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Topic Last Updated on 12-07-2024
In the American aircraft designation system, it is customary for pilot projects to be assigned the letter “X.” New aviation technologies and aerodynamic concepts are tested and evaluated on these machines. NASA conducts numerous X-projects with the US Air Force, and tests of X-aircraft are usually held at the Edwards Air Force Base in California.
Many experimental aircraft will never enter mass use, but if a series of flight tests are successful, technological solutions will be introduced individually into production. Moreover, throughout the history of NASA, some projects were so successful that they were completely transferred to production, such as the Lockheed Martin X-35, also known as F-35.
Although some X-models are classified as aircraft, they are, in fact, rockets: X-8, X-9, X-11, X-12, and X-17. The teams behind these projects hope that the revolutionary technologies they are developing will, over time, make space travel as commonplace as flying on an airplane. Let’s look at NASA’s most impressive X-planes.
Aircraft - Douglas X-3
Key feature: This aircraft was designed to fly at supersonic speeds. For the first time, titanium was used to make the main components.
Date of first flight: October 15, 1952
Quantity: 1
X-36
Key feature: This aircraft does not have a traditional tail, which reduces its weight and flight resistance. It is also less visible to radar detection.
Date of forst flight: May 17, 1997
Quantity: 2
BELL X-1
Key feature: The first crewed aircraft to exceed the speed of sound in horizontal flight.
Date of forst flight: January 19, 1946
Quantity: 7
X-24B
Key feature: This model is designed to test the concept of using an aircraft body for landing, which was subsequently used in space shuttles.
Date of forst flight: August 1, 1973
Quantity: 1
