THE BELL X-2 ROCKET PLANE - Significant Test Flights of the 1950s' most exotic Research Aircraft!
Вставка
- Опубліковано 27 сер 2024
- Want to continue receiving new aviation videos, weekly updates, and have Q&As with Mike? Learn more at: www.celebratin...
LT. COL. FITZ FULTON: • "FITZ" FULTON - Author...
AMAZING AVIATION STORIES: • AMAZING AVIATION STORI...
You have a way of presenting a lot of information in both a succinct and entertaining way. The attention to detail in your art work extends to your work on your videos. Thank you for making these!
Many thanks!
Mike really does get a lot in and keeps it entertaining and informative.
Indeed! Very well said.
Wish I had Doc Brown's DeLorean to go back in time and see all of this, what exciting times. Just think, all this work being done with slide rules, pencils and paper---no computers. Thanks to Mike Machat for keeping history alive with another great watch.
Many thanks!
Indeed!! Oh that would be nice!
Thankfully, although We don’t have Doc’s Delorean… we now have the next best thing,… people like Mike who lived it, AND now can take the time to present their experiences (very cost effectively) via UA-cam, for ALL the world to see.
@@keithtarrier4558 Youtub is nice as long as they like what you say, I have been banned for 24 hours a few times because I'm not fond of the "ice cream" man.
Thank you for another great video.
From a time in history when we were not afraid to take risks.
Your clear presentation style is laudable. Very easy listening and informative. Keep giving us more.
Great show. Thanks Mike.
Love it!!
Thanks to these videos Mike creates, I started making a lot more 1:72 plastic models 'with enthusiasm' over the past few years ( I have always done so, but these videos really inspire me to do more... not wait 6 months to do another model) AND really enjoying these early jet/experimental era models up to the Century Series.
Luckily I am living Tokyo at the moment and all these classic aircraft models, made in Japan, are very well priced and not so hard to get.
As well, learning so much from all the videos on this channel.
Appreciate the comment, thanks!
Greetings from Canada Ontario.
Thanks again Mike. Yet another great presentation on another fascinating subject. Definitely the highlight of Monday for me.
Awsome 60th anniversary special.
An excellent presentation, Mike. Thanks for making my Monday ! Your attention to detail is astonishing, and I'm glad you feature both the men and the machines fully.
Great episode Mike!
Thank you, Mr. Machat. Not only for this video, but for your channel, too. I’ve always wanted to know more about the X-2 program, except that it existed. Your videos are very informative.
Many thanks!
The wing tip photo of the aircraft is fantastic. Great one again Mike, thanks for your work.
Another excellent one Mike. Love the photos, artwork and narration.
Thanks Glenn!
I just realized after watching this that you did another video on the X-2 three years ago. Still added to story is what I really like about you. You're always so well researched and the presentation is the best with photographs and paintings I've never seen before and info I either forgot or just didn't know. Thanks again Mike.
On a side note: I was amazed to see the service life of the Douglas Skyrocket. I had no idea it flew that long with that many flights. I always thought the D-558 was the forgotten plane in the X series mainly because it wasn't one.
Appreciate the comment, and yes, I updated my original Bell X-2 video from 2020 for all the new subscribers. Thanks for watching!
Great information as always. As a high speed aircraft 'nut' I was really into the X-2 as a kid, it looked so cool. Soon after I moved to the us I visited the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino in 2005. While walking around the back lot I freaked when I saw an X-2 fuselarge. When I got home I discovered it was part of the Quantum Leap X-2 mockup lol
Great episode! I saw for the first time many of the pictures you showed.
Thanks Doug!
Your description of the Apt flight was very benevolent to the USAF. Multiple sources quote the NACA folks as having told the USAF that the airplane would go unstable at the speeds proposed. They were also horrified that the USAf would have Apt make this attempt on his first flight.
The program was years behind schedule and was about to be overtaken by the development of the X-15. So they apparently rushed going from barely supersonic to Mach 3 almost overnight.
