X-plane

This article is about the X-series of experimental aircraft. For other uses, see Xplane (disambiguation).The X-planes are a series of experimental United States airplanes and helicopters (and some rockets) used for the testing and evaluation of new technologies and aerodynamic concepts. Some members of the series have been well publicised, while others, such as the X-16 project, have been developed in secrecy. The first of the X-planes, the Bell X-1, became well known as, in 1947, it was the first aircraft to break the sound barrier in level flight. Later X-planes yielded important research results in a multitude of aerodynamic and technical fields, but only the North American X-15 rocket plane of the early 1960s achieved comparable fame to that of the X-1. X-planes 7 through 12 were actually missiles, and some other vehicles were unpiloted. Most X-planes are not expected to go into full-scale production, however an exception to the rule was the Lockheed Martin X-35, which competed against the Boeing X-32 in a fly-off as part of the Joint Strike Fighter Program, and has entered into production as the F-35. Most of the X-planes have been operated by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) or, later, the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA), often in conjunction with the United States Air Force. However, not all US experimental aircraft have been designated in the X-plane series; some received U.S. Navy designations prior to 1962, while others have been known only by manufacturers' designations, non-'X'-series designations, or classified codenames. List of X-planes, NameManufacturer, AgencyImageMaiden flightPurpose and Notes X-1 Bell Aircraft, USAF, NACA January 19, 1946 High-speed and high-altitude testing., First aircraft to break the sound barrier., Proved aerodynamic viability of thin wing sections. X-2, "Starbuster" Bell Aircraft, USAF June 27, 1952 High-speed and high-altitude testing., First aircraft to exceed Mach 3. X-3, Stiletto Douglas Aircraft, USAF, NACA October 27, 1952 Titanium alloy construction; low aspect ratio wings., Planned to test long-duration high-speed flight., Incapable of reaching design speed, but Provided insights into inertia coupling. X-4, Bantam Northrop, USAF, NACA December 15, 1948 Evaluated handling characteristics of tailless aircraft in the transonic speed region. X-5 Bell Aircraft, USAF, NACA June 20, 1951 First aircraft to fly with variable geometry wings. X-6 Convair, USAF, AEC Not flown Modified Convair B-36 for study of Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion; not built., NB-36H testbed tested reactor. X-7, "Flying Stove Pipe" Lockheed, Tri-service April 1951 High-speed testbed for ramjet engines. X-8, Aerobee Aerojet, NACA, USAF, USN Upper air research vehicle and sounding rocket. X-9, Shrike Bell Aircraft, USAF April 1949 Guidance and propulsion technology testbed., Assisted development of GAM-63 Rascal missile. X-10 North American Aviation, USAF October 13, 1953 Testbed for SM-64 Navajo missile. X-11 Convair, USAF June 11, 1957 Testbed for SM-65 Atlas missile. X-12 Convair, USAF July, 1958 Advanced testbed for SM-65 Atlas missile. X-13, Vertijet Ryan Aeronautical, USAF, USN December 10, 1955 Vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) testbed., Evaluated tailsitting configuration for VTOL flight. X-14 Bell Aircraft, USAF, NASA February 19, 1957 VTOL testbed., Examined the vectored thrust configuration for VTOL flight. X-15 North American Aviation, USAF, NASA June 8, 1959 Hypersonic (Mach 6), high-altitude (350,000 feet (110,000 m)) testing., First manned hypersonic aircraft; capable of suborbital spaceflight. X-16 Bell Aircraft, USAF Never flew High-altitude reconnaissance aircraft project., "X-16" designation used as cover