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X-3 (center) and, clockwise from left: X-1A, D-558-1, XF-92A, X-5, D-558-2, and X-4. NASA photo E-2889.
The Research Airplane Program was a joint research effort by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA--formerly the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics or NACA) and the military services. It was con-
ceived near the end of World War II to perform flight studies with a series of specially-constructed research aircraft in the
then-unexplored transonic to low-supersonic characteristics of full-scale aircraft in flight.
Although supersonic flight was first achieved in 1947, further research in the program resulted in notable increases in
knowledge about the dynamics of piloted flight in winged aircraft at speeds up to and in excess of 4,500 miles per hour
and at altitudes up to and greater than 350,000 feet.
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Yeager was also the pilot when the X-1 reached its maxi-
Two general categories of aircraft were obtained for the mum speed, 957 mph. Another Air Force pilot, Lt. Col.
research airplane program: (1) those needed to explore new Frank Everest Jr., was credited with taking the X-1 to its
areas of performance, such as the X-1, D-558-1, D-558-2, maximum altitude of 71,902 feet. Eighteen pilots in all flew
X-1A, X-1B, X-1E, X-2, and X-15; and (2) those required the X-1s. The number three plane was destroyed in a fire
to investigate the effects of different airplane configura- before making any powered flights.
tions, such as the X-3, X-4, X-5, XF-92, and the XB-70.
A single-place monoplane, the X-1 was 30 feet, 11 inches
The outstanding contributions of this research program long; 10 feet, 10 inches high; and had a wingspan of 29
include providing important information on previously feet. It weighed 6,784 pounds and carried 6,250 pounds of
unexplored aircraft characteristics; validating the transonic- fuel. It had a flush cockpit with a side entrance and no
supersonic characteristics predicted by wind-tunnel tests ejection seat.
and analytical techniques; and the intangible benefit of
providing confidence in the achievement of safe, control- D-558-1, 1947-1953
lable, transonic-supersonic flight. A single-place, straight-wing, jet-powered aircraft, the D-
558-1 "Skystreak" was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft
X-1, 1946-1951 Company for a joint Navy/NACA flight research program.
The first of the rocket-powered research aircraft, the X-1 It was designed to investigate jet-aircraft characteristics at
(originally designated the XS-1), was a bullet-shaped airpl transonic speeds, including stability and control and buffet
investigations.
e that was built by the Bell Aircraft Company for the U.S.
Air Force and the NACA. The mission of the X-1 was to
X-4, 1950-1953
The X-4, a single-place, swept-wing, semi-tailless aircraft
was designed and built by the Northrop Aircraft Compnay
for NACA. 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.
The two X-4 aircraft were 23 feet long, 14 feet high, and X-5 in flight. NASA photo E-17351.
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from these tests provided some of the design background gate the design features of an aircraft suitable for sustained
for the F-111 and the Navy F-14 tactical aircraft. supersonic speeds.
The first flight was completed on June 20, 1951, with Jean
Ziegler, a Bell test pilot, at the controls.
X-3 in flight NASA photo E-17348.
Results of the research program verified NASA wind-
tunnel predictions for the reduced drag and improved Douglas Aircraft built the only model of the X-3 ever
performance resulting from increasing the wing sweep as produced. It was 66 feet, 9 inches long; 12 feet, 6 inches
the aircraft approached the speed of sound. Even the high; and had a wingspan of 22 feet, 8 inches. Two
unfortunate spinning characteristics of the X-5 yielded a Westinghouse J34 turbojets, equipped with afterburners,
wealth of data for determining poor aircraft spin design. powered the X-3. It was capable of takeoff and landing
under its own power.
XF-92A, 1951-1953
The top speed of the aircraft was just under the speed of
sound. A secondary purpose of the X-3 was to test new
materials such as titanium, and it also contributed to the
development of aircraft tire technology.
The XF-92A was built by the Consolidated Vultee Aircraft X-1A in flight over lakebed. NASA photo E-2490.
Company (Convair). Stability and control, pitch-up, and
lift/drag measurements obtained from the XF-92A helped before it made any research flights. On Dec. 12, 1953,
build up the technology that was used to develop such Yeager flew the X-1A up to a speed of 1,612 mph (almost
delta-wing aircraft as the F-102, F-106, B-58 and other two-and-a-half times the speed of sound). Then on Aug. 26,
high-performance aircraft. 1954, Major Arthur Murray took the X-1A up to an altitude
of 90,440 feet. Those two performances were the records
X-3, 1953-1955 for the X-1 program. Later the X-1A was also destroyed
after being jettisoned from the carrier aircraft because of an
A single-place jet aircraft, the X-3 had a slender fuselage explosion.
and a long tapered nose. Its primary mission was to investi-
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pounds. Two X-2s were made for NACA and the Air Force
by Bell Aircraft. They were air launched from a B-50
carrier aircraft.
