Bell X-5

Last updated
X-5
Bell X-5 USAF.jpg
Role Experimental aircraft
Manufacturer Bell Aircraft Corporation
DesignerRobert J. Woods
First flight20 June 1951
RetiredDecember 1958
Primary users United States Air Force
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
Number built2
A composite photograph showing the Bell X-5's variable-sweep wing Bell-X5-Multiple.jpg
A composite photograph showing the Bell X-5’s variable-sweep wing

The Bell X-5 was the first aircraft capable of changing the sweep of its wings in flight. It was inspired by the untested wartime P.1101 design of the German Messerschmitt company. In a further development of the German design, which could only have its wing sweepback angle adjusted on the ground, the Bell engineers devised a system of electric motors to adjust the sweep in flight.

Contents

Design and development

The incomplete Messerschmitt P.1101 fighter prototype recovered by United States troops in 1945 from the experimental facility at Oberammergau, Germany, was brought back to the United States. Although damaged in transit, the innovative fighter prototype was delivered to the Bell factory at Buffalo, New York where company engineering staff studied the design closely, and, led by Chief Designer Robert J. Woods, submitted a proposal for a similar design. [1]

Although superficially similar, the X-5 was much more complex than the P.1101, with three sweep positions: 20°, 40° and 60°, creating an inflight "variable-geometry" platform. A jackscrew assembly moved the wing's hinge along a set of short horizontal rails, using disc brakes to lock the wing into its inflight positions. Moving from full extension to full sweep took less than 30 seconds. The articulation of the hinge and pivots partly compensated for the shifts in center of gravity and center of pressure as the wings moved.

Even so, the X-5 had vicious spin characteristics arising from the aircraft's flawed aerodynamic layout, particularly a poorly positioned tail and vertical stabilizer which, in some wing positions, could lead to an irrecoverable spin. This violent stall / spin instability would eventually cause the destruction of the second aircraft and the death of its Air Force test pilot in 1953. [2]

The unfavorable spin characteristics also led to the cancellation of tentative plans by the United States Air Force to modify the X-5's design into a low-cost tactical fighter for NATO and other foreign countries. [3]

Operational history

Two X-5s were built (serial numbers 50-1838 and 50-1839). The first was completed 15 February 1951, and the two aircraft made their first flights on 20 June and 10 December 1951. Almost 200 flights were made at speeds up to Mach 0.9 and altitudes of 40,000 ft (12,000 m). One aircraft was lost on 14 October 1953, when it failed to recover from a spin at 60° sweepback. Air Force Captain Ray Popson died in the crash at Edwards Air Force Base. The other X-5 remained at Edwards and continued active testing until 1955, and remained in service as a chase plane until 1958.

The X-5 successfully demonstrated the advantage of a swing-wing design for aircraft intended to fly at a wide range of speeds. Despite the X-5's stability problems, the concept was developed to an outboard rather than inboard hinge, [4] and was later successfully implemented in such aircraft as the General Dynamics F-111 and Grumman F-14 Tomcat, the Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-23 and MiG-27, the Sukhoi Su-17/20/22 and Su-24, the Tupolev Tu-22M and Tu-160, the Panavia Tornado and the Rockwell B-1 Lancer.

Survivors

The sole surviving X-5 is now at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. It was delivered to the museum in March 1958. It is displayed in the museum's Research & Development Hangar. [5]

Specifications (Bell X-5)

Orthographically projected diagram of the Bell X-5. Bell X-5 afg-041110-046.svg
Orthographically projected diagram of the Bell X-5.

Data from The X-planes : X-1 to X-29 [6]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messerschmitt Me 210</span> German heavy fighter

The Messerschmitt Me 210 was a German heavy fighter and ground-attack aircraft of World War II. Design started before the war, as a replacement for the Bf 110. The first examples were ready in 1939, but they proved to have unacceptably poor flight characteristics due to serious wing planform and fuselage design flaws. A large-scale operational testing program throughout 1941 and early 1942 did not cure the type's problems. The design entered limited service in 1942, but was soon replaced by the Messerschmitt Me 410 Hornisse, a further development of the Me 210. The failure of the Me 210's development program meant the Luftwaffe was forced to continue operating the Bf 110 after it had become outdated, despite mounting losses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell X-1</span> Experimental rocket-powered aircraft

