X-3 BELL STILETTO

Historical Note:        Our X-3 Stiletto model aircraft is modeled and handcrafted using various high-quality grade materials by our renowned master craftsmen. Our X-3 Stiletto model aircraft is uniquely designed and manufactured using the latest innovations and techniques applied in the over-all manufacturing and operation process procedures. The model airplane’s parts including the fuselage, wings and glass cockpit are extremely accurate and precise based on the original. This model aircraft will fascinate anyone, aviation enthusiast and model aircraft collectors alike for its remarkable and exceptional quality. This elegant X-3 Stiletto model aircraft is definitely the perfect gift and collectible you would want to give to your friends and family.

Scale:    1:32
W/S:     8.5    inches
Lgth:     25.25     inches

Item Number:    TMC-CX3T                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Price:    $175.95

Historical Note Cont'd:        The X-3 Stiletto was an experimental jet aircraft with a slender fuselage and a long tapered nose.  The X-3 Stiletto was manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company.  Its primary mission was to investigate the design features of an aircraft suitable for sustained supersonic speeds, which included the first use of titanium in major airframe components.  It was, however, seriously underpowered for its purpose and could not even exceed Mach 1 in level flight.

The first X-3 "hop" was made on 15 October 1952, by Douglas test pilot Bill Bridgeman.  During a high-speed taxi test, Bridgeman lifted the X-3 off the ground and flew it about a mile (1.6 km) before settling back onto the lakebed.  The official first flight was made by Bridgeman on 20 October, and lasted about 20 minutes.  He made a total of 26 flights (counting the hop) by the end of the Douglas tests in December 1953.  These showed that the X-3 was severely underpowered and difficult to control.  More seriously, the X-3 did not approach its planned top speed.  The X-3's fastest flight, made on 28 July 1953, reached Mach 1.208 in a 30 degree dive.

The principal contribution of the X-3 was its data on inertia coupling - a potentially violent divergence from the intended flight path when executing an abrupt maneuver which had afflicted the X-1 and X-2 aircraft.

In 1956, X-3 Stiletto was transferred to the National Museum of the United States Air Force, where as of 2007, it is currently on display in the Research & Development Gallery.