X-2, 1954-1956
The X-2 was a swept-wing aircraft designed to fly three
times as fast as the speed of sound. It was flown to investi-
gate the problems of aerodynamic heating and stability and
control effectiveness at high speeds and altitudes.
X-15, 1959-1968
X-2 in flight. NASA photo E-2822. The X-15 was a rocket-powered aircraft roughly 50 feet
The X-2 was powered by an XLR25-CW two-chambered long with a wingspan of 22 feet in its original configura-
rocket engine. The Curtiss-Wright-manufactured engine tion. The no. 2 aircraft was later modified to become the
was throttleable and had a thrust of from 2,500 to 15,000 X-15A-2.
First flown in 1959, the three X-15 aircraft made a total of flight. The remainder of the normal 10- to 11-minute flight
199 flights. Flight maximums of 354,200 feet in altitude was without power and ended with a 200-mph glide
and a speed of 4,520 mph were obtained. The final flight landing.
The X-15 research aircraft was developed to provide in- The fastest speed with tanks was 4,520 mph (Mach 6.7) on
flight information and data on aerodynamics, structures, flight 2-53-97 with pilot William Knight (taking place on
flight controls, and the physiological aspects of high-speed, Oct. 3, 1967).
high-altitude flight. The aircraft was later used as a testbed
to carry various scientific experiments beyond the Earth's The highest altitude was 354,200 feet (67 miles) on flight
atmosphere. 3-22-36 (taking place on Aug. 22, 1963).
For flight in the dense air of the lower atmosphere, the X- The total distance flown was 41,763.8 miles (statute).
15 used conventional aerodynamic controls such as vertical
stabilizers to control yaw and horizontal stabilizers to The total flights of the X-15 was 199 between 1959 and
control pitch when moving in synchronization, or roll when 1968.
moved differentially.
Hours above Mach (cumulative):
For flight in the thin air outside of the appreciable Earth's
atmosphere, the X-15 used a reaction control system. Eight • Mach 1-18 hours, 16 minutes, and 28 seconds;
hydrogen peroxide thrust rockets located on the nose of the • Mach 2-12 hours, 10 minutes, and 44 seconds;
aircraft provided pitch and yaw control. Four of them on • Mach 3-8 hours, 51 minutes, and 33 seconds;
the wings (two on each wing) furnished roll control. • Mach 4-5 hours, 58 minutes, and 52 seconds;
• Mach 5-1 hours, 25 minutes, and 33 seconds;
Because the X-15 consumed a large amount of fuel, it was • Mach 6-1 minutes and 18 seconds.
air launched from a B-52 aircraft at 45,000 feet and a speed
of about 500 mph. Depending on the mission, the rocket Total: 30 hours, 14 minutes, 57.2 seconds
engine provided thrust for the first 80 to 120 seconds of
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XB-70, 1966-1969 stability. The airplane had two windshields. A moveable
outer windshield was raised for high-speed flight to reduce
The XB-70 was the world's largest experimental aircraft. It drag and lowered for greater visibility during takeoff and
was capable of flight at speeds of three times the speed of landing. The forward fuselage was constructed of riveted
sound (roughly 2,000 mph) at altitudes of 70,000 feet. It titanium frames and skin. The remainder of the airplane
was used to collect in-flight information for use in the was constructed almost entirely of stainless steel. The skin
design of future supersonic aircraft, military and civilian. was a brazed stainless-steel honeycomb material. Six
General Electric YJ93-3 turbojet engines, each in the
30,000-pound-thrust class, powered the XB-70. Internal
geometry of the inlets was controllable to maintain the
most efficient airflow to the engines.
Designed by Rockwell International, the XB-70 had a long * Subsonic, 145 hr and 28 min;
fuselage with a canard or horizontal stabilizer mounted just * Mach 1-2, 55 hr and 50 min;
behind the crew compartment. It had a sharply swept 65.6- * Mach 2-3, 49 hr and 32 min;
percent delta wing. The outer portion of the wing could be * Mach 3, 1 hr and 48 min.
folded down in flight to provide greater lateral-directional