The Bell X-1 is a rocket engine–powered aircraft, designated originally as the XS-1, and was a joint National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics–U.S. Army Air Forces–U.S. Air Force supersonic research project built by Bell Aircraft. Conceived during 1944 and designed and built in 1945, it achieved a speed of nearly 1,000 miles per hour in 1948. A derivative of this same design, the Bell X-1A, having greater fuel capacity and hence longer rocket burning time, exceeded 1,600 miles per hour in 1954. The X-1 aircraft #46-062, nicknamed Glamorous Glennis and flown by Chuck Yeager, was the first piloted airplane to exceed the speed of sound in level flight and was the first of the X-planes, a series of American experimental rocket planes designed for testing new technologies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swept wing</span> Plane wing that angles backwards or forwards

A swept wing is a wing angled either backward or occasionally forward from its root rather than perpendicular to the fuselage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell X-2</span> Experimental aircraft build to investigate flight characteristics in the Mach 2–3 range

The Bell X-2 was an X-plane research aircraft built to investigate flight characteristics in the Mach 2–3 range. The X-2 was a rocket-powered, swept-wing research aircraft developed jointly in 1945 by Bell Aircraft Corporation, the United States Air Force and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to explore aerodynamic problems of supersonic flight and to expand the speed and altitude regimes obtained with the earlier X-1 series of research aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell P-63 Kingcobra</span> Mid-engined fighter aircraft

The Bell P-63 Kingcobra is an American fighter aircraft that was developed by Bell Aircraft during World War II. Based on the preceding Bell P-39 Airacobra, the P-63's design incorporated suggestions from P-39 pilots and was superior to its predecessor in virtually all respects. The P-63 was not accepted for combat use by the United States Army Air Forces. However, it was used during World War II by the Soviet Air Force, which had also been the most prolific user of the P-39.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grumman F8F Bearcat</span> American single-engine carrier-based fighter aircraft

The Grumman F8F Bearcat is an American single-engined, carrier-based fighter aircraft introduced in late World War II. It served during the mid-20th century in the United States Navy, the United States Marine Corps, and the air forces of other nations. It was Grumman Aircraft's last piston-engined fighter aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northrop YB-49</span> American flying-wing bomber prototype

The Northrop YB-49 was an American prototype jet-powered heavy bomber developed by Northrop Corporation shortly after World War II for service with the United States Air Force. The YB-49 featured a flying wing design and was a turbojet-powered development of the earlier, piston-engined Northrop XB-35 and YB-35. The two YB-49s built were both converted YB-35 test aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northrop X-4 Bantam</span> American experimental jet aircraft

The Northrop X-4 Bantam was a prototype small twinjet aircraft manufactured by Northrop Corporation in 1948. It had no horizontal tail surfaces, depending instead on combined elevator and aileron control surfaces for control in pitch and roll attitudes, almost exactly in the manner of the similar-format, rocket-powered Messerschmitt Me 163 of Nazi Germany's Luftwaffe. Some aerodynamicists had proposed that eliminating the horizontal tail would also do away with stability problems at fast speeds resulting from the interaction of supersonic shock waves from the wings and the horizontal stabilizers. The idea had merit, but the flight control systems of that time prevented the X-4 from achieving any success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grumman X-29</span> 1984 experimental aircraft family by Grumman

The Grumman X-29 was an American experimental aircraft that tested a forward-swept wing, canard control surfaces, and other novel aircraft technologies. Funded by NASA, the United States Air Force and DARPA, the X-29 was developed by Grumman, and the two built were flown by NASA and the United States Air Force. The aerodynamic instability of the X-29's airframe required the use of computerized fly-by-wire control. Composite materials were used to control the aeroelastic divergent twisting experienced by forward-swept wings, and to reduce weight. The aircraft first flew in 1984, and two X-29s were flight tested through 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell XV-15</span> American experimental tiltrotor aircraft

The Bell XV-15 is an American tiltrotor VTOL aircraft. It was the second successful experimental tiltrotor aircraft and the first to demonstrate the concept's high speed performance relative to conventional helicopters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avro 707</span> Type of aircraft

The Avro 707 is an experimental aircraft designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Avro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Convair XF-92</span> Experimental interceptor aircraft

