Aeroplane Aviation Archive — Issue 33 The World’s Fastest Aircraft

(^80) UNITED STATES
Above: Maj Robert M. ‘Bob’ White is helped out
of the cockpit of an X-15 at Edwards AFB, CA.
He became the  rst pilot to exceed Mach 4, 5 and
6 in the X-15 in 1961. On 17 July 1962, he also
became the  rst to  y it in space.
The need for speed
The X-15  ew faster and higher than any
other aircraft and set uno cial world
speed and altitude records. Flying the
X-15A-2, which was  tted with external
tanks that provided roughly 60sec of
additional engine burn, US Air Force pilot
Pete Knight reached a speed of Mach 6.7
(4,520mph/7,274km/h) on 3 October 1967.
Prior to that, NASA pilot Joseph Walker
 ew the X-15 to an altitude of 354,200ft
(108,000m) on 22 August 1963.
Above: Landings were carried out at a leisurely (for an X-15) 200mph! Because the lower vertical tail
extended below the landing skids when they were deployed, part of it was jettisoned just before
landing and recovered by a parachute.
Below: Recovery crews work on an X-15 after one of its 199 missions. All the  ights took place within
what was called the ‘High Range’ surrounding but mostly to the east of Edwards AFB and NASA’s Flight
Research Center (later called the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center).