caption = X-1 #46-062, nicknamed "Glamorous Glennis"Infobox aircraft type
type = rocket plane , Experimental Aircraft
manufacturer = Bell Aircraft
designer =
first flight = 19 January 1946
introduced =
retired =
status = Retired
primary user = United States Air Force
more users = National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
produced =
number built =
unit cost =
variants with their own articles =
The Bell X-1 , originally designated XS-1 , was a joint National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics|NACA - U.S. Army / US Air Force supersonic research project built by Bell Aircraft . Conceived in 1944 and designed and built over 1945, it eventually reached nearly 1,000 mph (1,609 km/h) in 1948. A derivative of this same design, the Bell X-1 #X-1A|Bell X-1A , having greater fuel capacity and thus longer engine-burn time, exceeded 1,600 mph (2,574 km/h) in 1954. The X-1 was the first aircraft to exceed the speed of sound in controlled, level flight, and was the first of the so-called X-plane (aircraft)|X-plane s, an United States of America|American series of experimental aircraft designated for testing of new technologies and usually kept highly secret.
Design and development
On 16 March 1945, the United States Army Air Forces' Flight Test Division and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) (now National Aeronautics and Space Administration|NASA ) contracted Bell Aircraft to build three XS-1 (for "Experimental, Supersonic", later X-1) aircraft to obtain flight data on conditions in the transonic speed range.Miller 2001, p. 15.
The X-1 was in principle a "bullet with wings", its shape closely resembled the .50 BMG|Browning .50-caliber (12.7& nbsp;mm) machine gun bullet that was known to be stable in supersonic flight.Yeager et al. 1997, p. 14. The pattern shape was followed to the point of seating the pilot behind a sloped, framed window inside a confined cockpit in the nose, with no ejection seat. After the aircraft ran into compressibility problems in 1947, it was modified to feature a variable-incidence tailplane . An all-moving tail was developed by the British for the Miles M.52 , and first saw actual transonic flight on the Bell X-1 that allowed it to pass through the sound barrier safely.
The rocket propulsion system was a four-chamber engine built by Reaction Motors Inc|Reaction Motors, Inc. , one of the first companies to build liquid-propellant rocket engines in America. It burned ethyl alcohol diluted with water and liquid oxygen. The thrust could be changed in convert|1500|lbf|abbr=on increments by firing one or more of the chambers. The fuel and oxygen tanks for the first two X-1 engines were pressurized with nitrogen and the rest with steam-driven turbopumps. The all-important fuel turbopumps, necessary to raise the chamber pressure and thrust, while lightening the engine, were built by Robert Goddard who was under Navy contract to provide jet-assisted takeoff rockets.Bryner, Glenn. http://sites.google.com/site/rgoddardsite/ "Robert H Goddard: American Space Pioneer." A Tribute to Robert H Goddard--Rocket Scientist and Space Pioneer . Retrieved: 6 August 2011.Miller 2001, p. 2.
Operational history
Bell Aircraft Chief Test pilot|Test Pilot , Jack Woolams became the first to fly the XS-1, in a glide flight over Pinecastle Army Airfield , in Florida, on 25 January 1946. Woolams would complete nine additional glide flights over Pinecastle before March 1946, when the #1 aircraft was returned to Bell for modifications in anticipation of the powered flight tests, planned for Muroc Army Air Field (now Edwards Air Force Base ) in California.Anderson, Clarence E. "Bud". http://www.cebudanderson.com/initialglideflights.htm "Initial Glide Flights." cebudanderson.com . Retrieved: 14 October 2009. Following Woolams' death on 30 August 1946, Chalmers Goodlin|Chalmers "Slick" Goodlin was the primary Bell Aircraft test pilot of X-1-1 (serial 46-062). He made 26 successful flights in both of the X-1 aircraft from September 1946 until June 1947.
The Army Air Force was unhappy with the cautious pace of flight envelope expansion and Bell Aircraft's flight test contract for aircraft #46-062 was terminated and was taken over by the Army Air Force Flight Test Division on 24 June after months of negotiation. Goodlin had demanded a US$150,000 bonus for breaking the sound barrier.Yeager and Janos 1986, p. 96.Wolfe 1979, pp. 52–53.Anderson, Clarence E. "Bud". http://www.cebudanderson.com/aturningpoint.htm "A Turning Point." cebudanderson.com . Retrieved: 14 October 2009. Flight tests of the X-1-2 (serial 46-063) would be conducted by NACA to provide design data for later production high-performance aircraft.
