Would you believe I built another X-15?

[dhanners]

This is my build of X-15-1, 66670, as it appeared on Flight 1-51-81, flown by Joe Engle on 10 December 1964. The model is a conversion and repaint of Ken West’s 1/32nd-scale X-15A-2. YukonJohn did the repainting (including correcting the fonts Ken used) and I did all the reconstruction necessary to convert the longer ‘A-2 into the shorter 66670.

During the X-15 program, NASA and USAF looked for ways for the vehicle to carry different experiments. One method was the addition of wingtip pods. They were 58 inches long and weighed 200 lbs. each. They first flew on 66670, on 15 October 1964, and 1-51-81 was their second flight. (Only 66670 and 66672 were wired to carry the pods; 66671 was never fitted with them.)

One of the objectives of Engle’s flight was to determine if the pods were in the X-15’s “flow field.” Technicians used two different colors of temperature-sensitive paint to determine how hot the pods got. As it happened, they found the pods were indeed in the flow field, causing some experiments to not work as expected.

I scratchbuilt a number of features and improved the accuracy of others, including the XLR-99 engine. The pods were made out of the ends of wooden knitting needles I found, cut to size and sanded to shape.

I checked with various sources and it appears there are no photos of 66670 on Flight 1-51-81; by late 1964, photo coverage of X-15 missions was scarce. But there is a good color photo of 66670 taken nine days before the flight. Dennis Jenkins, co-author of “Hypersonic,” told me that is most probably how the vehicle looked for Engle’s flight. In it, 66670 is surprisingly clean and not too weathered, so I went light on the weathering. The temperature-sensitive paint was replicated with spray paints I got at the local pound store.

On Flight 1-51-81, 66670 carried U.S. AIR FORCE on the side tunnels, although they were uneven. It carried no markings on the wings and lacked roundels on the fuselage. (My research showed 66670 lacked roundels as early as November 1960, and only rarely carried them after that.) The dorsal rudder had the NASA band on the left side only, and the dorsal stub had 66670 on both sides.

[Texman]

What? You build another X-15? I can't imagine such a thing!

Great work again! I think you have more X-15s than NASA itself.

[dhanners]

Originally Posted by Texman

What? You build another X-15? I can't imagine such a thing!

Great work again! I think you have more X-15s than NASA itself.

Thanks! NASA only had three….

This is my fifth build alone of the Ken West X-15A-2, although only two of them were of the actual ‘A-2. The other three were conversions to the shorter airframe.

I lost count of the number of Henry Yuen/Yukonjohn X-15s I’ve built. I’ve run out of display space.

[Mechanic]

Originally Posted by dhanners

Would you believe I built another X-15?

This is my build of X-15-1, 66670, as it appeared on Flight 1-51-81, flown by Joe Engle on 10 December 1964. The model is a conversion and repaint of Ken West’s 1/32nd-scale X-15A-2. YukonJohn did the repainting (including correcting the fonts Ken used) and I did all the reconstruction necessary to convert the longer ‘A-2 into the shorter 66670. . .

Yes, yes I would. Can't wait for the pictures.
.

[Kazziga]

Beautiful, as all your X-15s ;-)

[ReynoldsSlumber]

Sweet model! Delightfully done—you can't really tell what material it's made from. Appreciate the attention to flight-specific detail, makes it easy to picture the crew chief and technicians preparing it for a mission.

Your postings have inspired me to add an X-15 to my glider conversion build list, using either the Henry Yuen or Fiddlers Green plan. Trying to decide if I can manage it in 1/64 scale or whether I'll need to go up to 1/48.

[mbauer]

Awesome once again.

Yes, I can believe it!

You do fine work.

I have photos of the number 3 hanging in the McMinnville Museum, it looks like a replica, the markings all seem larger than life.

Interested in a few?

Mike

[-Jim G]

David,
Each of your X-15 models that you post photos of, brings me joy! If you continue, and make a model for each of the flights I would be ecstatic.

I think it is time for another group photo with the models.

[smithdr]

That's a real beauty. What a mean looking machine!

Dan

[dhanners]

Originally Posted by mbauer

Awesome once again.

Yes, I can believe it!

You do fine work.

I have photos of the number 3 hanging in the McMinnville Museum, it looks like a replica, the markings all seem larger than life.

Interested in a few?

Mike

Thanks, all! It has gotten to the point where I find the research into the flight-specific markings as interesting as the modeling itself.

And yeah, the one at Evergreen is a replica. The real X-15-3 crashed in November 1967, killing pilot Michael Adams. I built Adams’ final flight, 3-65-97, in 1/48th and would give it a shot in 1/32nd if I had the chance.