REVELL 1/40 BELL X-5 SWEPT-WING JET
RESEARCH AIRCRAFT USAF KIT H-187:129 (1960)
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Additional Information from Internet Encyclopedia
The Bell X-5 was the first aircraft capable of changing the sweep of
its wings in flight. It was inspired by the untested wartime P.1101 design of
the German Messerschmitt company. In contrast with the German design, which
could only have its wing sweepback angle adjusted on the ground, the Bell
engineers devised a system of electric motors to adjust the sweep in flight.
Design and development
The incomplete Messerschmitt P.1101 fighter prototype recovered by
United States troops in 1945 from the experimental facility at Oberammergau,
Germany, was brought back to the United States. Although damaged in transit,
the innovative fighter prototype was delivered to the Bell factory at Buffalo,
New York where company engineering staff studied the design closely, and, led
by Chief Designer Robert J. Woods, submitted a proposal for a similar design.
Although superficially similar, the X-5 was much more complex than the
P.1101, with three sweep positions: 20°, 40° and 60°, creating an inflight
"variable-geometry" platform. A jackscrew assembly moved the wing's
hinge along a set of short horizontal rails, using disc brakes to lock the wing
into its inflight positions. Moving from full extension to full sweep took less
than 30 seconds. The articulation of the hinge and pivots partly compensated
for the shifts in center of gravity and center of pressure as the wings moved.
Even so, the X-5 had vicious spin characteristics arising from the
aircraft's flawed aerodynamic layout, particularly a poorly positioned tail and
vertical stabilizer which, in some wing positions, could lead to an
irrecoverable spin. This violent stall / spin instability would eventually
cause the destruction of the second aircraft and the death of its Air Force
test pilot in 1953.
The unfavorable spin characteristics also led to the cancellation of
tentative plans by the United States Air Force to modify the X-5's design into
a low-cost tactical fighter for NATO and other foreign countries.
Operational history
Two X-5s were built (serial numbers 50-1838 and 50-1839). The first was
completed 15 February 1951, and the two aircraft made their first flights on 20
June and 10 December 1951. Almost 200 flights were made at speeds up to Mach
0.9 and altitudes of 40,000 ft (12,000 m). One aircraft was lost on 14 October
1953, when it failed to recover from a spin at 60° sweepback. Air Force Captain
Ray Popson died in the crash at Edwards Air Force Base. The other X-5 remained
at Edwards and continued active testing until 1955, and remained in service as
a chase plane until 1958.
The X-5 successfully demonstrated the advantage of a swing-wing design
for aircraft intended to fly at a wide range of speeds. Despite the X-5's
stability problems, the concept was later successfully implemented in such
aircraft as the General Dynamics F-111 and Grumman F-14 Tomcat, the Mikoyan
Gurevich MiG-23 and MiG-27, the Sukhoi Su-17/20/22 and Su-24, the Tupolev
Tu-22M and Tu-160, the Panavia Tornado and the Rockwell B-1 Lancer.