Lockheed X-7
| Lockheed X-7 | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Experimental airplane |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
April 26, 1951 |
| Commissioning: |
April 26, 1951 |
| Production time: |
1951 to 1958 |
| Number of pieces: |
at least 28 X-7A and 2 XQ-5 |
The Lockheed X-7 (factory designation L-171) was an unmanned test aircraft for ramjet engines and flight technology. It was carried under the wing by a B-29 bomber or in the bomb bay of a B-50 to a height of about 10,000 m and notched there.
One or two rockets ignited after being released and accelerated the X-7 for five seconds to a speed of 1,625 km / h. The launcher was then dropped and the ramjet took over from that point on. The X-7 eventually landed on a parachute . The X-7 reached a top speed of Mach 4.31 and at that time set the record as the fastest aircraft to use oxygen in the air to burn its fuel. A total of 130 flights were carried out from April 1951 to July 1960.
See also
literature
- Steve Peace: Lockheed Skunk Works , Motorbooks International, 1992, ISBN 0-87938-632-0 , pp. 96-103
Individual evidence
- ↑ Description on history.nasa.gov p. 13. (PDF; 1.2 MB) Retrieved January 11, 2013 .