Also worth discussing is the pair of Bell L-39 aircraft originally built, in 1946, to test Swept wing low speed performance for the Navy. The L-39-2 was later returned to Bell and the wing altered to represent the proposed X-2 wing to allow evaluation of it's low speed performance. I believe this was the first swept wing conventional aircraft to fly in the USA. Sadly, almost forgotten. It is not even certain what colour they were painted.
Excellent work Mr. Machat!
Many thanks!
Thank you for this great video and for all your other videos. They are superb and so informative. The risks and costs in terms of human lives of these experimental planes were high but the rewards were equally as high. The feeling of exploration, adventure and incredible progress is palpable throughout your videos.
OMG!
There was an X2?!
That is awesome!
Wonderful video, as usual, and I can't help getting impressed with your attention to details in your paintings! Congrats Mike!
Many thanks Gustavo. Always enjoy your comments!
That photo from left wing is mind blowing! It looks like it was taken today with some new camera. Would like to have is in big resolution and in a frame on the wall!!
I love your videos Mike! Very informative and your aviation art work is second to none
Many thanks!
Great video, Mike. I always enjoy the details you present. Imagine if Revell had produced a gift set of all the vehicles and equipment pictured at 12:40.
I definitely would have bought that!
Interesting photo at 12:40, the X-2 seems to be elevated off the ground. Possibly on a transport cart or trolley of some kind. Thanks again, Mike!
Great vid and info. Alot of pics I have never seen.one day exploring South base I happened on that revetment you showed I figured from pics that they ran the X-2 there. I was surprised that the hook in the cement area where they ran the rocket motors was just a piece of 3/4" diameter rebar.
Great video, Mike...👍
Thanks!
Appreciate the support, thanks!
You truly bring this golden era of flight to life with your artwork and your videos! Mahalo, Mike Machat!
Many thanks!
Enjoyed the history lesson on this exciting era in aviation development.
The photos are great so clear for how old they are just amazing. Your knowledge on aviation,and your collection of the photos and artwork are the best. Great work Thanks for sharing.
Thank you John, and always appreciate your comments.
Great video mike! I still have a drawing you made for me framed up on my wall in my room. Hope your doing well. Have a good one! - Joe
Fascinated with this period of aviation and especially the X2. Great video as always.
The National Air & Space Museum once had a mock up of the X-2 on display in Washington. At some point it, was taken down from display. Another sad ending for the X-2's legacy.
It is achieved it’s goal. At that time it wasn’t known what would happen past the speed of sound. There however was an another goal it accomplished. It created a generation of boys and some girls interested in Science and Engineering. How do I know this? I was one of those young people.
On another note, the academic elite should not have prevented Chuck Yeager to participate in the space program. Mike great video.
Great presentation you do beautiful art work and your representation of history is Great. Keep it coming.
I was expecting more on Lincoln Bond's contributions to the program. Just kidding 😊 Great overview, Mike!
Somebody new at Edwards asks his boss, "What happens when you pull these three switches, Sir?"
Boss replies, "You know, I don't know. They've been there forever."
New guy pulls one of the switches.
C-R-A-S-H!!!
Boss, "What now?" They run outside to see someone's car, (the boss's of course), had fallen off of a "secret" elevator and was destroyed.
Naturally, the elevator was a left-over from the early X-Plane days in the 1950's.
Good one!
One of the spare motors for these things ended up in Reedley college, California. I'm amazed by it, but the other students don't seem to notice or care
I would call the X-2 dangerously successful.
Well put!
Is there an inside Easter egg here? Kinchlow named his plane “Hogan”. On the sitcom “Hogan’s Hero’s” there was a character called Iven Kinchlow. (Sorry for spelling errors)
If he hadn't died, there's a good chance Iven Kinchloe would have been the first man on the moon. He was set to be the lead pilot in the X15 program and widely recognized as the very top of the test pilot community.
That would have been a good one. An American man named "Iven", very similar to the Russian "Ivan" [It means John] is the first man to step onto the moon. Nixon would have had a field day with that!
@@Flies2FLL In the movie _The Right Stuff_ the NASA publicity staff didn't think "Gus" (Grissom) fit the image of an astronaut. The punch line was:
"What's your middle name, Gus?"
"Ivan" (And to further your 'first man' - It appears Gus was at the head of the line too.)
