X-plane
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- This article is about experimental aircraft. For the flight simulator, see X-Plane.
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The X-planes are a series of experimental United States aircraft (and some rockets) used for testing of new technologies and usually kept highly secret during development.
The first of these, the Bell X-1, became well-known as the first plane to break the sound barrier, which it did in 1947. Later X-planes yielded important research results, but only the North American X-15 rocket plane of the early 1960s achieved comparable fame. X-planes 7 through 12 were actually missiles, and some other vehicles were unpiloted. Most X-planes are not expected to ever go into full-scale production, and usually only a few are produced. One exception is the Lockheed Martin X-35, which competed against the Boeing X-32 to become the Joint Strike Fighter.
X-plane projects are still underway as of 2004.
- Bell X-1 - rocket plane, first supersonic flight
- Bell X-2 - swept wing supersonic rocket plane
- Douglas X-3 Stiletto - needle-like supersonic aircraft
- Northrop X-4 Bantam - semi-tailless aircraft
- Bell X-5 - in-flight wing sweeping aircraft
- Convair X-6 - nuclear-powered aircraft
- Lockheed X-7 - ramjet missile
- Aerojet General X-8 - sounding rocket
- Bell X-9 Shrike - surface-to-air guided missile prototype
- North American X-10 - surface-to-surface missile demonstrator
- Convair X-11 - testbed for Atlas rocket
- Convair X-12 - testbed for Atlas rocket
- Ryan X-13 Vertijet - VTOL jet aircraft
- Bell X-14 - VTOL aircraft
- North American X-15 - rocket plane
- Bell X-16 - high altitude reconnaissance aircraft
- Lockheed X-17 - rocket test of high-mach reentry
- Hiller X-18 - tiltwing STOVL transport
- Curtiss-Wright X-19 - tiltrotor VTOL transport
- Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar - early spaceplane
- Northrop X-21 - wings with laminar flow control
- Bell X-22 - tiltrotor V/STOL transport
- Martin-Marietta X-23 - lifting body
- Martin-Marietta X-24 - lifting body
- Bensen X-25 - autogyro
- Schweizer X-26 Frigate - sailplane
- Lockheed X-27 - lightweight fighter
- Pereira X-28 Sea Skimmer - inexpensive single-seat flying boat
- Grumman X-29 - fighter with forward-swept wings
- Rockwell X-30 - spaceplane ("National Aerospace Plane" or "NASP")
- Rockwell-MBB X-31 - thrust vectoring fighter
- Boeing X-32 - Joint Strike Fighter prototype
- Lockheed Martin X-33 - reusable launch vehicle demonstrator ("VentureStar")
- Orbital Sciences X-34 - unmanned spaceplane testbed
- Lockheed Martin X-35 - Joint Strike Fighter prototype, now F-35
- McDonnell Douglas X-36 - tailless fighter
- Boeing X-37 - spaceplane ("Future-X")
- X-38 - lifting body demonstrators for the Crew Return Vehicle
- X-39 - unused designation reserved for Future Aircraft Technology Enhancements programme
- Boeing X-40 - scaled-down prototype of X-37
- X-41 Common Aero Vehicle - classified military spaceplane
- X-42 Pop-Up Upper Stage - classified liquid-fueled rocket
- Boeing X-43 - hypersonic scramjet test ("Hyper-X")
- Lockheed Martin X-44 MANTA - tailless fighter
- Boeing X-45 - UCAV demonstrator
- Boeing X-46 - UCAV demonstrator
- Northrop Grumman X-47 Pegasus - UCAV demonstrator
- Boeing X-48 - blended wing body flying wing
- Sikorsky Piasecki X-49 - thrust vectoring helicopter
- Boeing X-50 Dragonfly - canard rotor/wing demonstrator (airplane/helicopter hybrid)
See also
- Experimental aircraft
- List of experimental aircraft
- List of military aircraft of the United States
- X-plane gallery
Reference
- Jay Miller, The X-Planes: X-1 to X-45 (Motorbooks International, 2001)
External link
- Early X-planes (http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Evolution_of_Technology/early_X_planes/Tech27.htm)
- American X-Vehicles: An Inventory X-1 to X-50, SP-2000-4531 - June 2003; NASA online PDF Monograph (http://history.nasa.gov/monograph31.pdf)