X-3 Stiletto

X-3 Stiletto, mid-1950s
Description
Role	Testbed for sustained supersonic flight
Crew	1
First Flight	September 20, 1952
Manufacturer	Douglas Aircraft Company
Dimensions
Length	66 ft 9 in	20.3 m
Wingspan	22 ft 8 in	6.9 m
Height	12 ft 6 in	3.8 m
Wing area	166.5 ft²	15.47 m²
Weights
Empty	16,120 lb	7,310 kg
Loaded	lb	kg
Maximum takeoff	23,840 lb	10,800 kg
Powerplant
Engines	2x Westinghouse J34 afterburning turbojets
Thrust (each) with afterburner	3,370 lbf 4,850 lbf	15.0 kN 21.6 kN
Performance
Maximum speed	700 mph	1125 km/h
Range	miles	km
Service ceiling	38,000 ft	11,600 m
Rate of climb	ft/min	m/min
Wing loading	lb/ft²	kg/m²
Thrust/Weight
Three view diagram
X-3 Stiletto, mid-1950s

The Douglas X-3 Stiletto was an experimental jet aircraft with a slender fuselage and a long tapered nose, manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Its primary mission was to investigate the design features of an aircraft suitable for sustained supersonic speeds, which included the first use of titanium in major airframe components. It was, however, seriously underpowered for its purpose and could not even exceed Mach 1 in level flight.

Only one X-3 was built. First flown October 1952, it was delivered to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in the summer of 1954 and flew 20 times between 1954 and 1956 at the NACA High-Speed Flight Station (now Edwards Air Force Base). Joe Walker was the pilot for all 20 of these missions. It is now on display in the USAF Museum.

The principal contribution of the X-3 was its data on inertia coupling - a potentially violent divergence from the intended flight path when executing an abrupt maneuver which had afflicted the X-1 and X-2 aircraft.

Aircraft serial numbers

• 49-2892, 51 flights
• 49-2893, cancelled - 0 flights

Also See

• X-plane

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