The First and The Last

**dhanners** · #1 10-28-2022, 04:14 AM

After building YukonJohn’s repaint/redesign of Henry Yuen’s X-15-1, 66670, as it appeared on its last powered flight in October 1968, I thought it would be fun to build 66670 as it appeared on its first powered flight, in September 1959. YukonJohn had repainted/redesigned that one previously.

On that first powered flight, 66670 looked pretty clean. The airframe was painted a semi-gloss black with a bluish tint. It looked a far cry from the weathered aircraft that flew nine years and 80 flights later.

The models are 1/72nd scale. For the First Flight airframe, I scratchbuilt the XLR 11 motor and associated jettison tubes, and the nose instrumentation boom.

Thanks again to YukonJohn and Henry for their work on offering this important bit of aerospace history.

Maybe I need to add 66670 as it now appears in the National Air and Space Museum….

**-Jim G** · #2 10-28-2022, 06:21 AM

That is a fun and interesting display! Thank you for sharing!

**Paper Kosmonaut** · #3 10-28-2022, 09:21 AM

Very nice! And to think there were only three in real life. When you display them all together, one might think they built many of them...

**dhanners** · #4 10-28-2022, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paper Kosmonaut

Very nice! And to think there were only three in real life. When you display them all together, one might think they built many of them...

Thanks. Their appearance kept changing, so there are a lot of modeling options….

**Paper Kosmonaut** · #5 10-28-2022, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dhanners

Their appearance kept changing, so there are a lot of modeling options….

Indeed! that is what makes this lot such an interesting set all together. And there are many more of them as well.
The difference in appearance of just these three aircraft to me are more interesting than, say, having twenty different liveries of an F4 or F-15.