story. X-17 Lockheed, USAF, USN April 1956 Tested the effects of high Mach number reentry. X-18 Hiller Aircraft, USAF, USN November 24, 1959 VTOL/Short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) testbed., Evaluated the tiltwing concept for VTOL flight. X-19 Curtiss-Wright, Tri-service November 1963 Tandem tiltrotor VTOL transport testbed., XC-143 designation proposed. X-20, Dyna-Soar Boeing, USAF Never built Reusable spaceplane for military missions. X-21 Northrop, USAF April 18, 1963 Boundary layer control testbed. X-22 Bell Aircraft, Tri-service March 17, 1966 Quad ducted fan tiltrotor STOVL testbed. X-23, PRIME Martin Marietta, USAF December 21, 1966 Manuvering atmospheric reentry effects testbed., Note: Designation never officially assigned. X-24 Martin Marietta, USAF, NASA , August 1, 1973 Low-speed lifting body handling testbed., Lifting body aerodynamic shape trials. X-25 Benson, USAF December 6, 1955 Light autogyro for emergency use by downed pilots. X-26, Frigate Schweizer, DARPA, US Army, USN , 1967 , Training glider for yaw-roll coupling, Quiet observation aircraft testbed. X-27 Lockheed Never flew High performance fighter prototype. X-28, Sea Skimmer Osprey Aircraft, USN August 12, 1970 Inexpensive aerial policing seaplane testbed. X-29 Grumman, DARPA, USAF, NASA 1984 Forward-swept wing testbed. X-30, NASP Rockwell, NASA, DARPA, USAF Never built Single stage to orbit spaceplane prototype. X-31 Rockwell, DARPA, USAF, BdV 1990 Thrust vectoring supermaneuverability testbed., ESTOL testbed. X-32 Boeing, USAF, USN, RAF September 2000 Joint Strike Fighter prototype. X-33, Venture Star Lockheed Martin, NASA Prototype never completed Half-scale reusable launch vehicle prototype. X-34 Orbital Sciences, NASA Never flew Reusable unmanned spaceplane testbed. X-35 Lockheed Martin, USAF, USN, RAF 2000 Joint Strike Fighter prototype. X-36 McDonnell Douglas/Boeing, NASA May 17, 1997 28% scale tailless fighter testbed. X-37 Boeing, USAF, NASA April 7, 2006 (drop test), April 22, 2010 (orbital flight) Reusable orbital spaceplane. X-38 Scaled Composites, NASA 1999 Lifting body Crew Return Vehicle demonstrator. X-39 Unknown, USAF Classified Unknown Future Aircraft Technology Enhancements (FATE) program., Note: Designation never officially assigned. X-40 Boeing, USAF, NASA August 11, 1998 80% scale Space Maneuver Vehicle testbed., X-37 prototype. X-41 Unknown, USAF Classified Unknown Maneuvering re-entry vehicle. X-42 Unknown, USAF Classified Unknown Expendable liquid propellant upper stage rocket. X-43, Hyper-X Microcraft, NASA June 2, 2001 Scramjet hypersonic testbed. X-44, MANTA Lockheed Martin, USAF, NASA Cancelled F-22-based Multi-Axis No-Tail Aircraft thrust vectoring testbed. X-45 Boeing, DARPA, USAF , May 22, 2002 Unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator. X-46 Boeing, DARPA, USN Cancelled Naval UCAV demonstrator. X-47A Pegasus, X-47B Northrop Grumman, DARPA, USN February 23, 2003 Naval UCAV demonstrator. X-48 Boeing, NASA July 20, 2007 Blended Wing Body (BWB) testbed. X-49, Speedhawk Piasecki Aircraft, US Army July 29, 2007 Compound helicopter, Vectored Thrust Ducted Propeller (VTDP) testbed. X-50, Dragonfly Boeing, DARPA 24 November 2003 Canard Rotor/Wing testbed. X-51, Waverider Boeing, USAF 26 May 2010 Hypersonic scramjet demonstrator. X-52 Number skipped to avoid confusion with B-52. X-53 Boeing Phantom Works, NASA, USAF November 2002 Active Aeroelastic Wing testbed. X-54 Gulfstream Aerospace, NASA Future Supersonic transport testbed. X-55 Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, USAF 100px June 2, 2009 Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft (ACCA)., Molded composite fuselage and empennage testbed.

Source: Wikipedia

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