Mach 1 flight
On 14 October 1947, just under a month after the United States Air Force had been created as a separate service, the tests culminated in the first manned supersonic flight, piloted by Air Force Captain (U.S. Air Force)|Captain Chuck Yeager|Charles "Chuck" Yeager in aircraft #46-062, which he had christened Glamorous Glennis after his wife. The rocket -powered aircraft was launched from the bomb bay of a specially modified Boeing B-29 Superfortress|B-29 and glided to a landing on a runway. XS-1 flight number 50 is the first one where the X-1 recorded supersonic flight, at Mach 1.06 (361& nbsp;m/s, 1,299& nbsp;km/h, 807.2& nbsp;mph) peak speed.Hallion, Richard, P. http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20100025896_2010028361.pdf "The NACA, NASA, and the Supersonic-Hypersonic Frontier." NASA. Retrieved: 7 September 2011.
As a result of the X-1's initial supersonic flight, the National Aeronautics Association voted its 1948 Collier Trophy to be shared by the three main participants in the program. Honored at the White House by President Harry S. Truman were Lawrence Dale Bell|Larry Bell for Bell Aircraft, Captain Yeager for piloting the flights, and John Stack (rower)|John Stack for the NACA contributions.
The story of Yeager’s 14 October flight was leaked to a reporter from Aviation Week and Space Technology| Aviation Week , and The Los Angeles Times featured the story as headline news in their 22 December issue. The magazine story was released 20 December. The Air Force threatened legal action against the journalists who revealed the story, but none was ever taken.Powers, Sheryll Goeccke. "Women in Flight Research at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center from 1946 to 1995," Monographs in Aerospace History, Number 6, 1997, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D. C.
On 5 January 1949, Yeager used Aircraft #46-062 to carry out the only conventional (runway) take off performed during the X-1 program, reaching convert|23000|ft|m|abbr=on in 90 seconds.Miller 2001, pp. 21–35.
Legacy
The research techniques used in the X-1 program became the pattern for all subsequent X-craft projects. The NACA X-1 procedures and personnel also helped lay the foundation of America's space program in the 1960s. The X-1 project defined and solidified the post-war cooperative union between U.S. military needs, industrial capabilities, and research facilities. The flight data collected by the NACA in the X-1 tests then proved invaluable to further US fighter design throughout the latter half of the 20th century.
Variants
Later variants of the X-1 were built to test different aspects of supersonic flight; one of these, the X-1A, with Yeager at the controls, inadvertently demonstrated a very dangerous characteristic of fast (Mach 2 plus) supersonic flight: inertia coupling . Only Yeager's skills as an aviator prevented him from dying that day; later Mel Apt would die testing the Bell X-2 under similar circumstances.
X-1A
Ordered by the Air Force on 2 April 1948, the X-1A (serial 48-1384) was intended to investigate aerodynamic phenomena at speeds above Mach& nbsp;2 (681& nbsp;m/s, 2,451& nbsp;km/h) and altitudes greater than 90,000& nbsp;ft (27& nbsp;km), specifically focusing on dynamic stability and air loads. Longer and heavier than the original X-1, with a bubble canopy for better vision, the X-1A was powered by the same Reaction Motors XLR-11 rocket engine. The aircraft first flew, unpowered, on 14& nbsp;February 1953 at Edwards AFB, with the first powered flight on 21& nbsp;February. Both flights were piloted by Bell test pilot Jean "Skip" Ziegler .
