The Bell X-2 is a rocket powered American experimental aircraft developed in the early 1950s to explore flight at speeds and altitudes beyond the reach of the earlier Bell X-1, built with swept wings and stainless steel and copper alloy construction to withstand the heat of sustained high speed flight. In 1956 it became the first aircraft to exceed three times the speed of sound, though the same record setting flight ended in the aircraft breaking up and the pilot's death.
Facts
SignificanceFirst aircraft flown past Mach 3, reaching Mach 3.2 1 Connections
In the Other Atlases
Manufactured By
Also in Business Atlas: the manufacturer of this subject.
Sources
1. Bell X-2 - Wikipedia
Flight testing, first glide flight
Following a drop launch from a modified B-50 bomber, Bell test pilot Jean "Skip" Ziegler completed the first unpowered glide flight of an X-2 at Edwards Air Force Base on 27 June 1952.
Flight testing, record flight
He became the first man to exceed Mach 3, reaching Mach 3.2 (2,094 mph, 3,370 km/h) at 65,500 ft (19,960 m).
In Group: Rocket-Powered and Hypersonic Research Aircraft, Lead sentence
The Bell X-2 (nicknamed "Starbuster") was an X-plane research aircraft built to investigate flight characteristics in the Mach 2-3 range.
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