner liner of the canopy break as
the top of his pressure helmet came in contact
with it.
‘The first maneuver [sic] recognized by the
pilot was an inverted spin at approximately
33,000ft. The airplane then fell off into the
normal spin from which the pilot recovered at
25,000ft.’
As Yeager recovered the aircraft, he was able
to re-establish radio contact with his chase
pilots (Jack Ridley and ‘Kit’ Murray) for the first
time since he had commenced his push-over
at 62,000ft more than two minutes earlier. The
transcript (featured to the right) is indicative of
the perils of the life of an X-plane test pilot.
Although the X-1A survived on this occasion,
its future was to be short-lived. Having been
turned over to the NACA, Joe Walker piloted the
first NACA flight on 20 July 1955. He attempted
a second flight on 8 August 1955, but an
explosion damaged the aircraft just before
launch. Walker, unhurt, climbed back into the
JTB-29A mothership, and the X-1A was jettisoned
over the Edwards AFB bombing range.
Above: Cowboy Joe (NACA High-Speed Flight
Station test pilot Joseph Walker) and his steed
(Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1A). On his second
flight on 8 August 1955, an explosion just before
launch damaged the aircraft. Unhurt, Walker
climbed back into the JTB-29A mothership and
the X-1A was jettisoned over the Edwards AFB
bombing range.
03/04/2019 12:30
 BELL X-1 13

Right: This photo of the X-1A includes graphs of the flight data from Maj Charles E.
Yeager’s Mach 2.44 flight on 12 December 1953. After reaching Mach 2.44, then the
highest speed ever reached by a piloted aircraft, the X-1A tumbled completely out
of control. The motions were so violent that Yeager cracked the plastic canopy with
his helmet. He finally recovered from an inverted spin and landed on Rogers Dry
Lakebed. The speed and altitude changes due to the tumble are visible as jagged
lines. The third graph from the bottom shows the G-forces on the airplane. During
the tumble, these twice reached 8 Gs or 8 times the
normal pull of gravity at sea level.

er.
,000 ov
m d o w n to 25
g) – I’
– gaspin e or no
t.
le – in audible k t o the bas
il le g ib e t b a c
: ( g
Yeager ether I
can
? lf.
now wh , Chuck e myse
Don’t k : A t 2 5,000ft b lu r r y) – sav
) (
Ridley ore, I g
ot to
Chase ( y much m
n ’t s a )
Yeager
: Ca Christ!
il le g ible) – ( rist!
: I’m – (
huck? t but Ch
Yeager : W h a t say, C h in g u p or no
) anyt
Ridley if I tore
Chase ( ’t know if you c
an. t going
a y I d o n ou are . I’m no
Yeag e r : I s
ll u s w h e r e y
a y , J a ck. Boy
y): Te se ok
Murra o the ba
Chase ( c a n g e t back t
I
: I think re, Chu
ck.
Yeager m ore. r e you a [nitrog
en]
d o t h a t a n y
o t e ll u s w h e
. I g o t 1,800lb
to t minute
y): Try
Murra ll tell y
ou in a
Chase ( g ) – I’ itude a
nd
r : I’ m (gaspin n g iv e me alt Cha
Yeage s u r e . r r a y , if you c
a se (
Rid
pre s u Cha ley)
source h u c k from M s id e . a t a b o ut s e : Go
r r a y ) : C o m o u t h e b a s e ( M t him
( M u y o u fr o v e r t Y e u r ray
Chase t r y t o c h e c k
b o u t – I’ ll b e a g er: ) : Y
, Kit
?
g, I’ll ft. I’m a Yea Flap es.
headin a t 1 8 ,0 0 0 g e s c o m
w n r : ing
: Be do Sou
Yeager te. im to Yea rce dow
0 ft in a minu h a d w arned h n t ’
ger
: I ’ ma
pre
s sure
n.
15,00 ) : Y e s , s ir .
e n g in e e r s
‘g o d iv e rg e C h a s l i s t
y ll e t
Murra e ll t i
ht! [B ight we (M le b ll 16
Chase ( uys we
re so rig he airp
lane m Yea
ger
urr
ay)
it fo
gged 00.
h o s e g c a u s e t : : N up –
g e r : T n b e Ma I ’ m o ,
Yea e caut io . j. Th on t I do not
extrem OK now he b n’t h too
fly with v e M a ch 2.3] c , I’ m getting e r a o ff, dow
n
omp
s
ase
l
ave
y
bad
.
e d s a b o t il l 1 5 s e
4 fp s c a m o n on ( eg, I ou,
at spe u r e is s e s o ff . Y t h e o n ’ l l b C h u
e p r e s s s w it ch e a ge e d ge o g r o e l a c k .
: Sourc data und ndin
Yeager lograph to 7 r: I’ll b f th ): K g on
o t a ll t he oscil ,000
f
e do
w
e la
k e it, s
w 35 r
e r : I g C t . n b e d i n ight
Yeag r t a nks. x a nd fue l. has
e
o ver
t
, thi
s
g to th in a
k a y . n t y o u g b o t h lo ( M h e So i s T e rig min
it’s o a n d v e v e n t in Yea u r r u t o mm ht s ute.
e t t is o n o w I’ m g e a y ) h t r y . h a
r u c k : J n e d . N t r : G : Ro a c k r p ,
Bell T jettis o h ere oi ger. ther c lear
already . and ng to la e in
e a g e r : I have e r o x id e alone M a get
t
nd a am
i
Y p j. Th his n
g hydro
gen omp thin little lo ute,
dow
Leavin r. le u p there. Yea
g e
son g off ng,
I n
c k : R o g e
d t r o u b r : : O n ( mea w o u
e ll T r u r e a l b a ft . 2 2 0 J u s t t h e n i n l d a
B in ,50 0 indi o fina g pr p
, I got – it, at 14 cate ver the l, Ki essu reciat
p
: I cut it t now, K Ma
Yeager d. edg t. re s e
s e r ig h j . T e uit.) [it] if y
r : O v e r the ba . you hom
p s
of th
e I ’m h ou’
Yeage ) : I h ave you h e a irplane
? to th
e
on:
R
lake
r urti d get
y t i i ng.
Murra Yea
kay on r ight ght ght
Chase ( r y t h in g look o o y o u . c
ger
: 1 5
, Kit
.
in fr
o n
now
, K
: Does e
ve g up t oun 50 t of it, g
Yeager l catchin ter
wen everyt you ot a
r a y ) : I’m stil e le ft . Cha t a h i n
, Kit
, t
bou
t
( M u r e t o t h s e ( r o u g i s o y
Chase d o a 3 6 0 h e r
t ’s a T -3 3 . a b o u
M u r r
n d t w i
a l l r i g
our
r i g
t o u, th a t2½ ay) ce. ht. B ht. D
: Going have yo unway
– : Co
Yeager ) : I don’t gonal r
Yea
g
–2
–1 min y Go
d–I
own
belo
u r r a y f t h e d ia e e r : – l g o t o w
e ( M d o 2 m il t h Y o o o ff l d
Chas e r t h e e n
t h e 3 1 / i s t hing u k now
k s g 5 0 – y o u
: I’ m r ight ov r u n way at r n . B . , i f
ood
, m
30 –
2
that
–
Yeager t h t e ell T ight 0– t
orth-So
u nd pat I’d h hat
er the N ight-ha ruc ad a y fin 20 –
right ov g t o m ake a r s s u r e is Ye a
k: C
h
seat e. 20 –
5
I’m goin ce pre ge uck you –2
marker. n. Sour thou r: No, i , did wou – ho
r c o m ing dow e d . san t ne
v
you
r
ldn’
t
ldin
g
e r : G e a d lo c k d o d a e r s u s t i l
Yeag e a r d o w n a n wn.
I t
nd I
o p
d i d . I
i t b l ow
l s e e m
50. G yet? Bel h ink ene o pen on y e in
still 16 in sight l Tr I bu d e ou?
it , got me uck sted the win d the –
r : K : d u
Yeage WOW t he c
ano hield d
s h–
it
e r : Huh?
! py w efro got up
Y e a g e g a t iv e . a n d i th m ster to a
: N t -h bou
urray)
h and
s e ( M 0 0 ft on a rig u n w a y y he
a i t wen
t 43
Cha w n t o 1 2 ,0
a s t -W e s t r d . I d o t b
e d o e E n ack
Yeager
: Cam nd of th ’t kn
le g o v er the e ow.
downw
ind lake.
d of the r, I see
him.
t h e s ound en ig ht, roge
in ll r
y): A
Murra
Chase (

AA43_p8-17.indd 13 03/04/2019 12:30

 14 X-PLANES

Above: The Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1B

rocket-powered research aircraft, one of the
growth versions of the original X-1 series. The
NACA High-Speed Flight Research Station was
located on the southern portion of Edwards AFB
at the edge of the Rogers Dry Lake in the Mojave
Desert. The Mojave Desert, known for its blazing
summer temperatures and normally clear skies,
provided an ideal environment for pilots and
engineers to test the research aircraft in flight.

X-1B
The X-1B was similar to the X-1A except for
having a slightly different wing. The X-1B made
its first powered flight in October 1954 and a
few months later the US Air Force transferred
it to NACA for flight research, primarily related
to aerodynamic heating and the use of small
‘reaction’ rockets for directional control.
NACA test pilot and future astronaut Neil A.
Armstrong made three flights in the aircraft to
experience the reaction controls performance.
After 27 flights, cracks in the fuel tanks of the
X-1B forced its grounding in 1958, and reaction
control research shifted to the Lockheed F-104
Starfighter. Nevertheless, the X-1B tests played
an important role in developing the control
systems for the later X-15.

AA43_p8-17.indd 14 03/04/2019 12:31

 BELL X-1 15

Above: Ground test of the X-1B’s rocket engine. The X-1B’s flight research primarily related to
aerodynamic heating and the use of small ‘reaction’ rockets for directional control.

Left: The Bell X-1B slung underneath its B-29 carrier aircraft before launch. The X-1B made its first
powered flight in October 1954 and played an important role in developing the control systems for the
later X-15. The X-1B made its last flight in January 1958.

X-1D
The X-1D (serial 48-1386) was to be used for heat transfer research. It was equipped with a
new low-pressure fuel system and a slightly increased fuel capacity. There were also some
minor changes of the avionics suite. On 24 July 1951, with Bell test pilot Jean ‘Skip’ Ziegler at
the controls, the X-1D was launched over Rogers Dry Lake, on what was to become the only
successful flight of its career. The unpowered glide was completed after a nine-minute descent,
but upon landing, the nose landing gear failed and the aircraft slid ungracefully to a stop. Repairs
took several weeks to complete and a second flight was scheduled for mid-August. On 22 August
1951, the X-1D was lost in a fuel explosion during preparations for the first powered flight. The
aircraft was destroyed upon impact after it was jettisoned from its EB-50A mothership.

AA43_p8-17.indd 15 03/04/2019 12:31

 16 X-PLANES
X-1E
The X-1E was the result of a reconstruction of
the X-1-2 (serial 46-063), in order to pursue
the goals originally set for the X-1D and X-1-3
(serial 46-064), both lost by explosions during
1951. The cause of the mysterious explosions
was finally traced to the use of Ulmer leather
gaskets impregnated with tricresyl phosphate
Below: The X-1E, christened Little Joe, with pilot
Joe Walker. The X-1E was actually the extensively
rebuilt X-1-2 (46-063). It had a new thin wing, a
stepped canopy, and a low-pressure fuel system.
It flew through 1958, bringing the X-1 saga to
a close after 12 years of research flying at the
NACA High-Speed Flight Station.
AA43_p8-17.indd 16
(TCP), a leather treatment, which was used
in the liquid oxygen plumbing. TCP becomes
unstable and explosive in the presence of pure
oxygen and mechanical shock.
Modifications to the aircraft included adding
a conventional canopy, an ejection seat, a
low-pressure fuel system of increased capacity,
and a thinner high-speed wing. The X-1E was
also 31ft (9.44m) long, but had a wingspan
of only 22ft 10in (7m). It was powered by a
Reaction Motors XLR-8-RM-5, four-chamber
rocket engine. As with all X-1 rocket engines,
the LR-8-RM-5 engine did not have throttle
capability, but instead, depended on ignition
of any one chamber or group of chambers
to vary speed. The X-1E was used to obtain
03/04/2019 12:31
 BELL X-1 17

in-flight data at twice the speed of sound, with
particular emphasis placed on investigating the
improvements achieved with the high-speed
wing. These wings, made by Stanley Aircraft,
Left: The Bell X-1E being loaded under the Boeing
B-29 mothership. The X-planes had originally
been lowered into a loading pit and the launch
aircraft towed over the pit, where the rocket
plane was hoisted by belly straps into the bomb
bay. By the early 1950s a hydraulic lift had been
installed on the ramp at the NACA High-Speed
Flight Station to elevate the launch aircraft and
then lower it over the rocket plane for mating.
Below: The X-1E occupies an honorary spot in
front of NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center’s
main building.
were only 3.5in (9cm) thick at the root and
had 343 gauges installed in them to measure
structural loads and aerodynamic heating.
The X-1E used its rocket engine to power it up
to a speed of Mach 2.24 , 1,471mph (2,367km/h)
and to an altitude of 73,000ft. The X-1E first flew
on 15 December 1955, a glide-flight controlled
by test pilot Joe Walker. Walker left the X-1E
programme during 1958, after 21 flights, having
attained a maximum speed of Mach 2.21.
NACA research pilot John B. McKay took his
place during September 1958, completing five
flights in pursuit of Mach 3 before the X-1E was
permanently grounded after its 26th flight,
during November 1958, due to the discovery of
structural cracks in the fuel tank wall.

X-1 legacy
The X-1 programme not only proved that humans could go beyond the speed of sound, it
reinforced the understanding that technological barriers could be overcome. The X-1s pioneered
many structural and aerodynamic advances including: extremely thin, yet extremely strong,
wing sections; supersonic fuselage configurations; control system requirements; powerplant
compatibility; and cockpit environments. The X-1s were the first transonic-capable aircraft to
use an all-moving stabilizer. The research techniques used in the X-1 programme became the
pattern for all subsequent X-craft projects. The NACA X-1 procedures and personnel also helped
lay the foundation of America’s space programme in the 1960s. The flight data collected by the
NACA in the X-1 tests then provided a basis for the development of the first generation of US
supersonic fighters.
Left: The supersonic age began here…

AA43_p8-17.indd 17 05/04/2019 10:47

 18 X-PLANES
Bell X-2
Triumph and tragedy
T
hey called it ‘Starbuster’ and in the
spirit of the age, who can blame
them. With its sleek swept wings and
tailplane it looked fast and futuristic, which
is exactly what it was. Designed to fly at
Mach 3 it was a true trail blazer, but sadly its
pioneering spirit came at a price.
Developed in 1945 by Bell Aircraft
Corporation, the US Air Force and the National
Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA),
the Bell X-2 was a rocket-powered, swept-wing
research aircraft. It was designed to investigate
the structural effects of aerodynamic heating
as well as to explore aerodynamic problems of
AA43_p18.indd 18
supersonic flight and to expand the speed and
altitude regimes obtained with the earlier X-1
series of research aircraft.
Two X-2 airframes, nicknamed ‘Starbuster’,
were built at Bell’s plant in Wheatfield, NY,
using stainless steel and K-monel (a copper-
nickel alloy). The vehicles were designed to
employ a two-chamber Curtiss-Wright XLR25
throttleable liquid-fuelled rocket engine. It had
a variable thrust rating from 2,500 to 15,000lb.
The X-2 was equipped with an escape capsule
for the pilot and in an emergency the entire
nose assembly would jettison and deploy a
stabilizing parachute. Once at a safe altitude,
the pilot would then manually open the
canopy and bail out. Although the US Air Force
approved the final escape system design, NACA
representatives were concerned that it might
prove dangerous to use.
A Boeing B-50A bomber was modified
to carry the X-2 to launch altitudes around
30,000ft (9,144m). The pilot then climbed into
the X-2, dropped away from the bomber, and
ignited the engines if it was a planned powered
flight. After engine burnout, the pilot guided
the X-2 to an unpowered landing on the surface
of Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards AFB, CA.
Because of a decision to install the first
available engine in 46-674, airframe 46-675
was delivered to Edwards first for glide tests.
It arrived at Edwards on 22 April 1952 and Bell
test pilot Jean L. ‘Skip’ Ziegler made the first
glide flight on 27 June.
Following the unpowered tests, the X-2 was
returned to Bell’s plant in New York. The engine
had not yet been installed in the first X-2,
46-674, so it was installed in the second. Captive
flights with the new engine were carried out
over Lake Ontario. During a flight to check the
liquid oxygen system, an explosion resulted in
the loss of the X-2 and severe damage to the
B-50. Tragically, both ‘Skip’ Ziegler and B-50
crew member Frank Wolko were both killed.
The X-2 fell into Lake Ontario and was not
recovered. The B-50A was damaged beyond
economic repair and was subsequently
replaced with a modified B-50D.
Lt Col Pete Everest finally made the first
powered X-2 flight on 18 November 1955 and
on 25 April 1956 it went supersonic for the
first time, achieving a speed of Mach 1.4 and
a maximum altitude of 50,000ft (15,240m).
Everest completed three flights in May that
pushed the aircraft’s speed envelope to
Mach 2.53. Everest’s final X-2 flight, on 23 July
1956, earned him the title ‘Fastest Man Alive’
when he achieved Mach 2.87.
Capt Iven C. Kincheloe now assumed the role
of X-2 project pilot for a series of high-altitude
Left: US Air Force test pilot Capt Iven Kincheloe
in front of the Bell X-2 (46-674) on the ramp at
Edwards AFB, CA. Behind the X-2 are ground
support personnel, the B-50 mothership and
crew, chase aircraft, and support vehicles.
03/04/2019 12:32
 Left: The Bell Aircraft Company X-2 (46-674)
drops away from the Boeing 8-50. Lt Col
Frank 'Pete' Everest piloted '674' on its first
unpowered flight on 5 August 1954. He
made the first rocket-powered flight on
18 November 1955 and the first supersonic
X-2 flight on 25 April 1956, achieving a speed
of Mach 1.40.

