X15
The X-15 is a rocket-powered hypersonic experimental aircraft jointly operated by USAF and NASA to gather data for future spacecraft design. The plane is air launched in the stratosphere from a B-52 Stratofortress. The rocket engine burns for only 80 to 120s before the plane descends without power.
Tags: X15
| Variant | PAW Configs | Parts |
|---|---|---|
| X-15-1 (Early) | NACA Nose; XLR11 Fuselage; 2KLR-11 "Crossfield" Engine | 4x Aerodynamic Cameras |
| X-15-1 (Late) | Qball Nose; Cockpit Ventral Camera Mount; XLR99 Fuselage; KLR-99 "Dana" Engine | Spy Camera |
| X-15-3 (Late) | Razor Edge Dorsal Fin | Wingtip Pods; tail box experiment; No Recoverable Ventral Fin |
| X-15A-2 (Early) | Cockpit Round Windows; Extended Fuselage | Drop Tanks; tail box Helium Tank |
| X-15A-2 (Late) | Ablative Coating | Modified Fixed Vertical Stabiliser; Dummy Scramjet |
All variants share the same basic build. Start with the Cockpit and attach Nose Gear, Nose, Fuselage and Engine. Place a Fixed Vertical Stabiliser top and bottom of the fuselage and then attach the Dorsal Fin on top and Recoverable Ventral Fin to the bottom. Place Landing Skids at the rear of the fuselage and select the "Right" side config in the Part Action Window for the right-hand one. Place the left Wing and left Horizontal Stabiliser. The right Wing and right Stabiliser use the same parts but rotated 180 degrees and switched to the "Right" config and the Deploy Direction inverted.
The early X-15-1 flights took place with the XLR-11 engine due to engineering delays with the XLR-99. For this variant, switch the Fuselage to XLR-11 config, Engine to the 2KL-11 "Crossfield" config and Nose to the NACA config. Add four Aerodynamic Cameras just behind the Cockpit, two on top and two on the bottom.
X-15-1
X-15-1 was later rebuilt to the same configuration as X-15-2 & -3 using the "big engine" and Q-ball Nose. This variant occasionally flew with Wingtip Pods and was modified to use the Spy Camera, which requires the Ventral Camera Mount config on the Cockpit part.
X-15-3 often flew with supplementary experiments such as the Wingtip Pods and tail boxes (either the Photometer or the Horizon Definition Experiment). The Dorsal Fin uses the Razor Edge config and the lower Recoverable Ventral Fin is removed for improved stability at high AoA. A third landing skid seen on some flights is not represented in BDB.
X-15-3
X-15A-2 is an improved version rebuilt out of the remains of X-15-2 after it crashed. The Cockpit uses the Round Window config and the Fuselage is Extended to make space for scientific payloads and a supply of hydrogen for experimental ramjet engines, which never flew. A pair of Drop Tanks increases fuel load and a Helium (Monoprop) Tank replaces the tail box experiment. Other minor historical changes such as alterations to the landing skids are not represented in BDB.
X-15A-2
Towards the end of the programme, X-15A-2 modifications focussed on the pursuit of maximum speed. The airframe was coated in MA-25S ablative material and a covered with white protective "wear layer". The high speed flights included mockups of various scram and ramjet engines attached to the ventral fin.
X-15A-2 (Late)
X-15 Delta Wing is a speculative upgrade to X-15-3, upgrading the engine to XLR-99E and replacing the wings & horizontal stabilisers with Delta Wings and Elevons. Delta Fins go on the wingtips.
X-15D
X-15-SERJ is a proposed upgrade using the Marquardt Supercharged Ejector Ramjet (SERJ) dual-mode engine and features a massive Air Intake on the belly of an Extra Extended Fuselage with slippers for additional fuel.
X-15-SERJ