The North American X-15

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[miles]

Can you do a video focused around the history of Air Refueling, specifically the "work horse" of the US Air Force; the KC-135. Think it would be an awesome topic being that "most" of the aircraft you feature rely on Air Refueling to conduct their missions.

[kirkwagner]

Scott Crossfield was a test pilot for the X-15's manufacturer.
The Mach 6.7 flight wasn't just for top speed. It was carrying a dummy mockup of a ramjet engine they were planning to test in later flights. However, the hypersonic shock waves flowing off of the dummy ramjet concentrated heat onto the X-15, burning through the iconel skin and doing other damage that required extensive repairs. The dummy ramjet was carried where the lower vertical rudder would have been, and the damage, near the control surfaces, risked the loss of the flight. They didn't resolve those issues before the program was halted. One of the planes pilots, Milton Thompson, wrote a great book on the whole program called "At the Edge of Space." Its chock full of engineering goodness that really communicates the astounding areas of air and space flight the craft explored. Highly recommended reading for those who have an interest.

[Timmycoo]

Those test pilots that got in the X-15 were pure badasses. They knew what they were risking and what it was for.

[Kevin-tnd]

I built a model X-15 when I was in my early teens and is my favorite rocket-plane; and I was disappointed when I first got it cuz I wanted a military plane, but now it's probably my favorite present that I've ever got because of I waited for aerospace technology and setting records that still haven't been broken.

[Tuberuser]

Some extra information on why the blunt nose works - At those hypersonic speeds the heating of the skin of the aircraft isnt "friction", its the air being compressed as it cannot be moved around the aircraft/spacecraft quickly enough. When a fluid is compressed it heats up, these hot compression shockwaves heat the skin via IR radiation. The blunt shape pushes the shockwave boundary further ahead of the vehicle, this achieves two things. Firstly it attenuates the Radiation as it has further to travel providing a reduction into the energy reaching the skin and secondly it encourages more air to begin to move around the aircraft and its compression shockwaves further out which again reduces the compression effects and reducing the potential energy that reaches the skin.

The typical "pointy" or sharp nose reduces the shockwave boundary and keeps the air moving around the aircraft much closer, this increases the amount of IR energy reaching the skin.

[mfree]

3:54 Nice pick, that's Gene Roddenberry and DeForest Kelley scoping out the X-15 at Dryden in 1967.

[michaellee]

Simon never gets the credit he deserves for his narration. I feel myself becoming part of the story and he makes it effortless. Thanks, Simon

[RReese]

Great story about the most famous entry in the US X-plane series. Not mentioned, but really should've been, was a 1956 proposal by the Research and Development Command of the US Air Force to put the X-15 into orbit by launching a stripped-down version of the manned vehicle atop three Navajo missiles strapped together for the first stage, a single Navajo missile serving as the second stage, and the specially-built X-15 as the manned third stage that would make a single orbit of the earth. A joint study by the USAF and NACA in 1958 determined that this version, called the X-15B, could be done on a relatively modest price tag of just over $100 million and take 30 months to develop and launch the first man - an American - into space well before the Soviet Union put Yuri Gagarin into his single orbit in April 1961. When NASA was designated to be the agency to handle all US manned space efforts and the call was put out for proposals, the X-15B program became lost among the hundreds of bids that the space agency received. The X-15B was perhaps the greatest "could've been" to never happen in the X-plane's history. It's amazing to think how the US manned space program could've turned out differently if the X-15B had gotten its chance to reach into space. Thanks for watching Nevaprojects - oh, wait a second...

[steveegbert]

I remember as a youngster in the early 60's being awed by the X-15 and anything space. I'm now 68 and that intrigue has not faded. So looking forward to see what the JWST will discover!

[ignitionfrn]

1:10 - Chapter 1 - Development
2:15 - Chapter 2 - From nose to tail
3:55 - Chapter 3 - The cockpit
5:05 - Mid roll ads
6:25 - Chapter 4 - Windows
7:50 - Chapter 5 - Fuselage
8:50 - Chapter 6 - The engine
10:05 - Chapter 7 - Wedge tail
11:10 - Chapter 8 - Skyrocketing to space
14:40 - Chapter 9 - To the future ?

[aquilarossa]

The fastest fixed wing manned aircraft is actually the Space Shuttle. It entered the atmosphere at Mach 25, but it is unpowered flight, i.e., a glider. The X-15 is the fastest manned powered flight (that we know of).

[TimberWolfCLT]

One of my favorite aircraft. I was in elementary school and loved seeing the newsreels from the tests.

[brbshp]

What about doing an episode on the C-130, a plane that is approaching 60 years of service.

[Jmpnb]

As a child whose Father worked on this aircraft at Plant #42 In Palmdale, California we would be marched out of class for the rare launching of this aircraft from its B-52. At Tamararisk School we would assemble, the Teacher would indicate that we should keep our eyes on the B-52’s contrail. At the appropriate moment when we would get fidgety, another contrail would appear alongside that of the B-52, then suddenly stream ahead…and disappear.
Great time to be a kid!

[bobschenkel]

I remember hearing about the crash in 1967, we talked about it in school, everyone was really shook up. How could one of OUR pilots get killed like that? We learned a valuable lesson that day. Safety first, risk second.

[michaelpipkin]

Can you do the history of The Thunderbirds?

Most people don't know the long history of tragedy, beautiful precision and skill.

Thank you from the YF-23 guy.

[j.scottmcdonough]

When I was 9 years old my great uncle was head weatherman at Edwards AFB he took me to the end of the base where the NASA building was. We walk inside and a man wearing a white lab coat was next to the last operational X15. I got to set in the cockpit and was told DO NOT TOUCH any thing! I believe this is the plane now in the Smithsonian.

[davidneel]

For pilot training they also developed an analog simulator in which they could input false signals to help the pilot learn how to response.

[GlenGarcia]

@3:52, I saw what you did there, Simon, with the photo of DeForrest Kelly (Dr. Leonard McCoy) and Gene Roddenberry (creator/producer of Star Trek), ... LOL

[johna]

3:53 Gentleman on the left is DeForest Kelly, aka Doctor McCoy, aka Bones.