Overleaf: This in-flight photograph of the X-2

(46-67 4) shows the twin set of shock­
diamonds, characteristic of supersonic
conditions in the exhaust plume from the two­
chamber rocket engine. The Curtiss-Wright
XLR-25 rocket engine caused one of several
problems that delayed flight of the X-2. At one
point, people in the project suggested its
replacement. It was the first 'man-rated'
(in the terminology of the day) rocket engine
that was throttleable, and the technology
was not yet mature. Other problems included
the X-2's landing gear and the replacement of
the planned electronic flight controls with a
conventional hydromechanical system.

Below: The X-2 was a swept-wing, rocket­

powered aircraft designed to fly faster than
Mach 3 (three times the speed of sound). The
X-2 used a skid-type landing gear to make
room for more fuel.

Overleaf: US Air Force X-2 pilots

Capt Milburn 'Mel' Apt (left) and Capt lven
Kincheloe flank Col Horace Hanes, AF FTC
flight test director, beside the X-2 rocket
aircraft in 1956. After the death of Capt Apt
and the loss of the X-2 on 27 September
1956 in the first Mach 3 flight, Kincheloe was
assigned as the Air Force project pilot for
the X-15. Before he had a chance to fly that
rocket-powered aircraft, Kincheloe himself
lost his life in an F-104 accident.

missions, and on 7 September 1956

reached an altitude of 126,200ft (38,465ml,
earning him the title 'First of the Spacemen'
and a record that stood until the advent of
the X-15 programme.
Before the aircraft was handed over to
NACA for further research, on 27 September
1956, Capt Milburn G. 'Mel' Apt became the
first person to fly faster than three times the
speed of sound. The engine burned slightly
longer than expected and Apt flew a near
perfect flight profile, allowing him to reach
a speed of 2,094 mph (Mach 3.196). Sadly,
his elation was short lived. Apt initiated a
sharp turn back toward Edwards, but this
resulted in a control divergence known as
inertial coupling. The X-2 began to tumble
uncontrollably. Apt jettisoned the escape
capsule, but was unable to extract himself
before it struck the ground. Apt's death
cast a shadow over the most spectacular
achievement of the X-2 programme.
 Bell X-2
Crew:
Length: 37ft 1 0in (11.Sm)
Wingspan: 32ft 3in (9.8m)
Height: 11ft 1 0in (3.6m)
Power plant: 1 x Curtiss-Wright
XLR25 rocket engine of
15,000lb thrust
Max speed: Mach 3.196, 2,094mph
(3,370km/h)
Max T/0 weight: 24,9101b (11,300kg)
Service ceiling: 126,200ft (38,466ml

..,.,.. ' .

Douglas X-3 Stiletto
Sharp and dangerous
T
he early X-planes were all about
‘speed’, and none screamed ‘speed’
more than the radical X-3 Stiletto.
Designed to slice through the air at Mach 2,
it was the embodiment of everything a
fast aircraft should be. Sadly, looks can be
deceptive and the underpowered X-3 could
barely go supersonic.
The Douglas X-3 Stiletto boasted the most
highly refined supersonic airframe of its day
and was built to investigate aircraft design for
sustained supersonic speeds at Mach 2 and
Overleaf: The cockpit of the X-3 was not quite the
hot-seat that Douglas envisaged, though if one
takes into account a take-off speed of 260kts, its
test pilots would probably disagree!
Below: The Douglas X-3 Stiletto was almost a
caricature of what every supersonic aircraft
should be. It looked the part, but all was not
well under its titanium skin. Its twin jet engines
were underpowered and although it was built to
explore supersonic cruise at Mach 2 and above, it
could barely reach half of that.
AA43_p23-25.indd 23
above. The goal of the aircraft was ambitious
– it was to take off from the ground under its
own power, climb to high altitude, maintain
a sustained cruise speed of Mach 2, then land
under its own power.
Construction of a pair of X-3s was approved
on 30 June 1949. During development, the
X-3’s planned engines failed to meet the thrust,
size and weight requirements, so lower-thrust
Westinghouse J34 turbojets were substituted.
The first aircraft was completed and delivered
to Edwards AFB, CA, on 11 September 1952.
The first X-3 ‘hop’ was made on 15 October
1952, by Douglas test pilot Bill Bridgeman.
During a high-speed taxi test, Bridgeman lifted
the X-3 off the ground and flew it about a mile
before settling back onto the lakebed.
The ‘official’ first flight was made by
Bridgeman on 20 October. By the end of the
Douglas tests in December 1953, it was shown
that the X-3 was severely underpowered and
difficult to control. Its take off speed was an
astonishing 260kts! More seriously, the X-3 did
DOUGLAS X-3 STILETTO 21
not approach its planned performance. Its first
supersonic flight required it to enter a dive to
reach Mach 1.1. The X-3’s fastest flight, made on
28 July 1953, reached Mach 1.208 in a 30 degree
dive. When the programme began to encounter
problems, the partially completed second
prototype was dismantled and its components
used for spare parts.
With the completion of the contractor test
programme, the X-3 was delivered to the US Air
Force in December 1953. The poor performance
of the X-3 meant only an abbreviated
programme would be made to gain experience
with low-aspect ratio wings. Lt Col Frank Everest
and Maj ‘Chuck’ Yeager each made three flights
before it was handed over to the NACA High
Speed Flight Station in August 1954.
NACA pilot Joseph A. Walker conducted
eight research flights including lateral and
directional stability tests. In these tests, the X-3
was abruptly rolled at transonic and supersonic
speeds, with the rudder kept centred. Despite
its shortcomings, the X-3 was ideal for these
tests. The mass of its engines, fuel and structure
was concentrated in its long, narrow fuselage,
while its wings were short and stubby. As a
result, the X-3 was ‘loaded’ along its fuselage,
rather than its wings. This was typical of
the fighter aircraft then in development or
testing. These tests would lead to the X-3’s
most significant flight, and the near-loss of the
aircraft. On 27 October 1954, Walker made an
abrupt left roll at Mach 0.92 at an altitude of
30,000ft. The X-3 rolled as expected, but also
pitched up 20 degrees and yawed 16 degrees.
The aircraft gyrated for five seconds before
Walker was able to get it back under control.
Walker and the X-3 had experienced ‘roll
coupling’, in which a manoeuvre in one axis will
cause an uncommanded manoeuvre in one or
two others. The aircraft was grounded for nearly
a year after the flight, and never again explored
its roll stability and control boundaries.
Although the X-3 never met its intention of
providing aerodynamic data in Mach 2 cruise, its
short service of 51 flights was of value. It showed
the dangers of ‘roll coupling’, and provided early
flight test data on the phenomena. Its wing
platform was used in the F-104, and it was one
of the first aircraft to use titanium.
05/04/2019 18:06
AA43_p23-25.indd 24 03/04/2019 12:34
 DOUGLAS X-3 STILETTO 25

Above: Only one Douglas X-3 ever took

to the air, completing 51 flights before
it was retired. The partially completed
second prototype was dismantled when
the programme began to encounter
problems, and its components used for
spare parts.

Far left: When viewed from this angle,

it is not surprising to discover that
Lockheed used data from the X-3 tests
when designing the similar trapezoidal
wing of the F-104 Starfighter.

Left: There is no doubt that the X-3

was one of the most striking aircraft
ever built. The aim was to create the
thinnest and most slender shape
possible in order to achieve low drag
at supersonic speeds.

Douglas X-3 Stiletto

Crew: 1
Length: 66ft 9in (20.35m)
Wingspan: 22ft 8in (6.9m)
Height: 12ft 6in (3.82m)
Powerplant: 2 × Westinghouse
XJ34-WE-17 turbojets
of 3,370lb each
Max Speed: 706mph (1,136km/h)
estimated
Max T/O weight: 22,400lb (10,160kg)
Service ceiling: 38,000ft (11,582m)

AA43_p23-25.indd 25 03/04/2019 12:37

 26 X-PLANES
Northrop X-4 Bantam
Transonic tester
T
he X-4 did not follow the ‘supersonic’
mould of its predecessors. Instead it
was designed to test whether a semi-
tailless aircraft could perform better than a
conventional one at transonic speeds. Who
better than Northrop to find out?
The semi-tailless Messerschmitt Me 163
of World War 2 was the inspiration behind
the similarly-configured Northrop X-4.
The configuration had long fascinated
aerodynamicists who believed that elimination
of the horizontal tail would also do away with
stability problems at transonic speeds resulting
from the interaction of supersonic shock waves
from the wings and the horizontal stabilizers.
AA43_p26-29.indd 26
The United States Army Air Forces signed a
contract with the Northrop Aircraft Company
on 11 June 1946 to build two X-4s. The resulting
Northrop X-4 Bantam had no horizontal tail
surfaces, depending instead on combined
elevator and aileron control surfaces (called
elevons) for control in pitch and roll attitudes.
It was very compact, only large enough to
hold two Westinghouse J30 jet engines, a pilot,
instrumentation, and a 45-minute fuel supply.
The aircraft also had split flaps, which doubled
as speed brakes.
The first X-4 (serial number 46-676) made
its maiden flight on 15 December 1948, with
Northrop test pilot Charles Tucker at the
controls. However, it proved mechanically
unreliable, and made only ten flights. The
second X-4 (serial number 46-677) proved far
more reliable, making a total of 20 contractor
flights before both aircraft were turned over
to the US Air Force and the NACA. The first X-4
never flew again and was used as spare parts
for the second aircraft.
The initial NACA X-4 flights from late 1950
through May of 1951, focused on the aircraft’s
sensitivity to pitch. NACA pilots John Griffith
and Scott Crossfield noted that as the X-4’s
speed approached Mach 0.88, it began a pitch
oscillation of increasing severity. Increasing
speeds also caused a tucking phenomenon, in
03/04/2019 13:32

which the nose pitched down. More seriously,
the aircraft also showed a tendency to ‘hunt’
about all three axes. This combined yaw,
pitch and roll, which grew more severe as
the speed increased, was a precursor to the
inertia coupling which would become a major
challenge in the years to come.
To correct the poor stability, project
engineers decided to increase the flap/speed
brake trailing edge thickness. Balsa wood
strips were added between the upper and
lower hinged ‘clamshell’-style flap/speed brake
halves, causing them to remain open at a 5°
angle. The first test of the blunt trailing edge
was flown on 20 August 1951 by NACA pilot
AA43_p26-29.indd 27
NORTHROP X-4 BANTAM 27
Above: The X-4 Bantam, a single-place, low swept-wing, semi-tailless aircraft, was designed and built
by Northrop Aircraft. It had no horizontal tail surfaces and its mission was to obtain in-flight data on
the stability and control of semi-tailless aircraft at high subsonic speeds.
Walter Jones. The results were positive, with developed X-15. With this similarity in mind,
Jones commenting that the X-4’s flight qualities NACA conducted approach and landing studies
had been greatly improved, and the aircraft did of X-15-generation aircraft using the X-4. The
not have pitch control problems up to a speed X-4, retired in 1954, ending its days as a trainer.
of Mach 0.92. Although considered by many to be a dismal
In May 1953, the balsa wood strips were failure, the X-4 confirmed that a swept-wing
again removed, and the X-4’s dynamic stability semi-tailless design was not suitable for speeds
was studied in the original flap/speed brake near Mach 1, thereby allowing aircraft designers
and elevon configuration. With a minimal lift- to avoid this dead end. It was not until the
to-drag ratio of less than 3, the X-4 handling development of computer fly-by-wire systems
performance was similar to the soon-to-be- that such designs would become practical.
03/04/2019 13:33
 28 X-PLANES

Above: In this 1950 view of the right side of the

NACA High-Speed Flight Research Station’s first
X-4 research aircraft, the low swept wing and
horizontal tailless design are well shown.

Left: NACA test pilot Joe Walker is seen discussing

tests points to be flown on the X-4 with NACA
research engineer Donald Bellman.

Top right: The NACA High-Speed Flight Research

Station X-4 research aircraft. The two large ‘Xs’
seen connected by a line painted on the aircraft
were used as an aid in optical tracking.

Right: The X-4 at rest between sorties. Edwards

AFB proved ideal for flight research. The area’s
flying conditions – clear skies with great visibility
almost every day of the year – was combined
with the 44-square-mile Rogers Dry Lake, a
Northrop X-4 Bantam natural landing site that was referred to as ‘God’s
gift to the Air Force’. It was also an unpopulated
Crew: 1 area which led to fewer complaints about aircraft
Length: 22ft 3in (6.78m) noise (including sonic booms), plus there was
Wingspan: 26ft 10in (8.18m) also less chance of injury to the surrounding
population if there was an aircraft accident.
Height: 14ft 10in (4.52m)
Powerplant: 2 × Westinghouse Far right: The X-4’s design allowed it to be
XJ30-WE-7/9 turbojets separated into two parts, aft of the engines, for
of 1,600lb each servicing and instrumentation work. Nearly all
Max Speed: 625mph (1,006km/h) maintenance work on the aircraft could be done
Max T/O weight: 7,820lb (3,550kg) without using a ladder or footstool. A person
Service ceiling: 42,300ft (12,900m) standing on the ground could easily look into
the cockpit.