The Convair XF-92 was an American, delta wing, first-generation jet prototype. Originally conceived as a point-defence interceptor, the design was later used purely for experimental purposes and only one was built. However, it led Convair to use the delta-wing on a number of designs, including the F-102 Delta Dagger, F-106 Delta Dart, B-58 Hustler, the US Navy's F2Y Sea Dart as well as the VTOL FY Pogo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grumman XF10F Jaguar</span> Type of aircraft

The Grumman XF10F Jaguar was a prototype swing-wing fighter aircraft offered to the United States Navy in the early 1950s. Although it never entered service, its research paved the way toward the later General Dynamics F-111 and Grumman's own F-14 Tomcat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fisher P-75 Eagle</span> 1943 fighter aircraft series by General Motors Fisher Body Division

The Fisher P-75 Eagle was an American fighter aircraft designed by the Fisher Body Division of General Motors. Development started in September 1942 in response to United States Army Air Forces requirement for a fighter possessing an extremely high rate of climb, using the most powerful liquid-cooled engine then available, the Allison V-3420. The program was cancelled after only a small number of prototypes and production aircraft had been completed, as it was no longer required in its original role, could not be quickly deployed, and possessed no significant advantages over aircraft already in production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messerschmitt P.1101</span> German fighter prototype

The Messerschmitt P.1101 was a single-seat, single-jet fighter project of World War II, developed as part of the 15 July 1944 Emergency Fighter Program which sought a second generation of jet fighters for the Third Reich. A prominent feature of the P.1101 prototype was that the sweep angle of the wings could be changed before flight, a feature further developed in later variable-sweep aircraft such as the Bell X-5 and Grumman XF10F Jaguar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VL Pyörremyrsky</span> 1940s Finnish fighter aircraft

The VL Pyörremyrsky ("Hurricane") was a Finnish fighter, designed by DI Torsti Verkkola at the State Aircraft Factory for service with the Finnish Air Force in World War II. The war ended before the type's first flight and only a prototype was built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Short SB.5</span> British research aircraft

The Short SB.5 was a "highly unorthodox, adjustable wing" British research aircraft designed by Short Brothers in response to the UK Air Ministry requirement ER.100; to provide input for the design of the English Electric P.1 by testing the low speed flight characteristics of various configurations of wing-sweep required for supersonic flight. The tailplane could be mounted either on top of the fin ("T-tail") or below the fuselage. The tests ultimately confirmed that the original P.1/Lightning design was an effective configuration for high speed flight.

An adaptive compliant wing is a wing which is flexible enough for aspects of its shape to be changed in flight. Flexible wings have a number of benefits. Conventional flight control mechanisms operate using hinges, resulting in disruptions to the airflow, vortices, and in some cases, separation of the airflow. These effects contribute to the drag of the aircraft, resulting in less efficiency and higher fuel costs. Flexible aerofoils can manipulate aerodynamic forces with less disruptions to the flow, resulting in less aerodynamic drag and improved fuel economy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messerschmitt P.1110</span> German high-altitude interceptor project

The Messerschmitt P.1110 was a design for a single-seat, high-altitude interceptor, prepared for the German Luftwaffe by the Messerschmitt aircraft manufacturing company, under the Emergency Fighter Program during the last months of World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weiss Manfréd WM-23 Ezüst Nyíl</span> Hungarian WWII fighter aircraft

The Weiss Manfréd WM-23 Ezüst Nyíl was a Hungarian fighter aircraft of World War II developed by the Manfréd Weiss Steel and Metal Works. Designed by Samu Béla and his team, the WM-23 was an entirely Hungarian design with retractable landing gear, a three-bladed variable-pitch propeller, a closed canopy, inverted gull wings and an elliptical low-wing design. Development started in summer 1939 with one prototype produced and test flown. Demonstrating good flying characteristics and generally being considered an excellent design, the WM-23 was planned to enter mass production. However, the prototype was destroyed on 21 April 1942, and by this time the MÁVAG Héja fighter was being used which acceptably filled the intended role of the WM-23. Therefore, it was decided to not allocate further resources to completing the project, and to cancel it.

References

Notes
  1. Winchester 2005, p. 37.
  2. Hallion 1984, p. 52.
  3. Hallion 1984, p. 47.
  4. "Swing Wings". Air & Space Magazine. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  5. "Bell X-5". National Museum of the United States Air Force. Retrieved: 22 October 2016.
  6. Miller, Jay (1983). The X-planes : X-1 to X-29. Marine on St. Croix: Speciality. pp. 56–63. ISBN   0933424353.
  7. Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
Bibliography