The Douglas X-3 Stiletto is a 1950s United States experimental jet aircraft with a slender fuselage and a long tapered nose, manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company.

Feb 28, 2014 · The Douglas X-3 Stiletto was the sleekest of the early experimental aircraft, but its research accomplishments were not those originally planned. The goal of the aircraft was ambitious – it was to take off from the ground under its own power, climb to high altitude, maintain a sustained cruise speed of Mach 2, then land under its own power.

DAYTON, Ohio -- Douglas X-3 Stiletto in the R&D Gallery at the National Museum of the USAF. The twin-turbojet X-3, the only one built, was designed to test sustained flight at twice the speed of sound.

Mit der Konstruktion der X-3 wurde bereits im Jahr 1949 begonnen. Aufgrund der zufriedenstellenden Ergebnisse mit der Bell X-1 A und der Douglas D-558-I, deren Erprobung zu dieser Zeit noch lief, sollten nun mit der Bell X-2 und der Douglas X-3 Geschwindigkeiten bis Mach 3 erreicht und das Flugverhalten erprobt werden.

The Bell X-2 (nicknamed "Starbuster" [1]) was an X-plane research aircraft built to investigate flight characteristics in the Mach 2–3 range.

The X-3 (49-2892) was manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company and investigated the design features of an aircraft suitable for sustained supersonic speeds, which included the first use of titanium in major airframe components.

Oct 27, 2024 · Unlike its predecessors, the Bell Aircraft Corporation’s X1 and and X-2 rocketplanes, the turbojet-powered Douglas X-3 took off under its own power. Here, its two Westinghouse J37 engines are stirring up the sand on Runway 35 at Rogers Dry Lake.

Jan 4, 2025 · T he Douglas X-3 Stiletto was an experimental aircraft designed to test sustained Mach 2 flight, using titanium structures in aircraft construction as well as an aircraft design with an extremely short wingspan. The X-3 was one of the “X” series of aircraft designed during the early days of jet-powered aircraft.

The Douglas X-3 Stiletto is a 1950s United States experimental jet aircraft with a slender fuselage and a long tapered nose, manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company.

This in-flight NACA High-Speed Flight Station photograph of the X-3 Stiletto illustrates the aircraft’s long slender fuselage and the small wings. The X-3 Stiletto was a single-place jet-powered research aircraft manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company.