AA43_p26-29.indd 28 05/04/2019 10:49

 NORTHROP X-4 BANTAM 29

AA43_p26-29.indd 29 05/04/2019 10:49

 30 X-PLANES

Bell X-5
Swing-wing pioneer
B
ell’s barrel-shaped X-5 did not look not well. The X-5 had vicious spin characteristics
the part of a cutting-edge X-plane. arising from the aircraft’s flawed aerodynamic
But while it lacked the svelte lines of layout, particularly a poorly positioned tail and
its predecessors, it could do something that vertical stabilizer which, in some wing positions,
no other aircraft in the world could do. It could lead to an irrecoverable spin. This violent
could swing its wings in flight. This unique stall/spin instability would eventually cause the
ability made the unassuming X-5 the most destruction of the second aircraft and the
advanced aircraft of its time. death of its US Air Force test pilot Capt Ray
The Bell X-5 was flight tested at the NACA Popson in 1953.
High-Speed Flight Research Station (now the In spite of the problems with the aircraft,
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, the X-5 provided a significant full-scale
CA) from 1952 to 1955. The X-5 was the first verification of NACA wind-tunnel predictions
aircraft capable of sweeping its wings in flight for reduced drag and improved performance
and provided data about wing-sweep at angles from increasing the wing sweep as the aircraft
of up to 60 degrees at subsonic and transonic approached the speed of sound. The X-5 was
speeds. But Bell could not take all the credit also used as a chase plane for other research
for this achievement. That should go to Willy aircraft as it could vary its flying characteristics
Messerschmitt of World War 2 fame! to suit the machine it was chasing.
The design of the Bell X-5 was inspired by Over its three years of service, the X-5 flight
the untested wartime Messerschmitt P.1101, tests provided some of the design data for the
which was recovered by US troops in 1945 from future swing-wingers, the US Air Force F-111
the experimental facility at Oberammergau, and US Navy F-14.
Germany, and shipped to the US. Although
damaged in transit, the innovative fighter Right: A time lapse image showing the X-5’s full
prototype was delivered to the Bell factory at 20-60 degree wing sweep range. This X -5 was
Buffalo, NY, where company engineering staff destroyed in a crash in 1953 when it failed to
recover from a spin at 60 degrees sweepback.
studied the design closely, and, led by chief
designer Robert J. Woods, submitted a proposal Below: The X-5 was derived from the
for a similar design. Messerschmitt P.1101, a German experimental
Although superficially similar, the X-5 was aircraft from World War 2 whose wing angles
much more complex than the P.1101, with could only be adjusted on the ground.
three sweep positions: 20°, 40° and 60°, creating
an inflight ‘variable-geometry’ platform.
A jackscrew assembly moved
the wing’s hinge along a set of
short horizontal rails, using disc
brakes to lock the wing into its
inflight positions. Moving from full
extension to full sweep took less
than 30 seconds. The articulation
of the hinge and pivots partly
compensated for the shifts in centre
of gravity and centre of pressure as
the wings moved.
Two X-5s were built powered by
Allison J35-A-17A jet engines, making
their first flights on 20 June and
10 December 1951. Almost 200 flights
were made at speeds up to Mach 0.9 and
altitudes of 40,000ft (12,000m). But all was

AA43_p30-33.indd 30 05/04/2019 10:49

 BELL X-5 31
Bell X-5
Crew: 1
Length: 33ft 4in (10.1m)
Wingspan: Unswept 33ft 6in
(10.2m). 60° sweep 20ft
10in (6.5m)
Height: 12ft 0in (3.6m)
Powerplant: 1 × Allison J35-A-17
turbojet of 4,900lb
Max Speed: 716mph (1,150km/h)
Max T/O weight: 9,980lb (4,536kg)
Service ceiling: 49,900ft (15,200m)

AA43_p30-33.indd 31 03/04/2019 12:39

 32 X-PLANES

AA43_p30-33.indd 32 03/04/2019 12:40

 BELL X-5 33

Above: Cockpit details of the X-5, featuring the

circular wing-sweep control mechanism in the
lower centre of the control panel.

Left: The X-5 flying with its wings swept fully

forward, which allowed it to take off and land in
a shorter distance, land at a lower speed, and
climb more quickly. With the wings swept back,
it could fly faster.

Right: As sleek as it could get. Head-on view of

the X-5 with its wings in swept-back position.

Below: A port side view of the aircraft, highlighting

the pitot-static probe, used to measure airspeed,
Mach number, and altitude. Also attached to the
probe are flow direction vanes for sensing the
aircraft’s angles-of-attack and sideslip in flight.

AA43_p30-33.indd 33 03/04/2019 12:40

 34 X-PLANES

Convair X-6
Nuclear power
I
n an age when nuclear-powered ships
and submarines were being built, it was
natural that thoughts should turn to a
nuclear-powered aircraft. Because such an
aircraft’s range would not have been limited
by liquid jet fuel, it was theorised that
nuclear-powered strategic bombers would
be able to stay airborne for weeks at a time.
However, to accommodate a nuclear reactor,
the aircraft would have to be big, so the US
naturally turned to Convair…
To evaluate the operational practicality of
airborne nuclear propulsion systems prior
to committing to building a prototype of a
dedicated military design, two Convair X-6s
were ordered. The X-6 would have been
powered by General Electric X-39 engines (J47
engines modified to use nuclear energy as fuel),
utilising a P-1 reactor. The specific areas to be
tested included crew shielding, propulsion,
radiobiology, and the effects of radiation on
various aircraft systems. In addition to the X-6s,
a single NB-36H was ordered to serve as an early
flyable testbed. In the NB-36H, the nuclear reactor
was functioning but provided no power to the
aircraft itself. In the end, the X-6 programme
was cancelled before either of the two aircraft
were built. The NB-36H was completed, however,
making its first flight in September 1955. The
NB-36H was originally a B-36H-20-CF damaged
at Carswell AFB by a tornado on 1 September
1952. This machine was called the Nuclear Test
Aircraft (NTA) and was redesignated XB-36H,
then NB‑36H, and was modified to carry a three
megawatt, air-cooled nuclear reactor in its bomb
bay. The reactor, named the Aircraft Shield Test
Reactor (ASTR), completed 47 test flights and
215 hours of flight time (during 89 of which the
reactor was operated) between July 1955 and
March 1957 over New Mexico and Texas. This was
the only known airborne reactor experiment by
the US with an operational nuclear reactor on
board. The NB-36H was scrapped at Fort Worth
in September 1958 when the Nuclear Aircraft
Program was abandoned.

Right: An air-to-air view of the Convair XB-36H

Peacemaker experimental aircraft (s/n 51-5712)
and a Boeing B-50 Superfortress chase plane
during research and development taking place at
the Convair plant at Forth Worth, TX.

AA43_p34-35.indd 34 03/04/2019 12:40

 CONVAIR X-6 35

AA43_p34-35.indd 35 03/04/2019 12:40

 36 X-PLANES
North American X-10
Part aircraft, part missile
O
ne of the most futuristic aircraft ever
flown by NACA was in fact a test-bed
for missile technology, the giveaway
being the lack of cockpit for a pilot. It might
have been unmanned, but it was one of the
fastest turbojet powered aircraft of its time,
which was really not that surprising bearing
in mind what it was designed for.
When North American was tasked in 1951 to
produce a vehicle to test flight characteristics
and guidance, navigation and control systems
for the planned SM-64 Navaho, it developed
the RTV-A-5 (Research Test Vehicle), or X-10 in
X-plane parlance. The Navaho was intended
to be a ramjet-powered, nuclear-armed cruise
missile launched by rocket boosters. Preliminary
AA43_p36-37.indd 36
design of the remotely-controlled X-10 was
completed in February 1951 and the first vehicle
was delivered to Edwards AFB in May 1953. The
first flight occurred on 14 October 1953. The
X-10 was powered by two Westinghouse J40
turbojet engines with afterburners, and was
equipped with landing gear for conventional
take-off and landing. The combination of a
delta wing with an all-moving canard gave it
extremely good aerodynamics in the transonic
and supersonic environments. It also made the
vehicle unstable requiring active computer flight
control. This highly-advanced configuration is
favoured by many fighters of today.
When it entered service, the Mach 2 capable
X-10 was one of the fastest turbojet-powered
aircraft flown. From 1953 to 1955 a total of
five X-10s flew 15 flights at Edwards AFB.
There it reached a maximum flight speed of
Mach 1.84 and reached an altitude of 41,000ft
(12,000m). These were performance levels
superior to nearly all manned turbojet aircraft
(the exception being the YF-104 Starfighter). In
1955 the programme moved to Cape Canaveral,
FL. Here a new set of six X-10 vehicles would
complete the testing of the N-6 inertial
navigation system out to supersonic speeds,
reach 49,000ft (15,000m) and a peak speed of
Mach 2.05.
Of all the X-10s built, only one survived
the test programme: serial 51-9307, the first
X-10 to fly. Of the other four aircraft that flew
05/04/2019 10:49
 NORTH AMERICAN X-10 37

Left: The only surviving X-10 is on display at the

National Museum of the US Air Force. North North American X-10
American built 13 X-10s (10 of which were test
flown), and the first X-10 flight occurred in Crew: 0
October 1953. Length: 77ft 0in (23m)
Wingspan: 28ft 2in (8.59m)
Below: The X-10 could be remotely controlled
Height: 14ft 5in (4.39m)
from the ground or another aircraft, or it could
guide itself.
Powerplant: 2 × Westinghouse
XJ40-WE-1 turbojets of
Bottom: An X-10 is brought to a halt after 10,900lb each
another mission. Although accidents destroyed Max Speed: 1,300mph (2,092km/h)
several X-10s, the test programme proved to Max T/O weight: 42,300lb (19,187kg)
be successful. One X-10 flew at Mach 2.05, a Service ceiling: 45,000ft (14,000m)
remarkable achievement for the time.

at Edwards AFB, one blew up on take-off,

one was lost in flight, and the remaining two
were destroyed in landing accidents. As for
the vehicles flown at Cape Canaveral, three
were expended in planned dive-in flights
against Grand Bahama Island, and two were
lost in landing accidents. In 1957, the Navaho
programme was cancelled as Intercontinental
Ballistic Missile (ICBM) technology matured.
The remaining three X-10s were thus selected
for use as high-speed targets for the BOMARC
surface-to-air missile. Unfortunately, none of
these vehicles would complete their target
flight: two were lost on landing and the third
suffered a mechanical problem forcing it to be
flown into the Atlantic.

AA43_p36-37.indd 37 03/04/2019 12:41

 38 X-PLANES
Ryan X-13 Vertijet
Vertical thinking
T
he clue is in the name. A fighter
with the ability to take-off and land
vertically had long been considered
the holy grail of aircraft design, so when
jet engines began to offer thrust-to-weight
ratios greater than one, a new type of
X-plane took shape.
The idea for the Vertijet originated just after
World War 2 when engineers for Ryan debated
whether or not their FR-1 Fireball, which had
a thrust-to-weight ratio of one at low fuel
AA43_p38.indd 38
quantities, could take off vertically. Thoughts
turned to reality when the US Navy’s Bureau of
Aeronautics awarded Ryan a contract in 1947
to investigate the technical challenges involved
in the development of a vertically-launched
jet fighter as part of a programme to evaluate
the feasibility of submarine-based aircraft.
After US Navy funding ran out, the US Air Force
became interested in Ryan’s experiments and
in July 1954 issued a contract to the company
to construct two VTOL tail-sitter demonstrators,
designated as the X-13 Vertijet to explore
the suitability of easily dispersible VTOL
fighters. The X-13, designed and built under
the direction of chief engineer Curtiss Bates,
emerged as a compact, single-engined delta-
wing fighter. The Ryan Technical Section, led by
Robert Fuhrman, designed the aircraft to travel
on a special trailer, which would tilt vertically
for the launch and recovery of the X-13 during
VTOL operations. A small delta-winged aircraft
with an unfeasibly large tail, it was powered
03/04/2019 12:41
by a Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet giving
10,000lb thrust. The vertical take-off
procedure consisted of elevating the bed of
the launch trailer vertically, which allowed
the X-13 to hang by a partially retractable
hook from a cable suspended by two
arms on the top of the trailer. For vertical
operations, a flat bumper replaced each of
the main wheels on the fixed landing gear, .......
which kept the underside of the fuselage
from damage if it swung into the bed of
the trailer. The pilot then simply increased
throttle until the hook lifted off the launch c-
... ,..� ,.. - -

cable, backed away from the trailer and

then accelerated vertically, smoothly ��
pitching over to conventional flight. As the
aircraft transitioned back to a nose-high
attitude to ' hover' on the thrust from its
own engine, a vectorable exhaust nozzle
linked to the controls provided a simple
and effective means of control. Small bleed­
air thrusters mounted on the wingtips
allowed for the small adjustments to the
pitch and yaw of the aircraft when required
by the tricky landing process. However,
vertical landings were difficult and were
probably the most impractical part of the
Above: With its pilot already on board, the X-13 is gradually raised into the vertical in
Vertijet concept. Although the pilot's seat
preparation for another test flight. Flight tests were performed by two test pilots, Peter F. 'Pete'
pivoted 45 degrees towards vertical during Girard, and W. L. 'Lou' Everett.
landing, the pilot still had to approach the
recovery trailer blind with the underside Overleaf: Balancing on the thrust of its Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet, the Ryan X-13 demonstrates
of the fuselage facing the surface of the its hovering abilities before safely hooking back on the landing wire.
trailer. Constant radio communication with
Below: Today, the Ryan X-13 Vertijet is on display in the Research & Development Gallery at
a ground observer was essential to talk the the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, OH.
X-13 into position during the cumbersome
process. Once in position, the pilot slowly prototype made a demonstration flight
retarded the throttle until the nose hook in front of the Pentagon in Washington.
caught the recovery cable. The aircraft was, though, built purely for
For initial flight tests the X-13 was fitted research purposes and the concept was
with a simple fixed landing gear, and it not pursued as there was no real
was in this form that Ryan's test pilot Peter operational potential.
Girard made the first flight on 10 December The Ryan X-13Vertijet deserves its place
1955. But better was to come. On 11 April in any history ofVTOL flight by virtue of
1957 at Edwards AFB, Girard demonstrated its futuristic concept and advanced (for its
a vertical take-off, successful transitions time) features.
to and from normal flight and a vertical
landing back on the launcher, the aircraft Ryan X-13 Vertijet
hooking itself onto the wire to bring it
safely to rest. Crew:

The X-13 proved the viability of pure Length: 23ft 4in (7.1 m)
jet-poweredVTOL flight and the two Wingspan: 21ft 0in (6.4m)
prototypes completed 1 36 flights without Height: 15ft 1 in (4.6m)
incident. Perhaps its greatest moment Powerplant: Rolls-Royce Avon
RA28 turbojet of
came on 30 July 1957, when the second
10,000lb thrust
Left: Contemporary illustration showing the Max speed: 350mph (560km/h)
transition of the Ryan X-13 from vertical to MaxT/0 weight: 7,310lb (3,320kg)
horizontal flight. This was first achieved on Service ceiling: 20,000ft (6,1 00m)
11 April 1957.
 RYAN X-13 VERTIJET I 41

I
I
42 X-PLANES

Above: The X-14 project provided a great

deal of data on V TOL (Vertical Take-Off and
Landing) aircraft and flight control systems.
During the development of the Hawker
P.1127 (the aircraft that was to evolve into
the Harrier), test pilots Bill Bedford and Hugh
Merewether visited NASA Ames to fly the
X-14 and acquaint themselves with jet
V/STOL aircraft handling.

Right: The Bell X-14 VSTOL test-bed in the

NASA Ames Research Center's 40 x 80ft
wind tunnel. The small size of the aircraft is
readily apparent.

Left: NASA Ames test pilot Fred Drinkwater,

astronaut Neil Armstrong (centre), and Ames
project engineer Stu Rolls, in front of the Bell
X-14 in February of 1964, five years before
Armstrong landed on the moon.

