Higher Further Faster | Evolution Of Aviation Part 1
A look at the evolution of aviation.
A Look at the X15, SR71, YF12, X43A and X51.

The story of North American X15 hypersonic rocket aircraft, reaching a top speed of Mach 6.70 and a staggering height of 67.1 mi (335.000 ft / 108 km). Learn about the courageous pilots that flew it and a brief history of rocket planes, including the Bell X1, piloted by Chuck Yeager, the first to break the sound barrier, or the Bell X2 that flew at Mach 3. The X15 first flight was in mid 1959, more than 60 years ago. It also includes a series of vintage documentaries on the subject.
The X15 set speed and altitude records in the 1960s, reaching the edge of outer space and returning with valuable data used in aircraft and spacecraft design. The X15's highest speed, 4,520 miles per hour (7,274 km/h; 2,021 m/s), was achieved on 3 October 1967, when William J. Knight flew at Mach 6.7 at an altitude of 102,100 feet (31,120 m), or 19.34 miles. This set the official world record for the highest speed ever recorded by a crewed, powered aircraft, which remains unbroken.

During the X15 program, 12 pilots flew a combined 199 flights. Of these, 8 pilots flew a combined 13 flights which met the Air Force spaceflight criterion by exceeding the altitude of 50 miles (80 km), thus qualifying these pilots as being astronauts; of those 13 flights, two (flown by the same civilian pilot) met the FAI definition (100 kilometres (62 mi)) of outer space. The 5 Air Force pilots qualified for military astronaut wings immediately, while the 3 civilian pilots were eventually awarded NASA astronaut wings in 2005, 35 years after the last X15 flight.
The X15 was based on a concept study from Walter Dornberger for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) for a hypersonic research aircraft. The requests for proposal (RFPs) were published on 30 December 1954 for the airframe and on 4 February 1955 for the rocket engine. The X15 was built by two manufacturers: North American Aviation was contracted for the airframe in November 1955, and Reaction Motors was contracted for building the engines in 1956.

Like many Xseries aircraft, the X15 was designed to be carried aloft and drop launched from under the wing of a B52 mother ship. Air Force NB52A, "The High and Mighty One" (serial 520003), and NB52B, "The Challenger" (serial 520008, a.k.a. Balls 8) served as carrier planes for all X15 flights. Release of the X15 from NB52A took place at an altitude of about 8.5 miles (13.7 km) and a speed of about 500 miles per hour (805 km/h). The X15 fuselage was long and cylindrical, with rear fairings that flattened its appearance, and thick, dorsal and ventral wedgefin stabilizers. Parts of the fuselage (the outer skin) were heatresistant nickel alloy (InconelX 750). The retractable landing gear comprised a nosewheel carriage and two rear skids. The skids did not extend beyond the ventral fin, which required the pilot to jettison the lower fin just before landing. The lower fin was recovered by parachute.

Specifications
North American X15 3view.svg
Other configurations include the Reaction Motors XLR11 equipped X15 and the long version.

General characteristics:

Crew: One
Length: 50 ft 9 in (15.47 m)
Wingspan: 22 ft 4 in (6.81 m)
Height: 13 ft 3 in (4.04 m)
Wing area: 200 sq ft (19 m2)
Empty weight: 14,600 lb (6,622 kg)
Gross weight: 34,000 lb (15,422 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Reaction Motors XLR99RM2 liquidfuelled rocket engine, 70,400 lbf (313 kN) thrust
Performance

Maximum speed: 4,520 mph (7,270 km/h, 3,930 kn)
Range: 280 mi (450 km, 240 nmi)
Service ceiling: 354,330 ft (108,000 m)
Rate of climb: 60,000 ft/min (300 m/s)
Thrust/weight: 2.07

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