GP040 BELL X2

Bell X2 was an American experimental aircraft from the Cold War period, which made its first flight in 1952. The plane was 11.53 meters long with a wingspan of 9.83 meters. The propulsion was provided by a single Curtiss-Wright XLR25 rocket engine with a maximum thrust of 67 kN at sea level. The maximum speed was about 3.2 Ma. The maximum ceiling was, in turn, about 38,500 meters. The Bell X2 was developed and built in 2 units to carry out various types of high altitude testing at speeds of 2 to 3 Ma. Its aim was to collect experiences and observations related to the stability and controllability of an aircraft at such high speeds, as well as to study the phenomenon of the so-called thermal barrier. The plane was also able to fly on the border between the Earth's atmosphere and outer space. It was also on this machine that the speed of 3 Ma was exceeded for the first time. During the period 1952-1956, a total of 20 test flights were made on Bell X2 aircraft, both of which were lost as a result of disasters.