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Description
| Manufacturer: | North American | |
| Base model: | X-15 | |
| Designation: | X-15 | |
| Version: | A | |
| Designation System: | U.S. Air Force | |
| Designation Period: | 1948-Present | |
| Basic role: | Research | |
| First Flew: | 1959/06/08 | |
Specifications
| Length: | 50' 3" | 15.3 m | |
| Height: | 11' 7" | 3.5 m | |
| Wingspan: | 22' 4" | 6.8 m | |
| Empty Weight: | 11,374 lb | 5,158 kg | |
| Gross Weight: | 31,275 lb | 14,183 kg | |
Propulsion
| No. of Engines: | 1 | ||
| Powerplant: | Reaction Motors YLR-99 rocket engine | ||
| Thrust (each): | 50,000 lb | 22,675 kg | |
Performance
| Range: | 275 miles | 442 km | |
| Max Speed: | 4,104 mph | 6,608 km/h | 3,571 kt |
| Ceiling: | 314,750 ft | 95,931 m | |
Known serial numbers
Examples of this type may be found at
| Museum | City | State |
| Air Force Flight Test Center Museum | Edwards AFB | California |
| NASA Dryden Flight Research Facility - Visitor Center | Edwards | California |
| National Air and Space Museum | Washington | Dist of Col |
X-15A on display
Air Force Flight Test Center Museum | NASA Dryden Flight Research Facility - Visitor Center | National Air and Space Museum |
Recent comments by our visitors
| Jim Price Kilmarnock, VA | This aircraft once took it's pilot to over 4500 MPH. It flew above Mach 6 06/24/2014 @ 09:07 [ref: 68524] |
| Craig Clary Anderson, SC | When I used to live in Hemet, California, I was at one time a volunteer for the March Field Air Museum and part of the Adopt-an-Aircraft Program, I adopted the Museum's UH-1F Huey Helicopter s/n 63-13143, I didn't know it until later on, but I found out that this special UH-1F Huey was at one time one of the support aircraft for the X-15 Test Flight Program, it has recently been re-painted in camo colors by the the March Field Air Museum's Aircraft Restoration Manager Mr. Rudy Lerma and his Restoration Team, stop by the Museum sometime and take a look at it. 01/28/2011 @ 15:16 [ref: 35892] |
| Lou Varricchio Middlebury, VT | I am searching for NACA or USAF documents relating to the mid-1950s proposed (and quickly abandoned) orbital X-15B. The plan was to launch and orbit a beefed-up version of the X-15 on the back of a Navaho rocket. Any suggestions where to look? 11/25/2006 @ 04:03 [ref: 14840] |
| Charles (JetWhiz) , FL | It seems that X-15A-2 should have a ceiling of 314,750ft while X-15A should have the 354,200ft ceiling -- not the other way around. X-15 ship 3 was the only one to reach 354,200ft.
take a look at my website: http://GlobalAircraft.tripod.com ~JetWhiz 07/13/2001 @ 08:24 [ref: 2658] |
| Dan Cunningham Tulsa, OK | The X-15 remains a constant reminder to me on how the U.S. 'kicked butt' to build and fly the fastest aircraft in the world during that time. It was a cornerstone to me knowing that, even though we lived under a constant nuclear threat, we had provisions that may not have been defendable, therefor, patterning a significant theory to uphold our (U.S.) way of life. What can I say? I wish I could've strapped into one of those...or maybe a[n] X-14...do you recall that one? 06/27/2001 @ 22:31 [ref: 2538] |
| Jon Berndt League City, TX | I have a web page devoted to the X-15 at:
http://www.hal-pc.org/~jsb/X-15.html There are lots of links to technical papers, as well as aero data and vehicle characteristics. The X-15 is my test case for the flight dynamics model I am writing (JSBSim) for the open source flight simulator called FlightGear (www.flightgear.org). 06/02/2000 @ 11:27 [ref: 260] |
Recent photos uploaded by our visitors
