Experimental aircraft
You can see more aircraft on the on the main aircraft page, on the ginormous planes page and on the helicopters page. An experimental tiltwing drone is on the unmanned aircraft page.
Something experimental uses new ideas and might be modified later if it is unsuccessful. The company that builds an experimental aircraft needs to test it. In other words, they need to see if it works as the company hopes it will. If the experimental aircraft is successful then the company that made it may make more and try to sell them.
Some experimental aircraft in America are called X-planes. To be an X-plane the aircraft has to have something completely different from aircraft in the past. This can be a totally different engine or the aircraft can have a totally different shape.
The Griffon ramjet
The Griffon was designed purely for speed. It had a turbojet engine and an extra ramjet engine. Just using the turbojet engine it could fly at Mach 1. With the extra ramjet it could fly at Mach 2.
It flew 2330 kmph at 15,000 metres - twice as fast as the speed of the sound in 1959 (Mach 2.19). In 1955 it was one of the world’s fastest aircraft.
How a ramjet works
A ramjet works by "ramming" air into the engine while the plane is flying forwards. So the Griffon needed the turbojet engine to get it to start moving. Like a turbojet engine the ramjet mixes fuel with the air and burns it to produce thrust. Unlike a turbojet engine though, there are no compressors in a ramjet engine, so ramjets are lighter and simpler. As the plane flies faster, air is rammed faster into the engine. With more air coming into the engine, the ramjet can burn more fuel and produce ever greater thrust until drag becomes too great.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Airlander 10 - the biggest aircraft in the world!
A British company called Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) are building a prototype airship called the Airlander 10. It will be the biggest aircraft in the world when it goes on its first flight, which should happen very soon. Unlike an airplane, the Airlander 10 does not need a runway and can land on most surfaces, including water. So it is ideal for transporting things to difficult-to-reach places.
Just like any hybrid vehicle, the airship uses more than one type of power to move. It uses buoyancy to take off and float upwards. It is buoyant because the hull is filled with helium gas and helium is lighter than air. It's 2nd source of power comes from its engines. They can rotate. This means they can move the airship forwards and backwards and they allow it to land or hover in one spot.
It can carry up to 9,000kg (about the weight of two elephants) or transport 48 passengers. It can fly continuously for five days at 92mph.
Its frameless, gas-tight hull is made with technology used in racing yachts and Formula 1 cars. It has been heat-sealed by the company which makes spacesuits for Nasa and it takes two days to inflate.
HAV first built the airship for the American army. Unfortunately after one test-flight the army decided not to use it. So instead HAV decided to design the vehicle for other uses.
It can carry up to 9,000kg (about the weight of two elephants) or transport 48 passengers. It can fly continuously for five days at 92mph.
Its frameless, gas-tight hull is made with technology used in racing yachts and Formula 1 cars. It has been heat-sealed by the company which makes spacesuits for Nasa and it takes two days to inflate.
HAV first built the airship for the American army. Unfortunately after one test-flight the army decided not to use it. So instead HAV decided to design the vehicle for other uses.
HAV think it may be used by:
- the coast guard for search and rescue,
- people who want to travel in luxury,
- businesses needing cargo delivered in difficult-to-reach regions, and
- aid agencies dropping aid packages in difficult-to-reach regions.
So it's not going to replace aeroplanes for normal flights but could be very useful for those who have a special need.
- the coast guard for search and rescue,
- people who want to travel in luxury,
- businesses needing cargo delivered in difficult-to-reach regions, and
- aid agencies dropping aid packages in difficult-to-reach regions.
So it's not going to replace aeroplanes for normal flights but could be very useful for those who have a special need.
This British company has competition in America. Lockheed Martin is making their own prototype airship: the P-791.
Lockheed Martin's P-791 airship
So far they have built and flown a model that is 1/3 of the real sized airship.
Flying bedstead
This aircraft made its first proper flight in 1954. It was an experiment to see whether an aircraft could fly without wings or rotor blades. It was built by Rolls Royce. It could fly short distances only, so it wasn't used to fly passengers or to carry cargo. But the Rolls Royce engineers learned a lot from seeing it work and this helped them build better jet engines.
The 'Flying Bedstead' was the aircraft's nickname. 'Bedstead' means a metal frame that a mattress rests on. The pilot didn't sleep in the aircraft though! You can see it in the science museum.