The T 33 chase plane at 7:39 looks like a two seat F 86
Another wonderful aviation history video from you as always! Love the channel and each and every post! Yours are the best presentations I have ever seen. Thanks Mr. Machat for bringing aviation history to the public. Growing up the X planes were always a favorite. I must admit though as a kid in the 60s the X15 was my favorite. Keep up the great videos and as always God bless you and yours and thanks again for everything you do! Take care always Sir. 👍🇺🇸🇺🇸😊
Thank you Martin!
@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 You are most welcome!
Can't find which exact flight Dr. Sam Beckett performed.
Love it!
That explosion was caused by the Ulmer Gasket.
Folks, as an airline pilot with 29 years experience in the airline industry, 4 years as a flight instructor, and a degree in aeronautical science, along with 12,000 hours of flight time, I feel that I am fully qualified to say that people like Iven Kincheloe, Mel Apt, and the others that flew this thing most likely were born with balls the size of coconuts~
No they weren't, they were normal sized balls for the day. It's modern men whose balls have shrunk, tremendously. Enjoy the auto pilot and electronic gadgets.
Greetings, from taiwan 👍
Thanks for watching!
The Republic of China
thanks mike. always enjoy your talks. Are there any models kits of this plane?
Bell Aircraft Co. produced a very basic kit of the X-2 (no landing gear), but for whatever reason, none of the major model manufacturers ever did. Thanks for watching!
The rendering at 14:06 is really something. Mike, what is the name of the museum you are affiliated with ?
Many thanks, and I am the Curator and Historian for The Museum of Flying at Santa Monica, CA.
@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 Thank you !!!
Bell aircraft is a very quirky company. They really had their best money maker when they started making helicopters. And the planes they did make were well, quirky....
Nor off hand can I think of any commercial aircraft?
Mike, excellent video. How may I contact you by email about the Bell X-22A?
Mach 1- Chuck Yeager
Mach 2- Scott Crossfield
Mach 3- Mel Apt
Mach 4-6 Robert White
All above Edward's AFB, USA! 🇺🇲
Not wanting to speak ill of the dead, but I'm curious about the Air Force's conclusions about Mel Apt's flight. It would seem like for a man's first time flying a rocket plane, the mission would not have been planned to achieve record speeds. Wouldn't the flight plan have called for a max Mach number and throttling back once achieved? And given Chuck Yeager's experience with inertia coupling in the X1A years before, the flight plan could have called for coasting down below a safe Mach number before attempting any turns. Is there any information available in Air Force accident reports that would shed any light on these issues?
Thanks for watching and for your good questions. The speed record on Apt's flight was an unintended byproduct of his excellent airmanship, as no one ever expected him to fly such a perfect profile on his very first flight in the airplane. That extra 15 seconds of engine burn took the X-2 to speeds never-before flown, but another key element in this accident was the restricted visibility Apt had from the cockpit with the canopy window design and his T-1 pressure suit helmet. Because he couldn't see the ground behind him, Apt was concerned he was flying out of range to land on the lakebed, so he turned the airplane more aggressively than he might have. There was also a lag in instrumentation, so he may have thought he was flying slower than actual. Air Force accident records may be accessible online. Many unfortunate links in this accident chain, and thanks again for the great questions!
Hi Mike... I think maybe you can answer this for me. Is there a technical name for the imaginary motion lines that an artist paints behind fast moving vehicles? Your thumbnail of the X-2 is a good example of motion behind the tail, but you see cartoonists also use lines behind cars or even people to depict movement. I am distinguishing here between the diamond effect in the engine thrust which can be seen in real life and the imaginary effect of air moving behind wings and tail surfaces. In a related question, is there a technical name for the motion depicted by propeller blades by making them appear semi-transparent or disc-like? Maybe the terminology is the same, but the effect is different because it is depicting motion by transparency instead of the imaginary movement of air.
Great question, thanks, and I've heard that effect referred to strictly as "speed lines," although other artists nicjnamed them "seaweed." For propellers, we call them "prop discs" which can appear in a number of different ways depending on engine RPM, prop pitch, lighting, and aircraft view. Thanks for watching!