And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Auxiliary fuel tanks. They were trying to get the speed to maximum. Later they did the same setup but coated the ENTIRE aircraft in white heat abatement paint to prevent damage to the plane from air friction. Still melted off a few part!
I dunno, call me crazy or unreasonably superstitious or whatever, but if I was setting up an experimental flight program in which I was going to do things that had never been done in an aircraft, I think I'd use a tail number that did not include "666". I'd be looking for every bit of help, including the avoidance of "bad luck", but that's just me. azlibertarian
I'd guess fuel tanks.
ReplyDeleteAuxiliary fuel tanks. They were trying to get the speed to maximum. Later they did the same setup but coated the ENTIRE aircraft in white heat abatement paint to prevent damage to the plane from air friction. Still melted off a few part!
ReplyDeleteA few pilots earned their astronaut ratings as X-15 pilots.
DeleteThis is the second X-15 plane X-15-2 in its second configuration as an X-15A
ReplyDeleteCol. Pete Knight took this setup to Mach 6.7
The plane is now at United States Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, but not certain if the extra tanks are on it?
There were three X-15s, one which had a fatal crash in 1967
You can see one of the USAF Museum hangers in background of the top picture.
DeleteDamn!! Thought they were photon torpedoes (prototype)...
ReplyDeleteFloat plane….
ReplyDeleteYup. In a little-known test, they got the record for boat speed on Lake Michigan when they hit Mach 1.6.
DeleteThey lost their skier at about 500MPH though.
I dunno, call me crazy or unreasonably superstitious or whatever, but if I was setting up an experimental flight program in which I was going to do things that had never been done in an aircraft, I think I'd use a tail number that did not include "666". I'd be looking for every bit of help, including the avoidance of "bad luck", but that's just me.
ReplyDeleteazlibertarian
This one survived. Tower is mounted in Arco, Idaho:
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Hawkbill_(SSN-666)
They replace the rear skids with wheels? Easier to move around I guess.
ReplyDeleteYep, dolly for ground handling. Also had a fin like the vertical tail on the belly right below, installed for flight
DeleteFuel tanks for the later missions that took the X-15 to the highest altitudes and greatest speeds it reached. Gave an extra 60 seconds of thrust.
ReplyDeleteYou're all wrong - they're NOX tanks for a hot-rod boost! ;-)
ReplyDeletecontainers for the beer run
ReplyDeleteBefore drinking it, or after?
DeleteThe right stuff.
ReplyDeleteWell of course the tanks are for making chemtrails... Sheesh, do I have to hold up the paranoid side of things all by myself?
ReplyDelete