The X-15 is probably the most famous of the "X" planes. Over the course of 199 flights from 1959 to 1968, it expanded our knowledge of rocket-powered flight and winged re-entry. Three X-15s were built -- 66670, 66671 and 66672. After 66671 broke its back in a heavy landing, it was rebuilt with a 28-inch fuselage extension and other modifications and rechristened the X-15A-2. The fuselage stretch held a tank for liquid hydrogen to fuel a supersonic ramjet. (In a bit of irony, the working ramjet never flew so the tank was never used.) It also was capable of carrying two large external tanks for liquid ammonia and liquid oxygen; they provided about 60 extra seconds of powered flight. In October 1967, William Knight set a world speed record for a manned powered aircraft: 4,520 mph.
Despite hitting Mach 6.7, it could be argued the X-15A-2 was a dog. There were numerous aborted launches and in-flight failures. In fact, the X-15A-2's record-setting flight was its last. Although it wascovered in a white ablative coating, heat burned through the structure of the lower tail where a dummy scramjet was attached. The vehicle suffered other damage as well.
Ken West's model of the X-15A-2 hit the market in 2009 (it is available at http://ift.tt/2AxsHzr) and its quality and detail easily eclipsed the X-15 models then available. Still does. It included a detailed cockpit and landing gear. I put off building it for years because I'm not a fan of the 'A-2 and I was waiting for the shorter, un-stretched X-15 which Ken said he planned to do. That version has not been forthcoming, so I decided to build the 'A-2.
Ken's model is 1/32nd, but I shrunk it to 1/48th. I built it "in flight," with the cockpit closed, the gear up and the lower tail intact, and I modeled one of the flights without external tanks. Ken's model builds into a great replica, but I added some details to enhance accuracy. The big thing about modeling the X-15 is getting the weathering correct; the vehicle showed signs of heat stress and weathering, and the panels are a mish-mash of shades of blue-black (the vehicle's Inconel construction) or black paint. Ken's model depicts the black panels as gray, which I take issue with, but there's nothing I can do about that. It is also important to get the sheen correct. In looking at photos online, a lot of plastic modelers model the X-15 as matte black, which is incorrect.
It was an enjoyable build. Maybe doing it at 1/32nd scale wouldn't be so bad, but I'd MUCH prefer to model the original X-15, 66670. If only a good kit were available....
Despite hitting Mach 6.7, it could be argued the X-15A-2 was a dog. There were numerous aborted launches and in-flight failures. In fact, the X-15A-2's record-setting flight was its last. Although it wascovered in a white ablative coating, heat burned through the structure of the lower tail where a dummy scramjet was attached. The vehicle suffered other damage as well.
Ken West's model of the X-15A-2 hit the market in 2009 (it is available at http://ift.tt/2AxsHzr) and its quality and detail easily eclipsed the X-15 models then available. Still does. It included a detailed cockpit and landing gear. I put off building it for years because I'm not a fan of the 'A-2 and I was waiting for the shorter, un-stretched X-15 which Ken said he planned to do. That version has not been forthcoming, so I decided to build the 'A-2.
Ken's model is 1/32nd, but I shrunk it to 1/48th. I built it "in flight," with the cockpit closed, the gear up and the lower tail intact, and I modeled one of the flights without external tanks. Ken's model builds into a great replica, but I added some details to enhance accuracy. The big thing about modeling the X-15 is getting the weathering correct; the vehicle showed signs of heat stress and weathering, and the panels are a mish-mash of shades of blue-black (the vehicle's Inconel construction) or black paint. Ken's model depicts the black panels as gray, which I take issue with, but there's nothing I can do about that. It is also important to get the sheen correct. In looking at photos online, a lot of plastic modelers model the X-15 as matte black, which is incorrect.
It was an enjoyable build. Maybe doing it at 1/32nd scale wouldn't be so bad, but I'd MUCH prefer to model the original X-15, 66670. If only a good kit were available....
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