|
Experimental
Aircraft
|
|
|
| In
the broadest sense of the term, every airplane begins as an experimental
model. Many are successfully flight
tested, debugged and put into production. Except for the XP-59,
this section includes airplanes that generally never went past
the prototypes or into widespread production. All are remarkable for the legend
they left behind. .The aircraft in this section are historic. For
contemporary Experimental Planes,
Click Here |
|
Dornier Do-X -
Enormous
12 engine seaplane that flew around the world
|
|
Spruce Goose -
Howard
Hughes' enormous seaplane.
|
|
D-558 Skystreak
set a new world speed record
of 640 mph in 1947 See notes below. |
|
Bell X-2 -
First airplane to fly three
time speed of sound.
|
|
Douglas X-3
- used to test new materials
and supersonic maneuvers |
|
Northrop X-4 Bantam
- tested semi-tailless
aircraft at high subsonic speeds |
|
Bell X-5
- First airplane to vary the
sweepback of its wings in flight.
|
|
Northrop XB-49 Flying
Wing
-
Design
was resurrected 40 years later to become the B-2 Stealth Bomber.
|
|
Grumann XP-59A Airacomet -
America's first jet-powered airplane |
|
North American XB-70
Valkyrie - USAF
Mach 3 Bomber. |
|
Convair XF-92 -
First jet aircraft to fly
using the radical delta-wing configuration |
|
North American X-15 -
Used to explore the edge of space. Provided data for space
shuttle design. |
|
In
our Milestones of Flights Collection, see |
| X-1
- First Airplane to break the sound barrier. |
|
Douglas D-558-2 - First plane
to fly twice the speed of sound |
|
For
contemporary Experimental Planes,
Click Here. |
