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North American X-15

Peter E Davies author Adam Tooby illustrator

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Published:18th May '17

Should be back in stock very soon

North American X-15 cover

An authoritative history of the hypersonic career and lasting influence of America’s Mach 6 rocket plane, packed with photos and spectacular new artwork, which will appeal to the many aviation fans fascinated by the thrilling, dangerous world of Space Age pioneers.

The revolutionary X-15 remains the fastest manned aircraft ever to fly. Built in the two decades following World War II, it was the most successful of the high-speed X-planes. The only recently broken ‘sound barrier’ was smashed completely by the X-15, which could hit Mach 6.7 and soar to altitudes above 350,000ft, beyond the edge of space. Several pilots qualified as astronauts by flying above 50 miles altitude in the X-15, including Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon. The three X-15s made 199 flights, testing new technologies and techniques which greatly eased America’s entry into manned space travel, and made the Apollo missions and Space Shuttle viable propositions. With historical photographs and stunning digital artwork, this is the story of arguably the greatest of the X-Planes.

ISBN: 9781472819918

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 262g

80 pages