11 North American X-15A-2
Phase 9 of the X-15 program pushed the X-15A-2 beyond what it was designed to achieve. The structure needed heat protection and the addition of the external tanks and scramjet altered the flight characteristics of the aircraft. During deceleration on Knight’s fastest flight on 3 October 1967, he made a number of stability and control evaluation pulses to test the dynamics of the airplane/scramjet combination. Heating was so severe on the ventral fin from shock waves from the scramjet that much of the fin’s leading edge was burned away and the explosive bolts fastening the scramjet overheated and voluntarily fired, jettisoning the dummy engine. If any more of the fin had burned away, it would have made the aircraft uncontrollable. The ventral fin was repaired but the aircraft never flew again.
For the X-15A-2 variant, I changed the design of the canopy. This design is more faithful to the original design but lacks the correct profile. I thought it might be interesting to see the differences and highlight the design decisions Lego builders are confronted with. I usually go through several iterations and revisions before settling on the final design. Sometimes, I choose function over form and at other times the reverse is true. These are the choices that make one’s work unique.
11 North American X-15A-2
Phase 9 of the X-15 program pushed the X-15A-2 beyond what it was designed to achieve. The structure needed heat protection and the addition of the external tanks and scramjet altered the flight characteristics of the aircraft. During deceleration on Knight’s fastest flight on 3 October 1967, he made a number of stability and control evaluation pulses to test the dynamics of the airplane/scramjet combination. Heating was so severe on the ventral fin from shock waves from the scramjet that much of the fin’s leading edge was burned away and the explosive bolts fastening the scramjet overheated and voluntarily fired, jettisoning the dummy engine. If any more of the fin had burned away, it would have made the aircraft uncontrollable. The ventral fin was repaired but the aircraft never flew again.
For the X-15A-2 variant, I changed the design of the canopy. This design is more faithful to the original design but lacks the correct profile. I thought it might be interesting to see the differences and highlight the design decisions Lego builders are confronted with. I usually go through several iterations and revisions before settling on the final design. Sometimes, I choose function over form and at other times the reverse is true. These are the choices that make one’s work unique.