North American X-15 - Peter E. Davies

The revolutionary X-15 remains the fastest manned aircraft ever to fly.Built in the two decades following World War II, it was the most successful of the high-speed X-planes. The ‘sound barrier’ was smashed completely by the X-15, which could hit Mach 6.7 and soar to altitudes above 350,000ft, beyond the edge of space. Several pilots qualified as astronauts by flying above 50 miles altitude in the X-15, including Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon.The three X-15s made 199 flights, testing... Zobrazit více