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Description
| Manufacturer: | Bell |
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| Base model: | X-1 | ||
| Designation: | X-1 | ||
| Equivalent to: | XS-1 XS1XS-1 | ||
| Designation System: | U.S. Air Force | ||
| Designation Period: | 1948-Present | ||
| Basic role: | Research | ||
| Crew: | Pilot | ||
| First Flew: | 1946/12/09 | ||
| See Also: | |||
Specifications
| Length: | 30.9' | 9.4 m | |
| Height: | 10.85' | 3.3 m | |
| Wingspan: | 28' | 8.5 m | |
| Wingarea: | 130.0 sq ft | 12.0 sq m | |
| Empty Weight: | 7,000 lb | 3,174 kg | |
| Gross Weight: | 12,225 lb | 5,555 kg | |
| Max Weight: | 12,250 lb | 5,557 kg | |
Propulsion
| No. of Engines: | 1 | ||
| Powerplant: | Reaction Motors XLR11-RM3 rocket engine | ||
| Thrust (each): | 6,000 lb | 2,721 kg | |
Performance
| Max Speed: | 957 mph | 1,541 km/h | 832 kt |
| Ceiling: | 71,902 ft | 21,915 m | |
History
| Date | Subject | Event |
| 1947/10/14 | The Bell X-1, flown by test pilot Captain Charles 'Chuck' Yeager, broke the sound barrier for the first time, reaching Mach 1.015 (670mph). | |
| 1948/03/26 | A Bell X-1 was flown by Capt. Charles 'Chuck' Yeager to a new altitude record of 64,0000 ft. |
Known serial numbers
Examples of this type may be found at
| Museum | City | State |
| National Air and Space Museum | Washington | Dist of Col |
| The Air Museum "Planes of Fame" | Chino | California |
X-1 on display
National Air and Space Museum | The Air Museum "Planes of Fame" |
Recent comments by our visitors
| Bill Connally , TN | Had it not been for the Brits we Americans would not have possessed a jet engine until wars end when we were able to examine caputered German examples. Thanks Frank Whittle.
The Russians would have lagged years behind the rest of the world had it not been for the Brits 'gift' of the best engine in the world at the time, which they built under license. So both nations owe the Brits a great deal...a little humility and recognition would be nice. 06/20/2007 @ 07:49 [ref: 16891] |
| Ian Hunt Chester, NS | snatched from the Brits? you did not have to snatch anything we presented our technology to you on a plate! Presumably the F86 had a jet engine? And as for the space programme, your boss German scientist tested it all on our cities and population. 05/18/2007 @ 08:31 [ref: 16511] |
| Chris Vicksburg, MS | Lots of p-o'd brits out there. I guess the F-86, F-4, X-15, American Apollo Space Program, SR-71, space shuttle, F-15, F-16, F-22, and every other successful american program were snatched from the brits by the beady-eyed americans too, huh? 01/07/2007 @ 12:35 [ref: 15124] |
| Paul Kidger Stowmarket. Suffolk, AB | (Sorry I'm not in alberta but had to enter something in order to overcome the error message)
I was brought up overlooking F G Miles, then at Shoreham airport in the 1950's. For such a small firm they really were at the forefront of innovative aerodynamics and I remember all sorts of experimental aircraft flying around. I don't think there is any doubt that our Min of Aviation pulled the plug on the project and ordered that all the data handed over to Bell (or whoever), who had been collaborating up to that point. I believe one reason was the scientific work coming out of captured German sources suggesting that the only route to high speed aviation was with using swept wings, i.e. believe the German sources rather than the small outfit in the UK.A very good BBC-2 television programme a few years ago featured the original F G Miles design engineer. Apparently against MoA instruction, a small 1/3 scale model was tried, powered by a peroxide rocket and achieved 1000 mph without problem but was lost into the sea. Interstingly the French also built a research aircraft incorporating some of the Miles features. The Leduc 021 had a jetisonable pilots cabin located at the centre of an annular air inlet for the engine. I'm not sure of the fully moving tail surfaces though. The plan diagrams suggest conventional elevators, but this may have been artistic license. Paul Kidger 11/20/2006 @ 07:30 [ref: 14791] |
| Paul Kidger Stowmarket. Suffolk, AB | (Sorry I'm not in alberta but had to enter something in order to overcome the error message)