Bell X-14A
Crew:
Length: 25ft 0in (7.62m)
Wingspan: 34ft 10in (10.36m)
Height: 8ft 0in (2.4m)
Powerplant: 2 x Armstrong
Siddeley Viper 8
turbojets each of
1,750Ib thrust
Max speed: 172mph (277km/h)
Max T/0 weight: 4,269Ib (1,936kg)
Service ceiling: 20,000ft (6,100m)

Bell X-14
VTOL pioneer
N
ot all X-planes looked the part. Take
the Bell X-14, a cobbled-together
lovechild of a Beech Bonanza and
Mentor, complete with strapped on jet
engines and an open cockpit. But beneath
its comical exterior, was a highly-advanced
thrust-vectoring system making it an
invaluable VTOL test-bed.
To dismiss the Bell X-14 as an experimental
folly would be doing it an injustice. In its
uncomplaining way it provided invaluable data
on emerging VTOL flight, pioneering the use of
thrust-vectored technology in the US.
The X-14 was designed using existing parts
from two Beechcraft aircraft: wings, ailerons,
and landing gear of a Beech Bonanza and
the tailcone and empennage of a Beech T-34
Mentor. Bell constructed the X-14 as an open-
cockpit, all-metal (duralumin) monoplane,
powered by two Armstrong Siddeley Viper
AA43_p43.indd 43
turbojets, which were directed by thrust
vectoring nozzles situated at the aircraft’s
centre of mass. These engines allowed the Bell
X-14 to reach a top speed of 180mph and, if the
pilot ever felt like freezing to death, a service
ceiling of 20,000ft (6,096m). They also gave it a
full VTOL capability enabling it to demonstrate
horizontal and vertical take-off, hover, transition
to forward flight, and vertical landing.
The X-14 first flew in the hover on 19 February
1957 and the first transition from hover to
horizontal flight occurred on 24 May 1958.
In 1959, its Viper engines were replaced with
General Electric J85 engines. That year the
aircraft was also delivered to the NASA Ames
Research Center as the X-14A.
The X-14 project provided a great deal of data
on VTOL type aircraft and flight control systems.
Perhaps most significantly, the X-14A’s flight
control system was similar to the one proposed
BELL X-14 43
Above: In the hover. The unlikely-looking Bell
X-14 demonstrating what it did best.
for the Lunar Module, and Neil Armstrong, the
first man to walk on the Moon, once flew it as a
lunar-landing trainer.
In 1971, the X-14A was fitted with new
engines (General Electric J85-GE-19s) and
was redesignated as the X-14B. An onboard
computer and digital fly-by-wire control system
were also installed to enable emulation of
landing characteristics of other VTOL aircraft.
The X-14B was used in this test role until it was
damaged beyond repair in a landing accident
on 29 May 1981. During all of its years of
service, the X-14 was flown by over 25 pilots
with no serious incidents or injuries.
Not surprisingly only one airframe was ever
built, but this charismatic little aircraft had more
than enough X-factor.
03/04/2019 12:43
 44 X-PLANES
North American X-15
Reaching for the heavens
T
here are X-planes and there are
X-planes. And then there is the X-15.
Half aircraft, half spaceship, the North
American X-15 rocket-powered research
vehicle bridged the gap between manned
flight within the atmosphere and manned
flight into space. The hypersonic X-15 became
the first winged aircraft to attain velocities up
to Mach 6. What is even more amazing is that
this all happened some 60 years ago.
An unofficial motto of flight research in
the 1940s and 1950s was ‘higher and faster’.
By the late 1950s the last frontier of that goal
was hypersonic flight (Mach 5+) to the edge
of space. It would require a huge leap in
aeronautical technology, life support systems
and flight planning. The North American X-15
rocket aircraft was built to meet that challenge.
It was designed to fly at speeds up to Mach 6,
and altitudes up to 250,000ft (76,200m). The
AA43_p44-51.indd 44
aircraft went on to reach a maximum speed of
Mach 6.7 and a maximum altitude of 354,200ft
(108,000m). Looking at it another way, Mach 6
is about one mile per second, and flight above
264,000ft (80,467m) qualifies a pilot for
astronaut wings.
Development of the X-15 began in 1954 in
a joint research programme sponsored by the
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
(NACA), the US Air Force, the US Navy, and
private industry. North American was selected
as prime contractor on the project and three
rocket-powered X-15s were built. Because of its
high-speed capability, the outer skin consisted
of a nickel-chrome alloy called Inconel X,
employed in a heat sink structure to withstand
the results of aerodynamic heating when the
aircraft was flying within the atmosphere. The
X-15 was a missile-shaped vehicle with an
unusual wedge-shaped vertical tail, thin stubby
wings, and unique side fairings that extended
along the side of the fuselage. The aircraft was
powered by a Thiokol (Reaction Motors Division)
XLR-99 throttleable rocket engine powered
by anhydrous ammonia and liquid oxygen. It
provided a minimum thrust of 28,000lb and a
maximum thrust of 57,000lb. For flight in the
dense air of the usable atmosphere, the X-15
used conventional aerodynamic controls such
as rudders on the vertical stabilizers to control
yaw and movable horizontal stabilizers to control
pitch when moving in synchronisation or roll
when moved differentially. For flight in the thin
air outside of the appreciable Earth’s atmosphere,
the X-15 used a reaction control system.
Hydrogen peroxide thrust rockets located on
the nose of the aircraft provided pitch and yaw
control. Those on the wings-controlled roll.
Generally, one of two types of X-15 flight profiles
was used; a high-altitude flight plan that called
05/04/2019 10:50

for the pilot to maintain a steep rate of climb, or
a speed profile that called for the pilot to push
over and maintain a level altitude.
Because of the large fuel consumption of its
rocket engine, the X-15 was air launched from
a B-52 at about 45,000ft (13,716m) and speeds
upward of 500mph (805km/h). Depending on
the mission, the rocket engine provided thrust
for the first 80-120sec of flight. The remainder
of the normal 8-12min flight was without power
and ended in a 200mph glide landing. Because
the nose landing wheel lacked steering and the
main landing gear employed skids, the X-15
had to land on a dry lakebed. The Rogers Dry
Lake adjacent to Edwards and Dryden was the
intended landing location for all flights, but
there were numerous emergency lakebeds
selected if need be.
The first X-15 flight was an unpowered glide
by Scott Crossfield on 8 June 1959. Crossfield
also piloted the first powered flight on
17 September 1959, and his first flight with the
XLR-99 rocket engine on 15 November 1960.
Twelve test pilots flew the X-15. Among these
were Neil Armstrong, later a NASA astronaut
and first man to set foot on the Moon, and
Joe Engle, later a commander of NASA Space
Shuttle missions.
AA43_p44-51.indd 45
The X-15 flew faster and higher than any
other aircraft and set unofficial world speed and
altitude records. Flying the X-15A-2, which was
fitted with external tanks that provided roughly
60sec of additional engine burn, US Air Force
pilot Pete Knight reached a speed of Mach 6.7
(4,520mph/7,274km/h) on 3 October 1967.
Prior to that, NASA pilot Joseph Walker flew the
X-15 to an altitude of 354,200ft (108,000m) on
22 August 1963. During the 10 year programme,
13 flights by eight pilots met the US Air Force
spaceflight criterion by exceeding the altitude
of 50 miles (80km), thus qualifying these pilots
as being astronauts. The service pilots qualified
for astronaut wings immediately, while the
civilian pilots were eventually awarded NASA
astronaut wings in 2005.
The X-15 had its share of emergency landings
and accidents, but only two were serious. On
9 November 1962, Jack McKay experienced
an engine failure and landed at Mud Lake, NV.
The landing gear collapsed, flipping him and
the aircraft on its back. Although he recovered
from his injuries sufficiently to fly again, he
eventually had to retire because of them. On
15 November 1967, test pilot Michael Adams
entered a hypersonic spin from which he
was able to recover, but he could not bring
NORTH AMERICAN X-15 45
the X-15 out of an inverted dive because of
a technical problem with the adaptive flight
control system. The aircraft broke-up at 60,000ft
(18,288m) killing the pilot. Less than a year later
the X-15 made its 199th and last flight.
The joint NASA/US Air Force/North American
Aviation X-15 hypersonic flight research
project is still considered to be one of the
most successful NASA aeronautical research
programmes ever flown. The remarkable X-15
had achieved its objectives of spearheading
research in a variety of areas including:
hypersonic aerodynamics; winged re-entry
from space; life-support systems for spacecraft;
aerodynamic heating and heat transfer
research; and earth sciences experiments.
Information gained from the programme
contributed to the development of the Mercury,
Gemini, and Apollo spaceflight programmes,
and also the Space Shuttle.
Below: The joint NASA/US Air Force/North
American Aviation X-15 hypersonic X-plane is
still considered to be one of the most successful
aeronautical research programmes ever flown.
The second X-15 rocket plane (56-6671) is
shown with two external fuel tanks which were
added during its conversion to the X-15A No 2
configuration in the mid-1960s.
03/04/2019 12:43
 46 X-PLANES

AA43_p44-51.indd 46 05/04/2019 10:50

 NORTH AMERICAN X-15 47

Left: Test pilot Neil Armstrong after a flight in

the X-15 in 1961. Even in his wildest dreams he
could not have imagined that just eight years
later he would be travelling even faster on his
journey to becoming the first man to walk on
the moon.

Right: Even the models looked cool. A North

American X-15 scale replica being readied for
tests in the Langley wind tunnel.

Far right: The X-15 cockpit. The X-15 was unique

in that it had two types of controls for the
pilot. For flight in the dense air of the usable
atmosphere, the X-15 used conventional
aerodynamic controls. For flight in the thin air
outside of the appreciable Earth’s atmosphere,
the X-15 used a reaction control system.
Hydrogen peroxide thrust rockets located on
the nose of the aircraft provided pitch and
yaw control. Those on the wing provided
roll control. The conventional aerodynamic
controls used a stick, and pedals. The reaction
control system used a side arm controller.

Left: X-15 pilots, left to right: Col William J.

‘Pete’ Knight, Maj Robert A. Rushworth,
Capt Joseph H. Engle, Milton O. Thompson, Bill
Dana, and John B. ‘Jack’ McKay. Because of the
potential dangers to the pilot should the X-15’s
pressurised cockpit lose its atmosphere while
the aircraft operated in a near-space
environment, X-15 pilots wore specially
developed full-pressure protection ‘spacesuits’
while flying the experimental aircraft.

Below left: Because of the large fuel consumption,

the X-15 was air launched from a B-52 at 45,000ft
(13,716m). This photo was taken from one of the
observation windows in the B-52 shortly before
dropping the X-15.

Below: The moment of release as the X-15 is

dropped from its mothership to begin another
adrenalin-filled mission.

AA43_p44-51.indd 47 05/04/2019 10:50

 48 X-PLANES

North American X-15

Crew: 1
Length: 50ft 9in (15.45m)
Wingspan: 22ft 4in (6.8m)
Height: 13ft 6in (4.12m)
Powerplant: Reaction Motors
XLR99-RM-2 liquid
propellant rocket of
70,400lb thrust
Max speed: 4,520mph (7,274km/h)
Max T/O weight: 34,000lb (15,420kg)
Service ceiling: 354,330ft (108km)

AA43_p44-51.indd 48 03/04/2019 12:44

 NORTH AMERICAN X-15 49

Left: With rocket engaged the X-15 streaks

across the sky. Depending on the mission, the
rocket engine provided thrust for the first 80 or
120sec of flight. The remainder of the normal
10-12min flight was powerless and ended with a
glide landing.

Bottom left: The rocket-powered X-15 begins its

spectacular climb towards the edge of space.

Left: After receiving an ablative coating to protect

the craft from the high temperatures associated
with high-Mach-number supersonic flight,
the X-15A No 2 was then covered with a white
sealant coat. This ablative coating and sealant
and the additional fuel would help US Air Force
Col William J. ‘Pete’ Knight fly this aircraft to a
world record speed of 4,520mph (Mach 6.7).

Top: Landings were carried out at a leisurely (for

an X-15) 200mph! Because the lower vertical tail
extended below the landing skids when they
were deployed, a part of the lower vertical tail
was jettisoned just before landing and recovered
by a parachute.

Above: An engine failure forced Jack McKay, a

NASA research pilot, to make an emergency
landing at Mud Lake, NV, in the second X-15
(56-6671) on 9 November 1962. On touchdown,
its landing gear collapsed and the X-15 flipped
over on its back. McKay was promptly rescued
and eventually recovered to fly the X-15 again.
However, his injuries were more serious than at
first thought and he was eventually forced to
retire from NASA. The aircraft was sent back to
the manufacturer, where it underwent extensive
repairs and modifications. It returned to Edwards
in February 1964 as the X-15A No 2, with a longer
fuselage and external fuel tanks.

Left: A lighter moment during the programme as

the X-15 pilots relieve the tension by clowning
around in front of the No 2 aircraft.

AA43_p44-51.indd 49 05/04/2019 10:50

 50 X-PLANES

Maj Robert M. White looking remarkably relaxed after an X-15 sortie. White was one of the
initial pilots selected for the X-15 programme. Between 13 April 1960 and 14 December 1962,
he made 16 flights in the rocket-powered aircraft and was the first pilot to fly to Mach 4, 5,
and 6. He also flew to the altitude of 314,750ft on 17 July 1962, setting a world altitude
record. This was 59.6 miles, significantly higher than the 50 miles the US Air Force accepted
as the beginning of space, qualifying White for astronaut wings.

AA43_p44-51.indd 50 03/04/2019 12:44

 NORTH AMERICAN X-15 51

AA43_p44-51.indd 51 05/04/2019 10:51

 52 X-PLANES
Hiller X-18
Tilt-wing testbed
I
t might look ungainly, but in its own
way the Hiller X-18 was one of the most
revolutionary of the X-planes. As the first
testbed for tilt-wing V/STOL technology it
was a true trailblazer that was ahead of its
time. Sadly, it did not live up to the hype.
The Hiller X-18 was an experimental cargo
transport aircraft designed to be the first
testbed for tiltwing and V/STOL (vertical/
short take-off and landing) technology. Hiller
Helicopters began studies on the concept in
1947, leading to the award of a US Air Force
AA43_p52-53.indd 52
contract in 1956 to design and build a tilt-
wing prototype as a possible precursor to a
large transport aircraft. Despite appearances,
the X-18 was three-engined. Two Allison T40
turboprops mounted under the wings drove
16ft (4.9m) contra-rotating propellers, while
pitch control at low speeds was achieved by
directing upwards or downwards the exhaust
of a Westinghouse J34 turbojet in the tail. One
prototype was built, 57-3078, its construction
incorporating several ‘off
the shelf’ airframe components including the
fuselage of a Chase YC-122 Avitruc.
When it first flew in 1959, it was the largest
V/STOL aircraft yet to take to the air. A short
hop at a maximum altitude of 15ft (4.6m) took
place on 20 November, followed by a ‘proper’
first flight just four days later in the hands of
Hiller’s George Bright and Bruce Jones. Basic
handling tests showed that the aircraft was
stable in conventional flight, so wing tilt angles
were gradually increased as confidence was
built. During the 20th flight on 4 November
1960 there was a problem with the propeller
pitch control. The aircraft entered a spin, but
control was regained at 6,000ft and a successful
landing made. Although it never flew again,
a VTOL Test Stand was built on which the
X-18’s vertical take-off and landing and hover
control was to be tested. One engine run was
successfully conducted, but the programme
was cancelled on 18 January 1964 before
further testing could be conducted. The X-18,
one of the world’s most innovative aircraft,
was cut up for scrap.
Above left: What might have been. Artwork from
a contemporary scale model kit optimistically
showing the X-18 ‘in service’ with the US Air Force.
Right: A sequence of images showing the tilt
angles of the Hiller X-18s wings. In the air, a
number of problems plagued the X-18 including
it being susceptible to wind gusts when the wing
was tilted vertically and acted like a sail.
Left: Ground testing of the revolutionary Hiller
X-18 Convertiplane.
Hiller X-18
Crew: 2
Length: 63ft 0in (19.2m)
Wingspan: 47ft 11in (14.6m)
Height: 24ft 7in (7.5m)
Powerplant: 2 x Allison YT-40-A-14
turboprops of
5,500shp each, and
1 x Westinghouse J34
turbojet of 3,400lb
Max speed: 253mph (407km/h)
Max T/O weight: 33,000lb (14,969kg)
Service ceiling: 35,000ft (10,800m)
03/04/2019 12:45
 HILLER X-18 53

