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Today we're looking at the Bell X2, the first aircraft to exceed Mach 3. Designed to explore these high speeds and the use of swept wings, it became notorious for being behind schedule, overbudget, and dangerous. Both aircraft were lost in two horrific accidents that brought much scrutiny on the handling of the program by the USAF.

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Sources:
Pelletier.A.J (1992), Bell Aircraft Since 1935.
Davies.B.E (2017), Bell X2 (XPlanes Series).
NACA (1951), Lift and drag coefficients for the Bell X1 airplane (Research Memorandum).

Online Sources:
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstron...
https://upship.com/blog/?p=15373

Video Footage Courtesy Of:
NASA
archives.gov
Mach 2: D5582 and X2 DVD (buy it here https://spacemonkeymodels.myshopify....)

0:00 Intro
3:44 Design Origins
7:20 Bell Model 52 (The X2 is born)
8:42 Aerofoil Design
10:50 Control Systems
12:49 "Escape" System (More of a suggestion, really...)
15:39 Heat Management
17:30 Rocket Motor Development
19:57 Flight Testing Begins
21:55 The First X2 Is Lost
23:33 The Path To Mach 3
25:45 Success & Disaster