I was brought up overlooking F G Miles, then at Shoreham airport in the 1950's. For such a small firm they really were at the forefront of innovative aerodynamics and I remember all sorts of experimental aircraft flying around. I don't think there is any doubt that our Min of Aviation pulled the plug on the project and ordered that all the data handed over to Bell (or whoever), who had been collaborating up to that point. I believe one reason was the scientific work coming out of captured German sources suggesting that the only route to high speed aviation was with using swept wings, i.e. believe the German sources rather than the small outfit in the UK.A very good BBC-2 television programme a few years ago featured the original F G Miles design engineer. Apparently against MoA instruction, a small 1/3 scale model was tried, powered by a peroxide rocket and achieved 1000 mph without problem but was lost into the sea. Interstingly the French also built a research aircraft incorporating some of the Miles features. The Leduc 021 had a jetisonable pilots cabin located at the centre of an annular air inlet for the engine. I'm not sure of the fully moving tail surfaces though. The plan diagrams suggest conventional elevators, but this may have been artistic license. Paul Kidger 11/20/2006 @ 07:30 [ref: 14790] |
| The Hun In The Sun Beware of The Hun In The Sun, OTH | In 1942 the Air Ministry and the Ministry of Aviation approached Miles Aircraft with a top-secret contract for a turbojet research plane designed to reach supersonic speeds. Designed to meet specification E.24/43, which called for an aeroplane capable of flying over 1,000 mph (more than twice as fast as any that had flown previously in level flight). The Miles M.52 had many advanced features such as the ultra-thin BI-convex wings , an annular air intake, an all-moving tailplane (which was built and tested on the Miles \"Gillette Falcon\" in 1943) and a complete escape capsule for the pilot. The engine was to be a Power Jet W2/700 with afterburner and a specially ducted fan to increase the airflow.
In a reciprocal agreement with the Americans, the British Government let them have all the information regarding the M.52 in 1944, in exchange for open excess to the US high speed program. The USA renegued on this agreement much to the dismay of the Miles Co. However three prototypes were ordered in 1944, with the first of these being started in 1945. But with a Treasury savings measure by the Labor Government, the then Director of Scientific Research, Sir Ben Lockspeiser, canceled the project in February 1946 \"in view of the unknown hazards near the speed of sound\" with over 50% of the construction finished. 02/09/2006 @ 10:26 [ref: 12442] |
| Chris Christiansen , AZ | Competitors in technologies have historically been hesitant to attribute credit to anyone else, and most great achievments are the result of someone building on top of someone else's work. This is generally true in aviation...
contentions go back as far as the battle between the Wright Brothers and Glen Curtiss concerning control systems. As far as the relationship between Miles and Bell, I'd bet that some guy in say...Romania, came up with the flying tail concept ten years before anyone ever used it ! 01/23/2006 @ 14:00 [ref: 12245] |
| martin norris newcastle, AK | an article on the bell aircraft i can only hope historians will sift out the truth about the contribution of the miles aircraft company uk, and the underhand tactics of the bell corporation.Chuck yeager great man but a bit stupid,either he new nothing of the planes origins (unlikely)especially the flying tail or he is a cheat and not a gentlemen> He still claims europe new nothing of the flying tail, when the not so glamerous glennis was first tested the flying tail fixed in place because the bell corporation had just simply copied the miles designs in a hurry and did not know it could be released.Shame on the bell corperation and chucks feet are made of clay too any way nice rocket german design i think! 10/22/2005 @ 11:46 [ref: 11541] |
| Willy Logan Norman, OK | The model of the Bell X-1 at the Planes of Fame Museum (used for filming The Right Stuff) is no longer on display. It was nowhere to be found when I visited in 2003 and again in 2005. Does anyone know what happened to it? 09/07/2005 @ 13:33 [ref: 11172] |
| brit , BC | As again, another British product with an American flag slapped on it, re-sold to the world, as the all mighty and powerful US tech know-how. 06/29/2005 @ 16:15 [ref: 10625] |
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