AA43_p52-53.indd 53 03/04/2019 12:45

 54 CURTISS-WRIGHT X-19
Curtiss-Wright X-19
Ahead of its time
C
urtiss-Wright took a different
approach to fixed-wing VTOL
technology. Why tilt the whole wing,
when you need only to tilt the engine? The
concept was sound, but the technology of
the time was not.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, several
aircraft manufacturers developed Vertical Take
Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft under military
research contracts. One unexpected participant
was the Curtiss-Wright Corporation, which had
abandoned its aircraft division in 1952 after
failing to earn any significant post-war military
contracts. However, engineers in the company’s
propeller division discovered an innovative
approach to the development of practical
Below: The Curtiss-Wright X-19 was originally
designed as a VTOL transport. Two prototypes
were built, but only one ever flew before the
programme was cancelled. One X-19 was
destroyed in a crash; the other (s/n 62-12198A)
was transferred to the National Museum of the
United States Air Force.
AA43_p54-55.indd 54
VTOL aircraft – the radial force principle. The
subsequent research programme resulted in
the X-100, which proved the validity of the
‘tilt-propeller’ VTOL aircraft, but also revealed
that the innovative technology required
considerable investment to perfect.
While testing of the X-100 was under
way, Curtiss-Wright began work on a much-
improved version, designated the X-200.
The new design utilised an elegant fuselage
similar to that of the Aero Commander with
four lifting propellers attached at the tips of
two sets of small wings placed in tandem on
the upper fuselage. In forward flight, elevators
and ailerons mounted on the aft wing section
controlled pitch and roll, while a conventional
vertical stabilizer and rudder provided
yaw control. In slow flight and VTOL mode,
differential pitch and propeller rpm provided
control about all the axes. After considerable
effort, Curtiss-Wright convinced the military to
fund development of the X-200, subsequently
redesignated as the X-19, under a tri-service
agreement between the US Army, US Navy, and
the US Air Force, which managed the project.
Curtiss-Wright began construction on two
X-19s, but lacked the funds to adequately test
and refine essential components, such as the
gearboxes, which resulted in the potentially
disastrous combination of new technology and
untested parts. Flight tests with the first X-19
began on 20 November 1963, but technical
problems delayed the first hover-to-cruise
transition attempt until 25 August 1965.
However, a gearbox failure combined with
pilot error resulted in the loss of the aircraft
before the crew could attempt the transition.
Fortunately, both crewmembers ejected safely.
The loss of the X-19, combined with the US Air
Force’s general lack of enthusiasm for VTOL
research, quickly led to cancellation of the
programme before the second X-19 had an
opportunity to fly. The X-100 and X-19 were the
last aircraft built by Curtiss-Wright and ended
that company’s long tradition of innovative
aircraft development.
05/04/2019 10:51

Northrop X-21
Laminar flow
A
s X-planes go, the X-21 looks one of
the more conventional and that is
because it was based on the Douglas
WB-66 airframe. What earned the aircraft
its ‘X’ rating was the design of the wing that
featured laminar flow technology.
The X-21 programme consisted of a pair of
WB-66D’s modified by Northrop to conduct
Laminar Flow Control wing studies. Laminar-
flow control is a technology that offers the
potential for improvements in aircraft fuel
usage, range or endurance. In principle, if 80%
of the wing is laminar, then overall drag could
be reduced by 25%. The frictional force between
the air and the aircraft surface, known as viscous
drag, is much larger in a turbulent boundary
layer than in a laminar one. The principal type of
active laminar-flow control is removal of a small
AA43_p54-55.indd 55
amount of the boundary-layer air by suction
through porous materials, multiple narrow
surface slots, or small perforations.
Two major modifications were required,
the first involving the standard underwing
podded Allison J71 engines being removed
and replaced by a pair of 9,490lb General
Electric XJ79-GE-13 turbojets mounted in
pods attached to the rear of the fuselage sides.
Bleed air from the J79 engines was fed into
a pair of underwing fairings, each of which
housed a ‘bleed-burn’ turbine which sucked the
boundary layer air out through the wing slots.
The X-21A test vehicles (55-0408 and 55-0410)
also incorporated a completely new wing of
increased span and area, with a sweep reduced
from 35° to 30°. The wing had a multiple series
of span-wise slots through which turbulent
NORTHROP X-21 55
Above: The Northrop X-21 was designed to test
laminar flow technology on a large wing.
boundary-layer was ‘sucked in’, resulting in a
smoother laminar flow.
Northrop began flight research in April of
1963 at Edwards AFB but it became immediately
apparent that there were significant problems
with the porous materials and surface slots
getting plugged with debris, bugs, and even
rain. In certain conditions, ice crystals would
form due to the rapid cooling of air over those
laminar surfaces abruptly disrupting laminar
flow, causing rapid melting and rapid transition
back to turbulent flow. Although useful testing
was accomplished, the extensive maintenance
of the intricate laminar-flow system quickly
caused the end of the programme.
05/04/2019 10:51
 56 X-PLANES
Bell X-22
Rare and exotic
T
he world of V/STOL has thrown up
many unorthodox designs, but
perhaps none more so than Bell’s X-22.
Yet another ‘take’ in the quest to conquer
VTOL flight, Bell’s X-22 was considered to be
the most promising of its type at the time.
One of the most exotic of the X-planes, Bell’s
X-22A, which had the company designation
D-2127, featured an unconventional design
with four ducted fans powered by four cross-
coupled General Electric YT-58 turboshaft
engines. Bell Aerospace received a contract in
November 1962 to construct two prototypes
for evaluation; these were assigned US Navy
Below: By their very nature, tilt-wing aircraft are
an exotic breed of machines, but there are few
more exotic than Bell’s X-22 equipped with four
tilting ducted fans.
AA43_p56-57.indd 56
BuNos 151520 and 151521. Roll-out of the first
aircraft was on 25 May 1965, but several months
of ground testing were to follow before the first
flight took place at Niagara Falls International
Airport on 17 March 1966. This was a successful
but low-key affair, with test pilots Stanley Kakol
and Paul Miller making several vertical take-offs
and landings, while staying at all times below
30ft (9.14m). A first STOL flight was achieved
on 30 June (ducts at 30 degrees) and a zero
degree (ie conventional) flight on 22 July. It
was on its 15th flight that the aircraft suffered a
double hydraulic failure resulting in a very hard
emergency landing. The crew escaped unhurt,
but the aircraft was beyond economic repair.
The second prototype 151521 made its initial
flight on 26 January 1967, later to make the
type’s public debut with a flying demonstration
in front of Bell employees and invited guests
at Niagara Falls on 9 May. Within less than
11 months, the aircraft had logged its 100th
flight, and by end-1967 all corners of the flight
envelope had been explored. There followed
an initial military evaluation in January 1968,
during which all three services flew the
aircraft. It is said that the pilots and engineers
involved liked what they saw and reported
back favourably. The formal acceptance of the
aircraft by the Navy of 151521 on 19 May 1969
signalled the completion of military evaluation,
although the aircraft continued to fly on
contractor testing for several years.
Today, 151521 is an exhibit at the Niagara
Aerospace Museum, where it is proudly
proclaimed as ‘the last major aircraft to be
developed in Western New York’.
03/04/2019 12:46
 BELL X-22 57

Above: Bell’s early vision of the evaluative Bell

X-22 project.

Left: The Bell X-22 had a relatively successful test-

flight career, but that was not enough to save it
from cancellation.

Bell X-22A
Crew: 2
Length: 39ft 7in (12.07m)
Wingspan: 39ft 3in (11.96m)
Height: 20ft 8in (6.31m)
Powerplant: 4 x General Electric
YT58-GE-8D turboshaft
engines of 1,267hp
Max speed: 254mph (409km/h)
Max T/O weight: 17,644lb (8,003kg)
Service ceiling: 27,800ft (8,500m)

AA43_p56-57.indd 57 03/04/2019 12:46

 58 X-PLANES
Martin Marietta X-24
Wingless wonder
E
ven in the weird and wonderful world
of ‘lifting bodies’, the Martin Marietta
X-24 was an extraordinary beast. It
began life as a bulbous teardrop-shaped
aircraft, but after a visit to the ‘bodyshop’,
it was unrecognisably transformed into a
sleek delta with a pointed nose.
The Martin Marietta X-24 was one of a group
of lifting bodies flown by the NASA Flight
Research Center (now Dryden Flight Research
Center), Edwards, CA, in a joint programme
with the US Air Force from 1963 to 1975.
The lifting bodies were used to demonstrate
the ability of pilots to manoeuvre and safely
land wingless vehicles designed to fly back
to Earth from space and be landed like an
aircraft at a predetermined site. The lifting
bodies’ aerodynamic lift, essential to flight
in the atmosphere, was obtained from their
shape. The addition of fins and control surfaces
allowed the pilots to stabilise and control
the vehicles and regulate their flight paths.
These unique research vehicles, with their
AA43_p58, 63-65.indd 58
unconventional aerodynamic shapes, were
the M2-F1, M2-F2, M2-F3, HL-10, X-24A, and
the X-24B. The information the lifting body
project generated contributed to the data base
that led to development of the Space Shuttle
programme.
The original idea of lifting bodies was
conceived around 1957 by Dr Alfred J. Eggers.
Eggers found that by slightly modifying a
symmetrical nose cone shape, aerodynamic lift
could be produced. This lift would enable the
modified shape to fly back from space rather
than plunge to Earth in a ballistic trajectory.
After further studies, NASA commissioned
two lifting bodies both built by the Northrop
Corporation, the M2-F2 and the HL-10. The
US Air Force later became interested in lifting
body research and had a third design concept,
the X-24A, built by the Martin Company. The
X-24A was a bulbous vehicle shaped like a
teardrop with three vertical fins at the rear for
directional control. It was 24.5ft (7.5m) long
and just 11.5ft (3.5m) wide (excluding the
outboard fins). Powered by an XLR-11 rocket
engine with a maximum thrust of 8,480lb,
the X-24 was designed to be drop launched
from a modified B-52 Stratofortress at high
altitudes. After expending its rocket fuel, the
pilot would glide the X-24 to an unpowered
landing. The X-24’s first unpowered glide flight
was on 17 April 1969, with Maj Jerauld Gentry
at the controls. Gentry also piloted its first
powered flight on 19 March 1970. The fastest
speed achieved by the X-24A was Mach 1.6,
1,036mph (1,667km/h). The X-24A was flown
28 times in the programme that validated the
concept that a Space Shuttle vehicle could be
landed unpowered. But that was not the end
of the X-24 story…
Below: The bulbous X-24A lifting body research
vehicle on the lakebed adjacent to the NASA
Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB.
Overleaf: US Air Force pilot Maj Cecil Powell
stands in front of the X-24A lifting body after a
1971 research flight.
03/04/2019 12:46
 MARTIN MARIETTA X-24 59

Overleaf: The X-24A lifting body lights its XLR-11

rocket engine and begins its powered flight after
being drop launched from its B-52 mothership,
seen here with high-altitude contrails streaming
from its wings against a dark blue sky.

Right: This 1967 photo shows the left instrument

and control panel in the cockpit of the Martin
Marietta X-24A lifting body research vehicle.

Below: Close-up view of the XLR-11 rocket

engine mounted in the X-24A lifting body
research vehicle.

Bottom: The wingless lifting body aircraft sitting

on Rogers Dry Lake at what is now NASA’s
Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA.
From left to right are the X-24A, M2-F3, and the
HL-10. The M2-F3 fle w from 2 June 1970 until
21 December 1971, while the HL-10 fle w from
22 December 1966 until 17 July 1970, and logged
the highest and fastest records in the
lifting body programme.

AA43_p58, 63-65.indd 63 03/04/2019 12:47

 64 X-PLANES
X-24B
In 1972, the US Air Force, NASA and Martin
Aircraft heavily modified the X-24A to make
a higher-performing vehicle, the X-24B.
Martin engineers created a triangular shell to
fit over the X-24A’s existing frame. The once
bulbous aircraft now became delta-shaped,
flat on the bottom with a rounded top. The
redesign doubled the X-24A’s lifting surface
and improved its handling, increased range
and allowed it to land on shorter surfaces. As
such, the X-24B demonstrated that accurate
unpowered re-entry vehicle landings were
AA43_p58, 63-65.indd 64
operationally feasible. It flew 36 times between
1973 and 1975, making 12 gliding-only
flights and 24 powered flights with gliding
landings. Top speed achieved by the X-24B was
1,164mph (1,873km/h) and the highest altitude
it reached was 74,130ft (22,594m). The X-24B
then made steep unpowered gliding landings
Below: The sleek, futuristic shape of the X-24B
lifting body research vehicle on the lakebed
at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center,
Edwards, CA. The X-24B’s design evolved from
a family of potential re-entry shapes, each with
higher lift-to-drag ratios, proposed by the US Air
Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory.
like the future space shuttle. Among the final
flights with the X-24B were two precise landings
on the main concrete runway at Edwards. These
missions were flown by John Manke and Maj
Mike Love, and represented the final milestone
in a programme that helped write the flight
plan for the Space Shuttle programme. The
honour of piloting the last powered flight of
the X-24B fell to Bill Dana, who also flew the
final X-15 flight some seven years earlier. The
X-24B was the last aircraft to fly in Dryden’s
Lifting Body programme and was also the last
joint USAF/NASA rocket-powered air-launched
research aircraft.
03/04/2019 12:47
 MARTIN MARIETTA X-24 65

Above: Cockpit instrumentation panel of the

Martin Marietta X-24B.

Above right: A TV reporter interviews NASA test

pilot Bill Dana, wearing his infamous pink boots
with yellow daisy decals, after the last powered
flight of the X-24B.

Right: The X-24B lifting body is seen here in flight

over the lakebed at NASA Dryden Flight Research
Center. The X-24B was the last aircraft to fly in
Dryden’s manned lifting body programme.

Below: This 1975 image shows the X-24B lifting

body gliding to a landing on Rogers Dry Lake, as
Space Shuttle orbiters would in the future.

Martin Marietta X-24B

Crew: 1
Length: 37ft 6in (11.43m)
Wingspan: 19ft 0in (5.79m)
Height: 9ft 7in (2.92m)
Powerplant: 1 x Reaction Motors
XLR-11rs rocket of
8,480lb thrust
Max speed: Mach 1.52/1,164mph
(1,873km/h)
Max T/O weight: 13,800lb (6,260kg)
Service ceiling: 74,130ft (22,594m)

AA43_p58, 63-65.indd 65 05/04/2019 18:05

 66 BENSEN X-25
Bensen X-25
Life-saver
T
he most unlikely of all the X-planes
was the minimalist X-25 autogyro.
Basic it might have been, but it was
not about high performance, it was about
saving pilot’s lives.
The Bensen B-8 single-seat autogyro was
developed in the 1950s and was of basic design
with not much more than a pilot’s seat, a single
tailfin, a rotor, and (in powered versions) the
powerplant. Nevertheless, in May 1968 a B-8
and B-8M were studied by the US Air Force
under the Discretionary Descent Vehicle (DDV)
AA43_p66-67.indd 66
programme as the X-25 and X-25A respectively.
At the time, the service was suffering heavy
losses in the ‘Rolling Thunder’ air campaign
over North Vietnam and it wanted to explore
ways in which to improve the odds of a
downed flyer’s escape. The theory was that the
unpowered Bensen X-25 DDV Gyroglider could
be integrated with combat aircraft ejection
seats and deployed during descent. Its rotary
wings would be brought up to speed as it
fell, and the pilot would fly it as an autogyro
to a safer landing area. The X-25A Gyrocopter
represented a more advanced concept with
a limited ‘fly-away’ capability. Though similar
to the X-25, the X-25A had a more robust
structure, and it was powered by a small engine.
Tests proved that pilots could be quickly and
easily trained to fly the X-25, but with the air
war in Vietnam winding down – and doubts
about its operational feasibility – the X-25
programme was ended.
Below: The Bensen X-25A resplendent in US Air
Force markings.
05/04/2019 10:52

Schweizer X-26
Longest-serving X-plane
N
ot exactly what comes to mind when
thinking about ‘experimental’, but the
gentle X-26 has the accolade of being
the longest serving of all the X-planes. Quite
a feat for a simple sailplane.
In 1968 the US Naval Test Pilots School
(NTPS) at NAS Patuxent River, MD, was
struggling how to teach its test pilot students
the phenomenon of inertia roll coupling,
where the inertia of the heavier fuselage can
potentially overcome the stabilizing effects of
the wing and tail, particularly in high speed
flight. With a long wing and slow roll rate, this
made a glider the ideal platform to fulfil the
task. In an unprecedented move to quickly
acquire the right aircraft for the NTPS, the US
Navy purchased two stock Schweizer SGS 2-32
two-seat sailplanes. In order to circumvent
AA43_p66-67.indd 67
the usual lengthy procedures that come
with aircraft acquisition, the US Navy had the
X-plane designation X-26A assigned to the
gliders. The two X-26As entered service with the
NTPS in August 1968 and were given the name
Frigate. Sadly these aircraft were lost in fatal
accidents in 1971 and 1972. A third X-26A was
procured and unfortunately it, too, was lost in
a fatal accident in 1980. Two more X-26As were
purchased to replace the losses.
At one point there was also a powered
X-26B. Lockheed and DARPA had a concurrent
programme to develop a quiet sensor platform
for the Vietnam War. Two Schweizer SGS 2-32
gliders were used in the Project Prize Crew. A
pair of two-seat QT-2 aircraft were built, and
underwent flight tests at a secret base in the
Mojave Desert in August 1967. These were
SCHWEIZER X-26 67
Above: The X-26A was a stock Schweizer SGS
2-32 sailplane used by the US Navy to expose
student test pilots to the phenomenon of
yaw/roll coupling.
later modified to the QT-2PC Project Prize Crew
configuration, which was tested in Vietnam
combat beginning in January 1968. Following
the successful evaluation of the aircraft, they
were passed on to the NTPS as powered gliders
and designated X-26B. One was kept as a spares
source for the other which flew, but the X-26B
was eventually withdrawn from the NTPS due
to maintenance problems with its unique
airframe modifications.
Nevertheless, the basic meek X-26 went on to
become the longest-running X-plane programme
in history, beating the second-placed Bell X-14
VTOL testbed, by a substantial margin.
05/04/2019 18:05
 68 X-PLANES