Bell XV-3 - the first successful tilt-rotor aircraft
The Bell XV-3 was the first ever successful tilt-rotor aircraft. It first flew in 1955 and flew until 1962.
Doak VZ-4
The Doak VZ-4 first flew in 1958 - almost 60 years ago. Instead of jet engines, it used two fans (a type of propeller) inside an open cylinder called a duct. The two fans could move. They could face in any direction between being straight up and straight ahead. Moving this way is called tilting so the plane is called a tilt-rotor aircraft.
The plane could take off straight up and land straight down. This is called VTOL.
The plane could take off straight up and land straight down. This is called VTOL.
VTOL is short for vertical take-off and landing. |
It was built by the Doak Aircraft Company, which was started by Edmond Doak in 1939 when he was 41. He started working at 15. For a few years, Mr Doak worked during the day and went to school at night. He went to night school to learn engineering. This helped him get a better job and eventually start his own aircraft company. Before he started his own company, he built his own plane at nights and on weekends.
Bell X-22A
The Bell X-22A first flew in 1966 - around 50 years ago. Like the Doak it was a tilt-rotor aircraft and used fans (a type of propeller) inside ducts. It had four fans that could tilt.
The video below says the plane has ducted fans. This just means the fans are inside the open cylinders called ducts.
Vertol VZ-2
The VZ-2 was built by Vertol in 1957. It was one of the first tiltwing aircraft. It had room for two pilots in the bubble canopy. The tail had small ducted fans. They made it easier for the pilot to control the aircraft when it was flying slowly.
LTV XC 142A Tiltwing aircraft
The video below shows the XC-142A after 2 minutes 17 seconds.
Bell X-1 rocket plane
The Bell X-1 was the first plane to go faster than the speed of sound. Sound travels at different speeds. High up in the air the speed of sound is 660 miles per hour. So after 60 minutes sound has travelled 660 miles. The X-1 flew more than 660 miles per hour in 1947. It needed a rocket engine to fly so fast because at that time jet engines were not fast enough. The X-1 was the first American X-plane.
In the video below the X-1 was called the XS-1.
When the X-1 flew 660 miles per hour it flew:
- 11 miles in 1 minute
- 33 miles in 3 minutes
- 66 miles in 6 minutes
- 110 miles in 10 minutes
- 330 miles in 30 minutes
- 660 miles in 60 minutes
Bell X-14
The X-14 flew between 1957 and 1981. Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the Moon, once flew it as a moon-landing trainer. Pilots from around the world practised how to take off and land vertically in the X-14 before flying in new VTOL planes. Over the years NASA improved the plane two times. Both times NASA put in more powerful jet engines.
"Beech X-14A NASA234 (5008431941)" by Bill Larkins uploaded by russavia. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
North American X-15 rocket plane
The X-15 plane flew between 1959 and 1968. It had a rocket engine. It is the fastest and highest flying manned aircraft.
Several Air Force pilots flew higher than 50 miles above the ground. As a result they earned 'Astronaut Wings'. The highest it flew was just over 62 miles above the ground which is the edge of space.
A modified X-15 plane flew 4,500 mph, which is over 6 times the speed of sound.
The North American company built the plane for the American government. America's space agency, NASA, learned a lot from how the plane flew and used this information to help them design the space shuttle.
A modified X-15 plane flew 4,500 mph, which is over 6 times the speed of sound.
The North American company built the plane for the American government. America's space agency, NASA, learned a lot from how the plane flew and used this information to help them design the space shuttle.
A huge plane carried the X-15 underneath it into the air. When the rocket engines started the plane was let go and it rocketed away.
The X-15 had a tail on the underside of the plane. This tail was automatically removed before the plane landed. It had to be removed to allow the plane to be able to land safely.
The X-15 had a tail on the underside of the plane. This tail was automatically removed before the plane landed. It had to be removed to allow the plane to be able to land safely.
The X-15 had short wings. The advantage was that the short wings made it easier for the plane to fly through the air. The disadvantage was that the short wings made the plane harder to control.
This X-15 video also tells us about other X-planes from 4:29 to 6:36
Northrop Grumman X-47B
Boeing X-48
This model plane has a blended wing body design. This means that you cannot tell where the fuselage ends and the wings starts.
Boeing Phantom Swift
It is unique because it has fans in the body as well as fans on the wings. The wing fans can tilt so they propel the plane in different directions.