The first plane to reach Mach 2, or twice the speed of sound, was the Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket. Civilian test…
Perhaps the most famous of the X-planes is the North American X-15 rocket plane. During its 199 test flights between…
The North American XB-70 Valkyrie was the prototype for a supersonic bomber that was never built, but the two test…
This NASA F-16XL-2 aircraft was used during 1995-96 for the Supersonic Laminar Flow Control project to demonstrate that airflow could…
Taking the leap well beyond supersonic flight, a hypersonic X-43 aircraft reached a record-breaking speed of Mach 9.6, or nearly…
This modified Northrop F-5E jet was used during 2003 for NASA’s Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstration program, a successful effort to…
Originally designed as a supersonic interceptor for the Air Force, the YF-12A was a variant of Lockheed’s A-12 reconnaissance plane.…
With Mach 1 and Mach 2 behind them, NACA engineers sought to expand on their research to fully understand the…