Grumman X-29
Forward thinking

AA43_p68-73.indd 68 03/04/2019 12:49

 GRUMMAN X-29 69

T
he front fuselage of the Grumman
X-29 was conventional enough,
betraying its Northrop F-5A Freedom
Fighter origins. But behind the cockpit, there
was nothing conventional going on at all. It
was unlike anything that had ever taken to
the skies before.
Two Grumman X-29 aircraft, featuring one of
the most unusual designs in aviation history,
flew at the Ames-Dryden Flight Research
Facility (now the Dryden Flight Research
Center, Edwards, CA) from 1984 to 1992. The
fighter-sized X-29 technology demonstrators
explored several concepts and technologies
including: the use of advanced composites in
aircraft construction; variable-camber wing
surfaces; a unique forward-swept-wing and its
thin supercritical airfoil; strakes; close-coupled
canards; and a computerised fly-by-wire flight
control system used to maintain control of the
otherwise unstable aircraft.
The X-29s were built from two existing
Northrop F-5A Freedom Fighter airframes and
made use of the forward fuselage and nose
landing gear from the F-5As with the control
surface actuators and main landing gear from
an F-16. Powered by a General Electric F404-
GE-400, the first X-29 made its maiden flight on
14 December 1984 from Edwards AFB piloted
by Grumman’s chief test pilot Chuck Sewell. It
became the third forward-swept wing jet-
powered aircraft design to fly; the other two
being the Junkers Ju 287 (1944 and post-war
by the USSR) and the HFB-320 Hansa Jet (1964).
On 13 December 1985, an X-29 became the first
forward-swept wing aircraft to fly at supersonic
speed in level flight.
Research results showed that the
configuration of forward-swept wings, coupled
with movable canards, gave pilots excellent
control response at angles of attack of up to 45
degrees. The forward-swept wing of the X-29
resulted in reverse airflow, toward the fuselage
rather than away from it, as occurs on the usual
aft-swept wing. Consequently, on the forward-
swept wing, the ailerons remained unstalled
at high angles of attack. This provided better
airflow over the ailerons and prevented stalling

Left: The second X-29 during a 1991 research

flight. Smoke generators in the nose of the
aircraft were used to help researchers see the
behaviour of the air flowing over the aircraft. The
smoke here is demonstrating forebody vortex
flow. Unlike its older sibling, the second X-29 was
equipped with a spin recovery parachute as it
was involved in high angle-of-attack testing. It
was manoeuvrable up to an angle of attack of
about 25 degrees with a maximum angle of 67
degrees reached in a momentary pitch-up.

AA43_p68-73.indd 69 05/04/2019 10:52

 70 X-PLANES
(loss of lift) at high angles of attack. Introduction
of composite materials in the 1970s opened a
new field of aircraft construction. It also made
possible the construction of the X-29’s thin
supercritical wing. State-of-the-art composites
allowed aeroelastic tailoring which, in turn,
allowed the wing some bending but limited
twisting and eliminated structural divergence
within the flight envelope (ie deformation of
the wing or the wing breaking off in flight).
AA43_p68-73.indd 70
Additionally, composite materials allowed
the wing to be sufficiently rigid for safe flight
without adding an unacceptable weight penalty.
NASA, US Air Force, and Grumman project pilots
reported that the X-29 had excellent control
response to an angle of attack of 45 degrees and
still had limited controllability at a 67-degree
angle of attack. This controllability at high angles
of attack can be attributed to the aircraft’s
unique forward-swept-wing canard design.
During its flight history, the X-29s completed
422 research missions. Although it did not
lead to a generation of forward-swept-wing
fighters, the X-29 programme did demonstrate
several new technologies as well as validating
control of an aircraft with extreme instability.
The flight research also added to engineers’
understanding of advanced composites, used
increasingly in aircraft construction, and of
digital flight-control systems.
05/04/2019 10:52
 GRUMMAN X-29 71

Grumman X-29
Crew: 1
Length: 48ft 1in (14.7m)
Wingspan: 27ft 2in (8.29m)
Height: 14ft 9in (4.26m)
Powerplant: 1 x General Electric
F404 turbofan of
16,000lb thrust
Max speed: Mach 1.8 (1,100mph,
1,770km/h)
Max T/O weight: 17,800lb (8,070kg)
Service ceiling: 55,000ft (16,800m)

Above: The cockpit and instrument panel of the X-29 technology demonstrator aircraft.

Above left: In a stark juxtaposition of nature and technology, the second X-29 forward-swept-wing
research aircraft is shown here passing by one of the classic, spiny Joshua trees that populate the
Mojave desert, while being transported by truck to NASA’s Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility,
Edwards, CA, on 7 November 1988.

Right: Rogers Smith, a NASA research pilot, is seen here at the cockpit of the X-29 forward-swept-wing
technology demonstrator.

Below: NASA’s two X-29 research aircraft are seen sitting nose-to-nose against the backdrop of a
full-moon sky on Rogers Dry Lake, adjacent to NASA’s Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility.

AA43_p68-73.indd 71 05/04/2019 10:53

 72 X-PLANES

Above: The first X-29 shows off its unique forward-swept-wing during a test flight from Edwards AFB, CA.

AA43_p68-73.indd 72 05/04/2019 12:04

 GRUMMAN X-29 73

AA43_p68-73.indd 73 05/04/2019 10:53

 74 X-PLANES

Rockwell-MBB X-31
Vectored thrust

AA43_p74-77.indd 74 03/04/2019 12:50

 ROCKWELL-MBB X-31 75

T
he clue is in the name. The X-31
Enhanced Fighter Manoeuvrability
demonstrator was built to provide
data for the next-generation of highly agile
fighters, in particular examining the effects
of thrust vectoring. In its day, it could outfly
any other aircraft in the skies.
The X-31 was designed and built by Rockwell
and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB), as
part of a joint US and German Enhanced Fighter
Manoeuvrability programme to demonstrate
the value of thrust vectoring – directing
Left: One of two X-31 Enhanced Fighter
Manoeuvrability demonstrators flown at NASA’s
Dryden Flight Research Center, turns tightly
over the desert floor. The X-31 project was
engine exhaust flow – coupled with advanced
flight control systems, to provide controlled
flight at very high angles of attack. Two X-31
demonstrators were test-flown during the
early 1990s at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research
Center. The X-31 design was essentially an
all-new airframe design, although it borrowed
heavily on design elements and parts from
the BAe Experimental Aircraft Programme
(wing type with canards, plus underfuselage
intake), the German TKF-90 (wing planform
concepts and underfuselage intake), F/A-18
Hornet (forebody, including cockpit, ejection
seat, and canopy; electrical generators) and
F-16 Fighting Falcon (landing gear, fuel pump,
rudder pedals, and emergency power unit).
engine exhaust plume to provide control in
pitch (up and down) and yaw (right and left) to
improve manoeuvrability. In addition, the X-31
was configured with movable forward canards,
wing control surfaces, and fixed aft strakes. The
result was a significant advantage over most
conventional fighters in a close-in-combat
situation. During manoeuvres, pilots like to fly
at extreme angles of attack to facilitate rapid
turning and pointing against an adversary.
With older aircraft designs, entering this flight
regime often led to loss of control, resulting in
loss of the aircraft.
During the programme’s initial phase of
operations at Rockwell International’s Palmdale

Rockwell-MBB X-31
the first international experimental aircraft Other parts were also ‘borrowed’ from unlikely
development programme administered by a US sources including the F-16XL, V-22 Osprey,
government agency.
Cessna Citation, F-20 Tigershark and even the Crew: 1
Below: X-31 team members perform an engine B-1 Lancer. Three thrust-vectoring paddles Length: 43ft 4in (13.21m)
fit check on the X-31 at the Dryden Flight made of graphite epoxy were mounted on Wingspan: 23ft 10in (7.26m)
Research Center, Edwards, CA. the X-31’s aft fuselage and directed into the Height: 14ft 7in (4.44m)
Powerplant: 1 x General Electric
F404 turbofan of
16,000lb thrust
Max speed: Mach 1.28 (900mph,
1,449km/h)
Max T/O weight: 15,935lb (7,228kg)
Service ceiling: 40,000ft (12,200m)

AA43_p74-77.indd 75 05/04/2019 10:53

 76 X-PLANES
facility, pilots flew the aircraft on 108 test
missions. They achieved thrust vectoring in
flight and expanded the post-stall envelope
to 40 degrees angle of attack before flight
operations were moved to NASA Dryden in
February 1992. Here, an international team of
pilots and engineers pitted the X-31 against
comparable but non-thrust-vectored aircraft
to evaluate the manoeuvrability of the X-31 in
simulated air combat. The X-31s outperformed
other aircraft lacking thrust vectoring through
use of post-stall manoeuvres, and achieved a
potential kill ratio of 30 to 1.
AA43_p74-77.indd 76
The second X-31 achieved controlled flight
at 70 degrees angle of attack at Dryden on
6 November 1992 and five months later
successfully executed a minimum radius,
180-degree turn using a post-stall manoeuvre,
flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of
any conventional aircraft. The manoeuvre has
been dubbed the ‘Herbst Manoeuvre’, after
Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using
post-stall flight in air-to-air combat.
The No 1 X-31 aircraft was lost in an accident
19 January 1995. The pilot, Karl Heinz-Lang of
the Federal Republic of Germany, ejected safely
before the aircraft crashed in an unpopulated
desert area just north of Edwards. The crash
resulted from an unexpected single-point
failure related to ice accumulation in the nose
boom airspeed system.
The X-31 logged an X-plane record of 580
flights during the programme, 559 research
missions and 21 in Europe for the 1995 Paris
Air Show. Following the X-31 programme’s
conclusion in June 1995, the surviving aircraft
was transferred to the US Navy Test Pilot School
at NAS Patuxent River for additional research,
before going on display in Germany.
Left: The X-31 obtained data that was applied
to the design and development of the next-
generation of fighters. The X-31 had a three-axis
thrust-vectoring system, coupled with advanced
flight controls, to allow it to manoeuvre tightly at
very high angles of attack.
Right: The X-31 flying nearly perpendicular to
the flight path while performing the Herbst
manoeuvre. Effectively using the entire airframe
as a speed brake and using the aircraft’s unique
thrust vectoring system to maintain control, the
pilot rapidly rolled the aircraft to reverse the
direction of flight, completing the manoeuvre
with acceleration back to high speed in the
opposite direction. This type of turning capability
could reduce the turning time of a fighter aircraft
by 30 percent.
Below left: An X-31 deploys its drag chute upon
landing after a research flight.
Below: The second X-31 (Bu No 164585)
displaying the three thrust-vectoring paddles
mounted adjacent to the engine exhaust nozzle
and which directed the exhaust flow to provide
control in pitch and yaw.
03/04/2019 12:50
 ROCKWELL-MBB X-31 77

AA43_p74-77.indd 77 05/04/2019 10:53

 80 X-PLANES
Boeing X-32
JSF contender
I
n what became known as the ‘Battle of the
X-planes’, Boeing and Lockheed Martin
were tasked with producing concept
demonstrators for the lucrative Joint Strike
Fighter (JSF) programme, both contenders
being given X-plane status. It would not
be unkind to say that if it came down to
aesthetics, Boeing was not going to win.
Boeing was awarded a four-year contract by
the US Department of Defense in 1996 for the
concept demonstration phase of the Joint Strike
Fighter (JSF) programme competition. The goal
was to develop a low-cost, multi-role tactical
aircraft for the US Air Force, Navy and Marine
Corps and the UK’s Royal Navy and RAF. Boeing
was required to build concept demonstration
aircraft that would provide: commonality across
variants in operation, design and manufacture;
direct-lift propulsion for short take-off and
vertical landing (STOVL), hover and transition
between vertical and conventional flight; and
capability to approach a carrier at low speeds.
One of Boeing’s key innovations was going
to be saving significant costs by producing
the major structural component, the carbon
fibre delta wing, as a single unit. Its severe 55
degree sweep angle served to limit transonic
drag, while allowing for a thicker wing section.
Boeing also attempted to cut production
AA43_p78.indd 78
costs by using a direct-lift thrust vectoring from the aircraft’s cruise nozzle to the lift
system. This method only requires the addition nozzles. The X-32B also demonstrated its ability
of a single thrust vectoring module to the to hover and make vertical landings.
main engine, as opposed to rival Lockheed’s In a major blow to Boeing, on 26 October
more complicated shaft-driven lift fan, but 2001 the US Department of Defense
also required that the engine be moved announced that the Lockheed Martin X-35
forward from its traditional spot at the back had won the JSF competition. The X-35 would
of the aircraft up to just behind the cockpit to be developed into the production Lockheed
balance the weight distribution more evenly Martin F-35 Lightning II.
when hovering. The X-32’s direct lift system
also demanded that the fighter incorporate
a basking shark-esque air intake under its
chin, otherwise the main engine wouldn’t
get enough air when hovering. Not even its
most ardent supporters would claim that the
resulting X-32 was an attractive aircraft.
The ‘conventional’ X-32A made its first flight
on 18 September 2000 and demonstrated
take-off and landing characteristics for the
US Air Force as well as carrier approach flying
qualities for the US Navy. The aircraft made
66 flights during four months of testing. The
flights validated the aircraft’s handling qualities
for inflight refuelling, weapons bay operations
and supersonic flight. The X-32B made its
maiden flight on 29 March 2001 and completed
78 test flights in four months. It successfully
transitioned to and from STOVL flight mode
by using its direct-lift system to redirect thrust
Above: The large delta wing of the X-32. Had the
aircraft gone into production, it would have been
fitted with a conventional tail design.
Left: The Boeing X-32B concept demonstrator
featured a deep body combined with a sweeping
delta wing.
Overleaf: The ungainly looking Boeing X-32 was
Boeing’s unsuccessful JSF contender.
Boeing X-32
Crew: 1
Length: 45ft 0in (13.72m)
Wingspan: 36ft 0in (10.97m)
Height: 17ft 4in (5.28m)
Powerplant: 1 x Pratt & Whitney F119
Maximum speed: Mach 1.6
(1,200mph/1,931km/h)
Max T/O weight: 38,000lb (17,200kg)
03/04/2019 12:50

Lockheed Martin X-35
And the winner is…
A
s the largest and most important
military aircraft programme of the
early 21st century, the Joint Strike
Fighter was a high stakes ‘winner takes it
all’ competition. Not surprisingly, Lockheed
Martin’s X-35 was clearly influenced by its
larger twin-engined cousin, the F-22. Also,
not surprisingly, it won.
The Joint Strike Fighter evolved out of
several requirements for a common fighter to
replace existing types. The programme was
created to replace various aircraft while keeping
development, production, and operating
costs down. This was pursued by building
three variants of one aircraft, sharing 80% of
their parts. Thus, Lockheed Martin proposed:
the conventional take-off and landing (CTOL)
X-35A for the US Air Force; the short take-off
and vertical landing (STOVL) X-35B for the US
Marines and UK Royal Navy; and the carrier-
based (CV) X-35C for the US Navy. Like the
Overleaf: The Lockheed Martin X-35 bore a
number of similarities to the company’s larger
F-22 Raptor, including a similar wing planform.
AA43_p83-85.indd 83
rival Boeing X-32, Lockheed constructed two
prototypes for evaluation. Predictably, elements
of Lockheed’s X-35 design were pioneered
by the F-22 Raptor and the aircraft shared a
passing resemblance.
The initial X-35A first flew on 24 October
2000 and was used for early flight trials before
being modified into the STOVL X-35B. While
Boeing adopted a direct lift STOVL design
based on that used in the Harrier, Lockheed
opted for a different approach, inspired by
the Russian Yak-141. The X-35B incorporated
a separate lift fan that was powered by the
F119 engine but provided an independent
source of thrust in hover. The Lift System was
composed of a lift fan, drive shaft, two roll
posts and a ‘Three Bearing Swivel Module’, the
latter a thrust vectoring nozzle which allowed
the main engine exhaust to be deflected
downward at the tail of the aircraft. The lift fan
was near the front of the aircraft and provided
a counterbalancing thrust. It was powered by
the engine’s low-pressure (LP) turbine via a
drive shaft and gearbox. Roll control during
LOCKHEED MARTIN X-35 81
Above: The winner of the JSF competition, the
Lockheed Martin X-35. Note the company’s
famous ‘Skunk Works’ logo on the tailfin,
indicating a hand in its design.
slow flight was achieved by diverting unheated
engine bypass air through wing-mounted
thrust nozzles called Roll Posts.
Once completed, the modified airframe
was redesignated X-35B for completion of
the STOVL portion of the evaluation process.
Meanwhile, the X-35C demonstrator for the
US Navy featured an enlarged wing of greater
span and area for larger fuel capacity as well
as enlarged horizontal tails and flaperons for
greater control effectiveness during low-speed
carrier approaches.
In the fly-off between the Lockheed Martin
X-35 and the Boeing X-32, the former was
judged to be the winner. As a result, a contract
for System Development and Demonstration
(SDD) of the F-35 was awarded on 26 October
2001 to Lockheed Martin. The result was to be
the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, the most
expensive undertaking in aviation history.
05/04/2019 10:55
 84 X-PLANES

Lockheed Martin X-35A

Crew: 1
Length: 50ft 6in (15.39m)
Wingspan: 32ft 9in (9.99m)
Height: 13ft 4in (4.06m)
Powerplant: 1 x Pratt & Whitney F119
Max speed: Mach 1.6
(1,200mph/1,931km/h)

Left: The X-35 Joint Strike Fighter from Lockheed

Martin nears completion of flight testing at
Edwards AFB, CA, in 2001.

