NASA says that, "The X-1E, the last of the X-1 aircraft series, was used to obtain in-flight data at twice the speed of sound, with particular emphasis placed on investigating the improvements achieved with the high-speed wing. The airplane was the first aircraft to fly supersonically with a 4 percent wing, and thus the first to prove the high-mach capability and adequate stability using a thin airfoil section.
"The X-1E made 26 flights and a captive flight with two NACA High-Speed Flight Station test pilots. It flew to a Mach of 2.24 and an altitude of 73,458 feet. Like its predecessors is was air launched from a Boeing B-29."
July 28, 2012 4:00 AM PDT
Photo by: Daniel Terdiman/CNET
| Caption by: Daniel Terdiman
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