After NACA started its high-speed testing with the Douglas Skyrocket , culminating in Scott Crossfield achieving Mach& nbsp;2.005 on 20& nbsp;November 1953, the Air Force started a series of tests with the X-1A, which the test pilot of the series, Chuck Yeager , named "Operation NACA Weep". These culminated on 12& nbsp;December 1953, when Yeager achieved an altitude of convert|74700|ft and a new air speed record of Mach& nbsp;2.44 (equal to 1620& nbsp;mph, 724.5& nbsp;m/s, 2608& nbsp;km/h at that altitude). Unlike Crossfield in the Skyrocket, Yeager achieved that in level flight. Shortly after, the aircraft spun out of control, due to the then not yet understood phenomenon of inertia coupling . The X-1A dropped from maximum altitude to convert|25000|ft, exposing the pilot to accelerations of up to 8g, during which Yeager broke the canopy with his helmet before regaining control.Young, Dr. Jim. http://www.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-080107-018.pdf "Major Chuck Yeager's Flight to Mach 2.44 In the X-1A." AFFTC History Office , Edwards AFB. Retrieved: 14 October 2009.
On 28 May 1954, Maj. Arthur W. Murray piloted the X-1A to a new record of convert|90440|ft.Martin, Douglas |title=Arthur Murray. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/05/us/05murray.html? src=recg "Test Pilot, Is Dead at 92." The New York Times , 4 August 2011. Retrieved: 6 August 2011.
The aircraft was transferred to NACA in September 1954. Following modifications, including the installation of an ejection seat, the aircraft was lost on 8& nbsp;August 1955 while being prepared for launch from the RB-50 mothership, becoming the first of many early X-planes that would be lost to explosions.Miller 2001, p. 21.Thompson, Lance. http://www.ufomind.com/area51/org/afftc/articles/airspace_9502.html "The X-Hunters." Air & Space , February/March 1995, ISSN 0886-2257. Retrieved: 12 March 2008.
X-1B
The X-1B (serial 48-1385) was equipped with aerodynamic heating instrumentation for thermal research (over 300 thermal probes were installed on its surface). It was similar to the X-1A except for having a slightly different wing. The X-1B was used for high speed research by the US Air Force starting from October 1954 prior to being turned over to the NACA in January 1955. NACA continued to fly the aircraft until January 1958 when cracks in the fuel tanks forced its grounding. The X-1B completed a total of 27 flights. A notable achievement was the installation of a system of small reaction rockets used for directional control, making the X-1B the first aircraft to fly with this sophisticated control system, later used in the North American X-15 . The X-1B is now at the National Museum of the United States Air Force , Wright-Patterson Air Force Base at Dayton, Ohio , where it is displayed in the Museum's Research & Development Hangar.
X-1C
The X-1C (serial 48-1387)Baugher, Joe. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/usafserials.html "USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers – 1908 to Present." USAAS/USAAC/USAAF/USAF Aircraft Serials, 20 January 2008. Retrieved: 12 December 2010. was intended to test armaments and munitions in the high transonic and supersonic flight regimes. It was canceled while still in the mock-up stage, as the birth of transonic and supersonic-capable aircraft like the North American F-86 Sabre and the North American F-100 Super Sabre eliminated the need for a dedicated experimental test platform. http://www1.dfrc.nasa.gov/gallery/photo/X-1A/HTML/E-24911.html "Photo number E-24911: X-1A in flight with flight data superimposed." NASA Dryden . Retrieved: 14 October 2009.
X-1D
The X-1D (serial 48-1386) was the first of the second generation of supersonic rocket planes. Flown from an Boeing B-50 Superfortress|EB-50A (s/n #46-006), it was to be used for heat transfer research. The X-1D was equipped with a new low-pressure fuel system and a slightly increased fuel capacity. There were also some minor changes to the avionics set.
On 24 July 1951, with Bell test pilot Jean "Skip" Ziegler at the controls, the X-1D was launched over Rogers Dry Lake , on what was to become the only successful flight of its career. The unpowered glide was completed after a nine-minute descent, but upon landing, the nose gear failed and the aircraft slid ungracefully to a stop. Repairs took several weeks to complete and a second flight was scheduled for mid-August. On 22 August 1951, the X-1D was lost in a fuel explosion during preparations for the first powered flight. The aircraft was destroyed upon impact after it was jettisoned from its EB-50A mothership. http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-082-DFRC.html "Fact Sheet X-1." NASA Dryden Fact Sheet . Retrieved: 12 March 2008.