Below: The naval variant of the Joint Strike

Fighter, the X-35C, arrives at NAS Patuxent
River, MD, flown by Maj Art ‘Turbo’ Tomassetti,
a US Marine Corps strike test pilot for Lockheed
Martin. The variant featured a larger, folding
wing and larger control surfaces for improved
low-speed handling, and stronger landing gear
for the stresses of carrier landings.

Right: A Lockheed Martin X-35A Joint Strike

Fighter concept demonstrator receives fuel from
a US Air Force Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker during
a test mission over California’s Mojave Desert on
7 November 2000.

AA43_p83-85.indd 84 05/04/2019 12:06

 LOCKHEED MARTIN X-35 85

AA43_p83-85.indd 85 03/04/2019 12:52

 86 MCDONNELL DOUGLAS X-36
McDonnell Douglas X-36
Size isn’t everything
T
he McDonnell Douglas (later Boeing)
X-36 was everything that an X-plane
should be. Futuristic, innovative and
unlike anything else in the skies. Its only
problem was that you had to be careful not
to fall over it…
‘The NASA/Boeing X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility
Research Aircraft programme successfully
demonstrated the tailless fighter design
using advanced technologies to improve the
manoeuvrability and survivability of possible
future fighter aircraft. The programme met or
exceeded all project goals.’ So reads the NASA
AA43_p86-89.indd 86
publicity brief for the X-36. What it doesn’t
tell you is that the aircraft was less than 20ft
(2.3m) long and just over 3ft (0.9m) high!
The X-36 aircraft flown at the Dryden Flight
Research Center in 1997 was a 28 percent scale
representation of a theoretical advanced fighter
aircraft. The Boeing Phantom Works (formerly
McDonnell Douglas) built two of the vehicles
in a co-operative agreement with the Ames
Research Center, Moffett Field, CA.
The X-36 was designed to fly without the
traditional tail surfaces common on most
aircraft. Instead, a canard forward of the
wing was used as well as split ailerons and
an advanced thrust-vectoring nozzle for
directional control. The X-36 was unstable
in both pitch and yaw axes, so an advanced,
single-channel digital fly-by-wire control system
was put in place to stabilise the aircraft. Using
a video camera mounted in the nose, the X-36
was remotely controlled by a pilot in a ground
station virtual cockpit. A standard fighter-type
head-up display (HUD) and a moving-map
representation of the vehicle’s position within
the range in which it flew provided excellent
situational awareness for the pilot.
Powered by a Williams International F112
turbofan engine of close to 700lb of thrust, a
typical research flight lasted 35-45 minutes
from take-off to touchdown. A total of 31
successful research flights were flown from
17 May to 12 November 1997, amassing
15 hours and 38 minutes of flight time. The
aircraft’s speed envelope reached up to
234mph (376km/h) and it reached an altitude
of 20,200ft (6,157m) and a maximum angle of
attack of 40 degrees. Although no full-sized
aircraft was to follow, data from the tests was
undoubtedly used in Boeing’s research into
completely autonomous military aircraft.
Left: The tailless X-36 technology demonstrator
cruising over the Californian desert at low
altitude during a 1997 research flight. The
‘Beavis and Butthead’ graffiti on the cockpit
provides the clue that this aircraft was
unmanned.
Below: The X-36 did not require a large hangar!
05/04/2019 10:55
 BOEING X-45 87

Boeing X-45
First of the ‘super drones’

L
ooking like it had come straight off
the set of a ‘Batman’ movie, the Boeing
Joint Unmanned Combat Air System
(J-UCAS) X-45 was actually the first highly
autonomous, unmanned system specifically
designed for combat operations in the
network-centric environment of the 21st
century. In other words, a ‘super drone’.
Boeing began its unmanned combat aircraft
research in 1998, and the following year the US
Defense Advanced Research Project Agency
(DARPA) and the US Air Force commissioned it
to build two X-45A air vehicles and a mission
control station under the J-UCAS Advanced internal weapons bay, and the first unmanned, Above: The Boeing X-45A unmanned combat air
Technology Demonstration programme. The autonomous multi-vehicle flight in August vehicle concept demonstrator.
resulting swept wing, stealthy jet had fully under the control of a single pilot. Flight tests
retractable landing gear and a composite, were concluded in 2005. fuselage design to that of the X-45B, but with
fibre-reinforced epoxy skin. It also featured Meanwhile, Boeing had planned the a new wing design that gave it a distinctive
two internal weapons bays in its fuselage. development and construction of two X-45Bs, arrowhead shaped profile similar to that of the
During its first flight on 22 May 2002, the X-45A a larger air vehicle than the X-45A with an B-2 Spirit. Boeing began assembly of the first
flew for 14 minutes at NASA’s Dryden Flight integrated avionics system, increased weapon of three X-45C demonstrators in June 2004 but
Research Center at Edwards AFB, CA, reaching delivery capacity and increased operating on 2 March 2006 the US Air Force decided not
an airspeed of 224mph (361km/h) and an range and altitude. In early 2003, DARPA to continue with the project. Boeing submitted
altitude of 7,500ft (2,286m). In 2004, significant announced the cancellation of the X-45B and a proposal to the US Navy for a carrier-based
X-45A test flights included a precision weapon the approval for the development of a larger version of the X-45, designated the X-45N,
drop in April, when the X-45A demonstrator and improved UCAV system, comprising the however this contract was eventually awarded
hit a ground target with a 250lb (113kg) inert X-45C air vehicle, mission control, support and to Northrop Grumman’s X-47, thus ending the
near-precision-guided weapon released from its simulation systems. The X-45C had a similar X-45 programme.

AA43_p86-89.indd 87 05/04/2019 14:37

 88 NORTHROP GRUMMAN X-47
Northrop Grumman X-47
All at sea
I
t was all going so well for the ‘drone that
made history’. Having proved that it could
operate autonomously from an aircraft
carrier and refuel from a tanker, the plug was
pulled on the X-47 in 2017.
Having seen off Boeing’s rival X-45, the
X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS)
programme was designed to demonstrate the
ability of a tailless, fighter-sized unmanned
aircraft to land on and be launched from the
flight deck of a US Navy aircraft carrier while
underway at sea, one of the most challenging
aviation environments.
AA43_p86-89.indd 88
Under a contract awarded in August 2007
by the US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR),
Northrop Grumman designed and produced
two of the low-observable jet-powered blended-
wing-body demonstrators. The first flight of
the ‘batwing’ Air Vehicle 1 (AV-1), took place at
Edwards AFB, CA, on 4 February 2011.
The second X-47B demonstrator, designated
AV-2, conducted its maiden flight on
22 November 2011. The two X-47Bs proceeded
to demonstrate a number of notable ‘firsts’
for unmanned jet-powered aviation: first
catapult launch from the deck of an aircraft
Above: An X-47B demonstrator in the cruise over
the US Navy’s Atlantic Test Range.
Left: The experimental X-47B Unmanned Combat
Air System Demonstrator (UCAS-D) conducts an
arrested landing aboard the aircraft carrier
USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) in 2013.
carrier; first arrested landing, or ‘trap’, on the
deck of an aircraft carrier; first autonomous
unmanned aircraft to refuel in mid-air. This
marked the effective completion of the X-47B’s
development, as it had completed all the
primary demonstration tasks required of it.
In February 2016 the US Navy decided to
morph the X-47B from a surveillance and
strike aircraft into a reconnaissance and aerial
refuelling drone with ‘limited strike capability’.
The about-turn followed a top-level review and
restructuring of the now-defunct unmanned
carrier-launched airborne surveillance and
strike (UCLASS) project, with the service’s latest
budget instead funding the MQ-25 Stingray
CBARS, or carrier-based aerial refuelling system.
However, Northrop Grumman announced on
25 October 2017 that it was withdrawing its
X-47B from the MQ-25 competition saying the
company would have been unable to execute
the programme under the terms of the service’s
request for proposals.
05/04/2019 14:39

Boeing X-48
A matter of scale
W
hen Boeing’s Phantom works came
up with a blended-wing concept
for a more-efficient transport
aircraft, the results were breath taking. The
X-48 was every inch what you would expect
from an X-plane. However, the emphasis
was on the word ‘inch’ as this stunning
design was little more than a glorified radio-
controlled model… but what a model.
Boeing Phantom Works, NASA and the US
Air Force Research Laboratory joined together
in 2005 to study the structural, aerodynamic
and operational advantages of the Hybrid or
Blended Wing Body concept, a cross between a
conventional aircraft and a flying wing design.
The US Air Force designated the resulting
sub-scale prototype as the X-48B, based on its
interest in the design’s potential as a multi-role,
long-range, high-capacity military transport
aircraft. The programme’s goal was to learn
more about the low-speed flight control
characteristics of the concept when applied
to large transport or cargo aircraft. Engineers
were also intrigued by the design’s potential
to get up to 30 percent better fuel economy
than traditional aircraft due to its unique
shape, a combination of a flying wing merged
with a triangular body. Both X-48B technology
demonstration aircraft were built by Cranfield
Aerospace in the UK to Boeing’s specifications
and had a wingspan of 20.4ft (6.2m), with
prominent vertical fins and rudders at the
wingtips and elevons along the trailing edges
AA43_p86-89.indd 89
BOEING X-48 89
of the wings. Three small
model aircraft turbojet
engines provided a
maximum combined
thrust of about 150lb.
The X-48B had an estimated top airspeed
of 138mph (222km/h), a maximum altitude of
about 10,000ft (3,048m) and a flight duration of Above and below: After flying the remotely-
about 40 minutes. piloted X-48B and X-48C Hybrid/Blended Wing
Body research aircraft for nearly six years, the
The 8.5 percent scale remotely piloted X-48
joint NASA-Boeing X-48 project completed a
was dynamically shaped to fly much like a successful and productive flight test project at
full-size aircraft would fly. The first X-48B made NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center in 2013.
its maiden flight in July 2007 and flight testing
at NASA Dryden focused on the low-speed, twin vertical tails. The aft deck of the aircraft
low-altitude flight characteristics of the was extended and the X-48B’s three jet engines
blended wing body configuration, including were replaced with two 89lb thrust engines.
engine-out control, stall characteristics The manta-shaped X-48 Hybrid Wing Body
and handling qualities. The short flight test technology demonstrator flew a total of 122
programme was designed to demonstrate that flights, 30 of them as the C-model. The last flight
the novel design could be flown as safely as of the X-48C occurred on 9 April 2013.
current transports having a traditional fuselage,
wings and tail configuration.
An upgraded version, the X-48C, made its
first flight in August 2012 and featured an
airframe noise-shielding configuration. External
modifications included relocating the wingtip
winglets inboard next to the engine exhaust
ducts, effectively turning the winglets into
03/04/2019 12:53
 90 X-PLANES

Boeing X-53
Back to the future
W
hen the Wright brothers first
took to the air on 17 December
1903, they used ‘wing-warping’
to control the pitch and roll of the flight.
Over 100 years later, the concept was
revisited by NASA.
What goes around comes around. NASA’s
Armstrong Flight Research Center, in
conjunction with the US Air Force Research
Laboratory (AFRL) and Boeing’s Phantom Works,
researched a high-tech adaptation of the
Wright brothers’ rudimentary ‘wing-warping’
approach in the X-53 Active Aeroelastic Wing
flight research project completed in 2006.
The focus of AAW research was on
developing and validating the concept of

Right: NASA Armstrong’s highly-modified Active

Aeroelastic Wing F/A-18A showing off its form
during a 360-degree aileron roll during a
research flight. The aerodynamic forces acting on
the F/A-18s traditional aircraft control surfaces,
such as ailerons and leading-edge flaps, were
used to twist a more-flexible wing to provide
aircraft roll manoeuvring control.

Below: With a long flight data probe extending

from its nose, this F/A-18A was modified to
conduct flight research in the Active Aeroelastic
Wing (AAW) project.

