X-15 McKay

INTERESTING PHOTO SHOWS X-15 HYPERSONIC ROCKET-POWERED AIRCRAFT UPSIDE DOWN AFTER AN EMERGENCY LANDING

By Dario Leone
May 8 2017
Share this article

Jack McKay, the X-15 pilot for that flight, retired from NASA because of his injuries, while the aircraft returned to Edwards AFB as the X-15A-2 after extensive repairs

Taken on Nov. 9, 1962, the interesting photo in this post shows the second X-15 (56-6671) flipped over on its back after an engine failure forced Jack McKay, a NASA research pilot, to make an emergency landing at Mud Lake, Nevada.

McKay was promptly rescued by a U.S. Air Force (USAF) medical team standing by near the launch site, and eventually recovered to fly the X-15 again. Nevertheless his injuries were more serious than at first thought and eventually forced his retirement from NASA.

The aircraft instead was sent back to the manufacturer, where it underwent extensive repairs and modifications. It returned to Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) in Feb. 1964 as the X-15A-2, with a longer fuselage and external fuel tanks.

The basic X-15 was a rocket-powered aircraft developed to provide in-flight information and data on aerodynamics, structures, flight controls, and the physiological aspects of high-speed, high-altitude flight. A follow-on program used the aircraft as a testbed to carry various scientific experiments beyond the Earth’s atmosphere on a repeated basis.

The X-15 was flown over a period of nearly 10 years – Jun. 1959 to Oct. 1968 – and set the world’s unofficial speed and altitude records of 4,520 mph (Mach 6.7) and 354,200 ft in a program to investigate all aspects of manned hypersonic flight. Information gained from the highly successful X-15 program contributed to the development of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo manned spaceflight programs, and also the Space Shuttle program.

The X-15s, which were manufactured by North American Aviation, made a total of 199 flights.

Source and Photo credit: NASA


Share this article

Dario Leone

Dario Leone

Dario Leone is an aviation, defense and military writer. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviation Geek Club” one of the world’s most read military aviation blogs. His writing has appeared in The National Interest and other news media. He has reported from Europe and flown Super Puma and Cougar helicopters with the Swiss Air Force.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Share this article


Share this article
Share this article

Always up to date! News and offers delivered directly to you!

Get the best aviation news, stories and features from The Aviation Geek Club in our newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.



    Share this article
    Back to top
    My Agile Privacy
    This website uses technical and profiling cookies. Clicking on "Accept" authorises all profiling cookies. Clicking on "Refuse" or the X will refuse all profiling cookies. By clicking on "Customise" you can select which profiling cookies to activate. We and our selected ad partners can store and/or access information on your device, such as cookies, unique identifiers, browsing data. You can always choose the specific purposes related to profiling by accessing the advertising preferences panel, and you can always withdraw your consent at any time by clicking on "Manage consent" at the bottom of the page.

    List of some possible advertising permissions:

    You can consult: our list of advertising partners, the Cookie Policy and the Privacy Policy.
    Warning: some page functionalities could not work due to your privacy choices