The NASA X-planes are truly legendary. From the nascent X-1 which broke the sound barrier to the X-15 which set the stage for manned space flight, these aircraft have earned their prominent place in the annals of aviation. Except for the utterly unknown Bell X-37.
Why would NASA sweep such an iconic-looking aircraft under the rug? On the surface, the X-37 seemed to have all the right stuff.
Yet no aviation history even mentions the needle-nosed record-contender. Not one entry on the X-37 is to be found in
Jane's All the World's Aircraft nor is it noted anywhere in official NASA records. How can this be?
Such a thoroughbred certainly deserves at least a footnote, right?
Unfortunately, the X-37 was anything but the stuff of legend. While looking sharp enough to cut the very wind, the Bell X-37 suffered from incurable control problems. After dropped from the B-52 mother ship, the test-pilot put the experimental rocketplane into a climb, but the aircraft instead did an outside Cuban 8 which lit up the night sky.
It took much blackmail from the FBI's secret files to keep this screw-up secret and no answer was ever found for the X-37's control problems. Finally, the X-37 was tested to destruction trying to solve the riddle.
Bell Aircraft would never build another X-plane (or anything else) for NASA and today this useless step in man's effort to conquer space is completely forgotten, save for these top-secret Polaroids smuggled out of Muroc.
Brian da Basher