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| X-3 Stiletto, mid-1950s
|
|
| Description
|
| Role | Testbed for sustained supersonic flight
|
| Crew | 1
|
| First Flight | September 20, 1952
|
| Manufacturer | Douglas Aircraft Company
|
| Dimensions
|
| Length | 66 ft 9 in | 20.3 m
|
| Wingspan | 22 ft 8 in | 6.9 m
|
| Height | 12 ft 6 in | 3.8 m
|
| Wing area | ft² | m²
|
| Weights
|
| Empty | 16,120 lb | 7,310 kg
|
| Loaded | lb | kg
|
| Maximum takeoff | 23,840 lb | 10,800 kg
|
| Powerplant
|
| Engines | 2x Westinghouse J34 afterburning turbojets
|
Thrust (each)
with afterburner | 3,370 lbf
4,850 lbf | 15.0 kN
21.6 kN
|
| Performance
|
| Maximum speed | 700 mph | 1125 km/h
|
| Range | miles | km
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| Service ceiling | 38,000 ft | 11,600 m
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| Rate of climb | ft/min | m/min
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| Wing loading | lb/ft² | kg/m²
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| Thrust/Weight |
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| Three view diagram
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| X-3 Stiletto, mid-1950s
|
The Douglas X-3 Stiletto was an experimental jet aircraft with a slender fuselage and a long tapered nose,
manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Its primary mission was to investigate the design features of an
aircraft suitable for sustained supersonic speeds, which included the first use of titanium in major airframe
components. It was, however, seriously underpowered for its purpose and could not even exceed Mach 1 in
level flight.
Only one X-3 was built.
First flown October 1952, it was delivered to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA)
in the summer of 1954 and flew 20 times between 1954 and 1956 at the NACA High-Speed Flight Station
(now Edwards Air Force Base). Joe Walker was the pilot for all 20 of these missions. It is now on display in the USAF Museum.
The principal contribution of the X-3 was its data on inertia coupling - a potentially violent divergence
from the intended flight path when executing an abrupt maneuver which had afflicted the X-1 and X-2 aircraft.
Also See
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