X-1E
The X-1E was the result of a reconstruction of the X-1-2 (serial 46-063), in order to pursue the goals originally set out for the X-1D and X-1-3 (serial 46-064), both lost in explosions in 1951. The cause of the mysterious explosions was finally traced to the use of Ulmer leather gaskets impregnated with tricresyl phosphate (TCP), a leather treatment, which was used in the liquid oxygen plumbing. TCP becomes unstable and explosive in the presence of pure oxygen and mechanical shock. http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/gallery/Photo/X-1A/HTML/E-24911.html "Photo X-1A # E-24911." NASA, Dryden Collections . Retrieved: 14 October 2009. This mistake cost two lives, caused injuries and lost several aircraft. http://www.air-and-space.com/edwards.htm "Goleta Air & Space Museum." air-and-space.com, Edwards Air Force Base . Retrieved: 14 October 2009.
The changes included:
A turbopump fuel feed system, which eliminated the high-pressure nitrogen fuel system used in '062 and '063. (Concerns about metal fatigue in the nitrogen fuel system resulted in the grounding of the X-1-2 after its 54th flight in its original configuration.) http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-083-DFRC.html "Fact Sheet X-1E." NASA, Dryden Collections . Retrieved: 12 December 2010.
A re-profiled super-thin wing (frac|3|3|8 inches at the Wing root|root ), based on the X-3 Stiletto wing profile, enabling the X-1E to reach Mach 2.
A 'knife-edge' windscreen replaced the original greenhouse glazing, an upward-opening canopy replaced the fuselage-side hatch and allowed the inclusion of an ejection seat .
The addition of 200 pressure ports for aerodynamic data, and 343 strain gauges to measure structural loads and aerodynamic heating along the wing and fuselage.
The X-1E first flew on 15 December 1955, a glide flight under the controls of USAF test pilot Joseph A. Walker|Joe Walker . Walker left the X-1E program in 1958, after 21 flights, attaining a maximum speed of Mach 2.21 (752& nbsp;m/s, 2,704& nbsp;km/h). NACA research pilot John B. McKay took his place in September 1958, completing five flights in pursuit of Mach 3 (1,021& nbsp;m/s, 3,675& nbsp;km/h) before the X-1E was permanently grounded following its 26th flight, in November 1958, due to the discovery of structural cracks in the fuel tank wall.
Survivors
X-1-1, Air Force Serial Number 46-062, is currently on display in the Milestones of Flight gallery of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC , alongside the Spirit of St. Louis and Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne|SpaceShipOne .
X-1B, AF Ser. No. 48-1385, is on display in the Research & Development Hangar at the National Museum of the United States Air Force , Wright-Patterson Air Force Base , Ohio.
X-1E, AF Ser. No. 46-063, is on display in front of the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center headquarters building at Edwards Air Force Base , California.
Specification (Bell X-1)
aircraft specifications
|plane or copter? =plane |jet or prop? =jet
|ref= |crew=1 |length main=30 ft 11 in |length alt=9.4 m |span main=28 ft |span alt=8.5 m |height main=10 ft |height alt=3.3 m |area main=130 ft² |area alt=12 m² |empty weight main=7,000 lb |empty weight alt=3,175 kg |loaded weight main=12,225 lb |loaded weight alt=5,545 kg |max takeoff weight main=12,250 lb |max takeoff weight alt=5,557 kg |more general= |engine (jet)= Reaction Motors Reaction Motors XLR-11|XLR-11-RM3 |type of jet=liquid fuel rocket |number of jets= 1 |thrust main=6,000 lbf (1,500 lbf per chamber) |thrust alt=26.7 kN |afterburning thrust main= |afterburning thrust alt= |max speed main=957 mph (Mach 1.26) |max speed alt=1,541 km/h |range main=5 minutes |range alt= powered endurance |ceiling main=71,900 ft |ceiling alt=21,900 m |climb rate main= |climb rate alt= |loading main=94 lb/ft² |loading alt=463 kg/m² |thrust/weight=0.49 |more performance= |avionics= |armament=
