Beyond The Sprues
Modelling => Ideas & Inspiration => Aero-space => Topic started by: The Big Gimper on November 19, 2019, 07:48:48 PM
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Artwork by Adam Tooby. For an Osprey Publishing book.
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Via Facebook. X-15B illustration, cutaway and drawing, and flight profile (with crew ejection). Exposition from the Osprey XPLANE edition on the X-15:
"This enlarged, two-man version of the X-15 was part of Gen Curtis LeMay's plan to ensure that a USAF pilot would be the first man in outer space, expressed in Project 7969..." ... "The two Navaho booster stages would have taken the X-15 up to 400,000ft, from where it could accelerate to 18,000mph under its own power, make three Earth orbits before re-entry and return to Edwards, or possible crew ejection over water." (page 74 of XPLANES North American X-15 by Peter E. Davies )
The illustration here seems to show three Navaho rockets being employed though. Otherwise, the X-15 would have had a more powerful engine - the 75,000lb thrust XLR-105, a thicker Iconel-X skin, and/or the addition of various other advanced materials (one idea was to utilize the more heat-resistant Rene-41 alloy).
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Hmmm...two seat version might make for an interesting Strategic Recon platform or perhaps an interceptor development
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"Re-entry and pullout" (with those stubby wings) followed by "pilot ejection". Why do I get the feeling there wouldn't have been that many volunteer pilots? :o
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Hmm, seeing some interesting possibilities crossing that 2-seater with the various proposed X-15C delta-wing variants.
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Target tug for a space -based fighter. ;D ;D ;D
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A couple guided missiles underneath (where the X-15A-2 carried external tanks) for an ASAT capability?
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Hmmm...two seat version might make for an interesting Strategic Recon platform or perhaps an interceptor development
How about a good old fashioned Kit-Bashing plus Scale-O-Rama by using the tandem cockpits and fuselage section from a smaller scale SR-71 with the fuselage of a larger scale X-15 to get the space needed for two crew? Space and payload were already limited so scaling the X-15 up/down to get a larger internal volume while keeping the same basic shape albeit larger would certainly work but it would no longer be capable of launch from the B-52 due to the much larger size.
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You guys are on a concept roll. Hope someone does a kit-bash.