AA43_p90-91.indd 90 03/04/2019 12:54


aircraft roll control by twisting a flexible wing
on a full-size aircraft. The test aircraft chosen
for the AAW research was a modified F/A-18A
obtained from the US Navy. After completion
of detailed design and wing modifications in
the late 1990s, the test aircraft was extensively
instrumented and reassembly was completed
by early 2001. The wings from NASA’s F/A-18
High-Alpha Research Vehicle (HARV) project,
were modified for the AAW flight research
project and installed on the AAW test aircraft.
Several of the existing wing skin panels along
the wing box section of the wing were replaced
with thinner, more flexible skin panels and
structure. In addition, the F/A-18’s leading-edge
flap was divided into separate inboard and
outboard segments. By using the outboard
leading-edge flap and the aileron to twist the
wing, the aerodynamic force on the twisted
wing provided the roll forces desired.
The AAW test aircraft was subjected to
extensive structural loads, wing stiffness and
vibration tests, installation of the initial control
software into the aircraft’s research flight
control computer, systems checkout, and flight
simulation activity. These flights were used to
Right: Structural loads testing on the Active
Aeroelastic Wing F-18 in the Flight Loads
Laboratory at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research
Center, Edwards, CA. As a result of the
programme, it is hoped that engineers will now
be able to design more efficient, thinner, higher
aspect-ratio wings for future high-performance
aircraft, while reducing the structural weight of
the wings by 10 to 20 per cent.
AA43_p90-91.indd 91
Above: NASA’s Active Aeroelastic Wing F/A-18
rolled into a hard left turn during a research
flight in early December 2004. The X-53
designation was bestowed on the project by the
USAF/DARPA group at Wright-Patterson AFB
after the success of the project.
measure the forces available from each surface
to twist the wing and control the aircraft. That
was followed by a year-long period of data
analysis and control software redesign to
optimize the performance of the flexible wing.
The final phase of flight tests to evaluate the
AAW control laws and evaluate the handling
BOEING X-53 91
Boeing X-53 AAW
Crew: 1
Length: 56ft 1in (17.1m)
Wingspan: 38ft 5in (11.71m)
Height: 15ft 3in (4.65m)
Powerplant: 2 x General Electric
F404-GE-400 turbofans
of 16,000lb each
Max speed: 1,188mph (1,912km/h)
Service ceiling: 50,000ft (15,240m)
and performance qualities available from the
flexible wing concept began in late 2004 and
concluded in March 2005. About 25 research
missions were flown in the second phase,
covering 18 test points ranging from speeds
of Mach 0.85 to Mach 1.3 and altitudes up
to 25,000ft (7,620m). Over the course of the
second phase of flight tests, roll rates adequate
for lateral control, or within 15 to 20 percent
of that obtained by a production F/A-18, were
obtained by use of active control of wing
flexibility alone, without use of the differential
rolling horizontal tail used by standard F/A-18s
at transonic and supersonic speeds.
The AAW project’s goal was to demonstrate
improved aircraft roll control through
aerodynamically induced wing twist on a full-
scale high-performance aircraft at transonic
and supersonic speeds. Data was obtained to
develop design information for blending flexible
wing structures with control law techniques to
obtain the performance of current day aircraft
with much lighter wing structures.
05/04/2019 10:55
 92 LOCKHEED MARTIN X-55
Lockheed Martin X-55
The ‘carbon comet’
T
he X-55 looked like a standard
Fairchild Dornier 328JET, but under
the skin it was a very different story.
The Lockheed Skunk Works design team
dubbed the aircraft the ‘carbon comet’ for a
good reason.
In the mid-1990s, the US Air Force Research
Laboratory (AFRL) acknowledged that even
though there was tremendous potential for
the incorporation of advanced composites to
reduce aircraft structural weights, the industry
was hesitant to implement them in new aircraft.
Consequently, AFRL launched the Composites
Affordability Initiative (CAI) which ultimately
led to the Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft
(ACCA) experiment. Interestingly, the ACCA was
conceived as a fast-track, low-cost development
effort and started out as a Dornier 328 regional
airliner whose fuselage and vertical tail were
AA43_p92-95.indd 92
removed and replaced with a new all composite
design structure specifically tailored for the air
mobility mission. The team at Lockheed’s Skunk
Works modified the high-wing Dornier jet,
mating its existing engines, wing, landing gear
and avionics systems to the new composite
structure. The programme demonstrated the
feasibility of designing and manufacturing
large, bonded unitized structures featuring
low-temperature, out-of-autoclave curing. The
fuselage was constructed in two large half-
sections (upper-lower) featuring sandwich
construction with MTM-45 skins and Nomex
core, bonded together with adhesive and ply
overlays along the longitudinal seam rather
than numerous frames, stiffeners and metal
fasteners used commonly in traditional aircraft.
The vertical tail was designed using tailored
stiffness technology. Compared to the original
metallic components, the composite structure
used approximately 300 structural parts versus
3,000 metallic parts and approximately 4,000
mechanical fasteners compared to 40,000.
Designated X-55A by the US Air Force, the
first flight was completed at Lockheed Martin’s
Advanced Development Programs facility
(Air Force Plant 42) in Palmdale, CA, on 2 June
2009. The one-off X-55 paved the way for the
increased use of advance composite materials
in the next-generation of aircraft design.
Below: The Lockheed Martin X-55 ACCA was
created to demonstrate how future aircraft
designs and manufacturing processes could be
tailored through the use of advanced composites
to: significantly shorten design spans; reduce
aircraft size and structural weight; accelerate
manufacturing processes; reduce tooling costs;
and reduce assembly labour.
05/04/2019 10:56

Lockheed Martin X-56
The MAD MUTT
T
he desire to fly higher, farther, faster,
and more affordably has always been
a challenge. One barrier to doing so is
flutter, the potentially catastrophic dynamic
coupling that can occur between the elastic
motion of the aircraft wing structure and
the aerodynamic loads acting on it. Enter
the MAD MUTT
Back in 2005, Lockheed Martin’s Skunk
Works team began research that proved that
flutter behaviour can be accurately predicted
and addressed through the creation of a
new design paradigm of active control.
Consequently, the US Air Force Research
Laboratory sponsored the Multi-Utility
Aeroelastic Demonstrator (MAD) programme.
Part of this programme included the X-56A
Multi-utility Technology Test bed (MUTT), a
small modular unmanned air vehicle designed
AA43_p92-95.indd 93
to test active flutter suppression and gust load
alleviation. Hence the team picked up the name
MAD MUTT.
The X-56A was flown for the first time at
the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at
Edwards on 26 June 2013, powered by two
80lb thrust JetCat P400 turbine engines. Two
types of wings were tested on the X-56 – a stiff
set and a flexible set. The stiff set of wings was
designed in the traditional manner to avoid
having flutter within the flight envelope. These
were used for the initial airworthiness tests of
the aircraft and any future non-flutter flight
research. Flutter was deliberately designed to
be deep in the flight envelope of the X-56A’s
Below: The X-56A was flown for the first time
at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at
Edwards AFB, CA, on 26 June 2013.
LOCKHEED MARTIN X-56 93
flex wing configuration. Because flutter is a
natural coupling of the aerodynamics and
structural dynamics, simply flying fast enough
causes it to occur.
Long, thin, high aspect ratio wings are
considered key to the design of many future
long-range manned and unmanned aerial
vehicles and fuel-efficient transports. These
future aircraft will likely bear many of the same
features designed into the X-56, including a
blended body, long thin swept-back wings, and
very thin airfoils.
It’s been said that flutter is a particularly nasty
dragon that lives in one corner of the sky. ‘The
work we’re doing with the X-56A may not kill
flutter completely’, observed Ed Burnett, the
X-56A technical programme manager for the
Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, ‘but we will have
a much better understanding of how to tame it’.
03/04/2019 12:54
 94 NASA X-57 MAXWELL
NASA X-57 Maxwell
Electric X-plane
Y
et to fly, NASA’s X-57 ‘Maxwell’ will be
the first all-electric X-plane and will be
used to validate and demonstrate the
benefits that distributed electric propulsion
may yield for the future of aviation.
The X-plane is being built by modifying
a baseline Italian Tecnam P2006T to be
powered by an electric propulsion system.
The advantage of using an existing aircraft
Below: This artist’s concept of NASA’s X-57 Maxwell
shows the aircraft’s specially designed wing and
14 electric motors. NASA Aeronautics researchers
will use the Maxwell to demonstrate that electric
propulsion can make planes quieter, more
efficient and more environmentally friendly.
AA43_p92-95.indd 94
design is that data from the baseline model,
powered by traditional combustion engines,
can be compared to data produced by the
same model powered by electric propulsion.
This allows NASA engineers and researchers
to measure precisely the increase in efficiency
that is made possible through the electric
system. The X-57 will undergo as many as
three configurations, with its final incarnation
featuring 12 high-lift motors along the leading
edge of the distributed electric propulsion
wing. The high-lift motors will be electrically
powered to generate enough lift for the X-57 to
be able to take off at standard Tecnam P2006T
speeds. When the aircraft levels out for cruise
mode, the high-lift motors will deactivate. The
five propeller blades for each motor will then
stop rotating and fold into the nacelles so they
don’t create unwanted drag during cruise. The
two wingtip cruise motors will maintain flight
during this phase of the flight. When the time
comes to land, the motors will then reactivate,
and centrifugal force will cause the propeller
blades to unfold and create the appropriate lift
for approach and landing.
With a first flight scheduled in 2020, the goal
of the X-57 is to demonstrate a 500 percent
increase in high-speed cruise efficiency, zero in-
flight carbon emissions, and flight that is much
quieter for the community on the ground.
05/04/2019 10:56

Lockheed Martin X-59
Son of Concorde
L
ooking to the future, supersonic
commercial travel is back on the
horizon. Lockheed Martin Skunk
Works has partnered with NASA to enable
the development of the next generation of
commercial supersonic aircraft.
In partnership with NASA, the Lockheed
Martin Skunk Works team is solving one of the
most persistent challenges of supersonic flight
– the sonic boom. NASA awarded Lockheed
Martin Skunk Works a contract in February 2016
Below: The X-59 is designed to cruise at 55,000ft
at a speed of about 940mph and create a sound
about as loud as a car door closing, instead of a
sonic boom.
AA43_p92-95.indd 95
for the preliminary design of the X-59 QueSST
(Quiet Supersonic Transport), designed to
reduce a sonic boom to a gentle thump.
In 2018, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works was
selected for the design, build and flight test
of the Low-Boom Flight Demonstrator (LBFD).
Preliminary design started in February 2016,
with the X-59 scheduled for delivery in late
2021 for flight tests from 2022. The Low-Boom
X-plane will be 94ft (29m) long with a 29.5ft
(9.0m) wingspan. Propelled by a single General
Electric F414, it should reach Mach 1.5 or
990mph (1,590km/h), and cruise at Mach 1.42
or 940mph (1,510km/h) at 55,000ft (16,800m).
The cockpit, ejection seat and canopy come
LOCKHEED MARTIN X-59 95
from a Northrop T-38 and the landing gear
from an F-16. The long and pointed nose-cone
will obstruct all forward vision, so the X-59 will
use an enhanced flight vision system (EVS),
consisting of a forward 4K camera.
The X-59 will collect data on the
acceptability of the quiet sonic boom
generated by the design, helping NASA
establish a commercial supersonic noise
standard to overturn current regulations
banning supersonic travel over land. This
would open the door to an entirely new global
market for aircraft manufacturers, enabling
passengers to travel anywhere in the world in
half the time it takes today.
05/04/2019 18:05
 96 X-PLANES

North American XB-70

Valkyrie
Beauty of the beast
W
hat many regard as the greatest and providing more vertical surface to improve dihedral on the wings. This aircraft made its first
X-plane of all time, was not directional stability at high Mach numbers. flight on 17 July 1965. The changes resulted in
technically an X-plane at all. But Attached to the delta was a long, thin forward much better handling, and the second XB-70
we are sure you will forgive us for including fuselage. Behind the cockpit were two large achieved Mach 3 for the first time on 3 January
it anyway! Its numerical designation takes canards, which acted as control surfaces. 1966. On 19 May of that year it flew at Mach 3
it out of the X-plane chronological timeline, The XB-70A number 1 (62-0001) made its first for 33 minutes and at Mach 2.5 for a total of 62
but there is no more powerful way to end flight from Palmdale to Edwards AFB, CA, on 21 minutes. At the same time, a joint agreement
our X-plane coverage. September 1964. On its third attempt at going was signed between NASA and the US Air Force
Like nothing before it and nothing since, the supersonic, on 12 October 1964, the Valkyrie to use the second XB-70A prototype for high-
B-70 Valkyrie was a technological masterpiece. burst through the sound barrier, reaching a speed research flights in support of the SST
Designed to be the ultimate high-altitude, speed of Mach 1.1. The aircraft subsequently programme. Tragically these plans went awry
high-speed manned strategic bomber, it was set a number of world records, which included on 8 June 1966 when the second XB-70 crashed
intended to be immune from enemy fighters sustained supersonic flight for 40 continuous following a mid-air collision with NASA’s F-104N
by flying at a planned cruise speed of Mach 3 minutes on 24 October 1964 and sustained during a publicity photo-shoot. Joe Walker,
and operating at 70,000ft (21,336m). Events, supersonic flight for 60 minutes on 4 March the F-104N pilot, died in the accident, as did
however, would cause it to play a far different 1965. On the Valkyrie’s tenth flight, the aircraft the Valkyrie’s co-pilot Maj Carl Cross. North
role in the history of aviation. sustained 74 minutes of supersonic flight, American test pilot Al White managed to eject
The six-engined B-70 Valkyrie was under including 50 minutes beyond Mach 2. Although in his escape capsule.
development at a time when the future of the intended to cruise at Mach 3, the first XB-70 was The first Valkyrie was eventually handed
manned bomber was uncertain. During the found to have poor directional stability above over to NASA to continue high-speed testing,
late 1950s and early 1960s, many believed Mach 2.5, and only made a single flight above but time was running out for the programme
that manned aircraft were obsolete, and the Mach 3. Subsequently, the second XB-70A and the final XB-70 research flight occurred on
future belonged to missiles. As a result, the (62-0207) was built with an added 5 degrees of 4 February 1969.
Kennedy Administration ended plans to deploy
the B-70. However, two experimental XB-70A
prototypes were under construction at North
American Aviation when the programme was
cancelled and at the same time there was
growing interest in a US supersonic transport
(SST). The XB-70 Valkyrie seemed to be a perfect
testbed for SST research. It was the same size
as the projected SST designs, and used similar
structural materials, such as stainless steel and
titanium. Thus, the XB‑70A’s role changed from
a manned bomber prototype into one of the
most remarkable research aircraft ever flown.
To achieve Mach 3 performance, the B-70 was
designed to ‘ride’ its own shock wave, much as a
surfer rides an ocean wave. The resulting shape
used a delta wing on a slab-sided fuselage that
contained the six jet engines that powered the
aircraft. The outer wing panels were hinged.
During take-off, landing, and subsonic flight,
they remained in the horizontal position. Once
the aircraft was supersonic, the wing panels
would be hinged downward reducing drag

AA43_p96-97.indd 96 05/04/2019 10:54

 NORTH AMERICAN XB-70 97

XB-70A Valkyrie
Crew: 2
Length: 189ft 0in (57.6m)
Wingspan: 105ft 0in (32 m)
Height: 30ft 0in (9.1m)
Powerplant: 6 x General Electric
YJ93-GE-3 turbojets
of 19,900lb dry thrust
each, 28,800lb in
afterburner
Max speed: Mach 3.1
(2,056mph/3,309km/h)
Max T/O weight: 542,000lb (246,000kg)
Service ceiling: 77,350ft (23,600m)

Top: The XB-70A, capable of flying three times

the speed of sound, was the world’s largest
experimental aircraft in the 1960s. The Valkyrie
was powered by a bank of six General Electric
YJ93-GE-3 afterburning turbojets.

Left: The XB-70A (62-0001) in a level cruise

flight mode. The wingtips were folded down
in supersonic flight to increase aerodynamic
efficiency and stability. Two XB-70A aircraft were
built, serial numbers 62-0001 and 62-0207.

Right: The XB-70 had a movable windshield and

ramp that were raised during supersonic flight
to reduce drag. When the pilot was ready to land,
he lowered the assembly to give both him and
his co-pilot a clear view of the runway.

AA43_p96-97.indd 97 05/04/2019 10:54

• SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE • SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE • SU

SUBSCRIBE
AND SAVE

Aeroplane traces its lineage back to the weekly The

Aeroplane launched in June 1911, and is still continuing
to provide the best aviation coverage around. Aeroplane
magazine is dedicated to offering the most in-depth and
entertaining read on all historical aircraft.

www.aeroplanemonthly.com
E • SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE • SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE •
GREAT SUBSCRIPT ION OFFERS
FlyPast is internationally regarded as the
magazine for aviation history and heritage.
Having pioneered coverage of this fascinating
world of ‘living history’ since 1980, FlyPast still
leads the field today. Subjects regularly profiled
include British and American aircraft type
histories, as well as those of squadrons and units
from World War One to the Cold War.
www.flypast.com
AL S O AVA IL A B L E DIGITA L LY:
iTunes
Available on PC, Mac and Windows 10 from
FOR THE LATEST SUBSCRIPTION DEALS
VISIT:
www.keypublishing.com/shop
FROM
As Britain’s longest established monthly
aviation journal, Aviation News is renowned
for providing the best coverage of every
branch of aviation. Each issue has the latest
news and in-depth features, illustrated with
the very best photography. Now incorporating
JETS magazine, Aviation News brings you the
best of both magazines.
www.aviation-news.co.uk
PC, Mac &
Windows 10
279/19
PHONE:
(UK) 01780 480404 (Overseas) +44 1780 480404
 WHEN YOU TAKE OUT A
SUBSCRIPTION TO

MAKE HUGE SAVINGS

UK BI-ANNUALLY DIRECT DEBIT
Just £19.99 bi-annually, visit the website or call for details

Number
 of Issues
Subscription UK EU US ROW

 6 1 Year £42.93 £49.99 $64.99 £54.99

Please quote: AA0519 Close Date: 30 June 2019

280/19

2 E A S Y W AY S T O PAY
Order online at Call UK 01780 480404
www.keypublishing.com/shop OR Overseas +44 1780 480404
Lines open 9.00am - 5.30pm GMT

See website or call for Direct Debit details.