Very good post. There are some really interesting designs in there, esp. the X-25

there are some really nice deigns but what i am interested in are th diamond looking crafts they could be the reasearch that went into making the aurora

Brilliant post. I really enjoyed seeing all those x-planes. I wonder if the gaps signify aircraft that are still top secret? Maybe like theAvro/Lockheed Mach 5 flying saucer that was featured on a recent British TV programme?

Interestingly (or maybe not ) did you know that while the X-1 was based to a fairly large extent on the UK Miles M.52, mainly the fulselage shape and the flying tail, the X-4 and X-5 were virtually straight rebuilds of captured German aircraft?

Originally posted by waynos
the X-4 and X-5 were virtually straight rebuilds of captured German aircraft?

yeah. the only diferences were that the US versions used jet engines instead of LOX (i think) engines like the german versions.

I'm pretty sure that these German aircraft were jets too. But I know that Bell added a swing wing to the X-5 that wasn't on the original Messerschmitt, even though it couldn't be moved in flight.

Now I've gone and forgotten what the X-4 was based on. Was it an Arado?

Originally posted by waynos
Now I've gone and forgotten what the X-4 was based on. Was it an Arado?

the X-4 was based off the Me-163... i donno if that was codenamed Arado though. it was a rocket plane.

Its very similar to the Me 163 in many ways but I'm thinking of an actual german twin engined jet of the same basic design as the X-4. DAMN I can see it in my minds eye but can't remember the sodding name

Arado is a company, they also built the Ar 234, the worlds first jet bomber

very impressive collections of x-planes...

most i have seen before but a few that i have never seen!

kudos