Specification (Bell X-1E)
aircraft specifications
|plane or copter? =plane |jet or prop? =jet
|ref= The X-Planes: X-1 to X-45 |crew=1 |length main= 31 ft |length alt=9.4488 m |span main= 22 ft 10 in |span alt= 6.9596 m |height main= 10 ft 10 in |height alt= 3.3 m |area main= 115 ft² |area alt= 10.684 m² |empty weight main= 6,850 lb |empty weight alt= 3,107.107 kg |loaded weight main= 14,750 lb |loaded weight alt= 6,690.487 kg |max takeoff weight main= |max takeoff weight alt= |more general= |engine (jet)= Reaction Motors Reaction Motors XLR-11|RMI LR-8-RM-5 |type of jet= rocket |number of jets= 1 |thrust main= 6,000 lbf |thrust alt= 26.7 kN |afterburning thrust main= |afterburning thrust alt= |max speed main= 1,450 mph (Mach 2.24) |max speed alt= 2,333.548 km/h |range main= 4 minutes 45 seconds |range alt= (powered endurance) |ceiling main= 90,000+ ft |ceiling alt= 27,432+ m |climb rate main= |climb rate alt= |loading main= |loading alt= |thrust/weight= |more performance= |avionics= |armament=
See also
Portal|United States Air Forceaircontent|related= |similar aircraft=
Miles M.52
|sequence= |lists=
List of experimental aircraft
List of rocket planes
List of X-1 flights
List of X-1A flights
List of X-1B flights
List of X-1D flights
List of X-1E flights
|see also=
Mach number
References
;Notes Reflist|2;Bibliography Refbegin
"Breaking the Sound Barrier." Modern Marvels (TV program) . 2003.
Hallion, Dr. Richard P. "Saga of the Rocket Ships." AirEnthusiast Five , November 1977-February 1978. Bromley, Kent, UK: Pilot Press Ltd., 1977.
Miller, Jay. The X-Planes: X-1 to X-45 . Hinckley, UK: Midland, 2001. ISBN 1-85780-109-1.
Pisano, Dominick A., R. Robert van der Linden and Frank H. Winter. Chuck Yeager and the Bell X-1: Breaking the Sound Barrier . Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (in association with Abrams, New York), 2006. ISBN 0-8109-5535-0.
Winchester, Jim. "Bell X-1." Concept Aircraft: Prototypes, X-Planes and Experimental Aircraft (The Aviation Factfile). Kent, UK: Grange Books plc, 2005. ISBN 978-1-59223-480-6.
Wolfe. Tom. The Right Stuff . New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1979. ISBN 0-374-25033-2.
Yeager, Chuck, Bob Cardenas, Bob Hoover, Jack Russell and James Young. The Quest for Mach One: A First-Person Account of Breaking the Sound Barrier . New York: Penguin Studio, 1997. ISBN 0-670-87460-4.
Yeager, Chuck and Leo Janos. Yeager: An Autobiography . New York: Bantam, 1986. ISBN 0-553-25674-2.
Refend
External links
commons|Bell X-1
http://www.nasm.edu/galleries/gal100/bellX1.html Bell X-1 Milestones of Flight
http://history.nasa.gov/x1/ NASA's History of the X-1
http://history.nasa.gov/x1/goodlin.html Goodlin's NASA biography
http://history.nasa.gov/monograph31.pdf American X-Vehicles: An Inventory X-1 to X-50 , SP-2000-4531 - June 2003; NASA online PDF Monograph
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zippy/9754284/ Photo of Glamorous Glennis on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
http://chuckyeager.com/home.htm Yeager's personal website
http://sites.google.com/site/rgoddardsite/ Robert H Goddard--America's Rocket Pioneer
http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2001/11/stuff_eng_bell_x1_part1.htm Modeller's Guide to Bell X-1 Experimental Aircraft Part one
http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2001/11/stuff_eng_bell_x1_part2.htm Modeller's Guide to Bell X-1 Experimental Aircraft Part two
http://books.google.com/books? id=QCgDAAAAMBAJ& pg=PA97& dq=popular+science+1930& hl=en& ei=AnvcTt6DBMePgwfR96XpDA& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=10& ved=0CFYQ6AEwCThu#v=onepage& q& f=true "X-1 is Carried Aloft; Cockpit of the Bell X-1." Popular Science , August 1948, p. 97.
Bell AircraftX-planesaviation lists Category:Edwards Air Force Base Category:Rocket-powered aircraft Category:Parasite aircraft Category:United States experimental aircraft 1940–1949|X-1, Bell Category:American inventions
