McDonnell Douglas X-36
| McDonnell Douglas X-36 | |
|---|---|
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| Type: | |
| Design country: | |
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| First flight: |
May 17, 1997 |
| Number of pieces: |
1 |
The McDonnell Douglas X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft is a scaled-down prototype of an aircraft without the usual fin manages.
history
Canards , split ailerons and advanced vector thrust control are used to steer the aircraft . The X-36 has a very unstable attitude, which is why a computer-aided fly-by-wire system is used.
The X-36 was built on a scale of 1: 4 for a normal fighter aircraft and is controlled from a virtual cockpit on the ground by a pilot who is supplied with video images from the aircraft.
The first flight took place on May 17, 1997 and a total of 25 test flights were carried out. The handling of the aircraft was surprisingly good and it was reported that all expectations of the project were met or exceeded.
Sometimes the aircraft is referred to as the Boeing X-36 because Boeing and McDonnell Douglas merged during the project period.
Possible development
The X-36 is the evolutionary model of a possible future combat aircraft with extreme maneuverability and good stability at both ends of the speed scale. Regardless of the potential of the X-36, no announcement was made by Boeing that an aircraft based on the X-36 would be built.
General data
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 0 (1 pilot on the ground) |
| length | 5.8 m |
| span | 3.0 m |
| height | 0.9 m |
| Takeoff mass | 550 kg |
| Top speed | 375 km / h |
| Service ceiling | 6000 m |
| Engines | Williams International F112 |
| thrust | 3.1 kN |
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Description on history.nasa.gov p. 46 (X-36). (PDF; 1.2 MB) Retrieved April 8, 2013 .