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You are here: Home / Model Airplanes / Bell X-1

Bell X-1



ma_admin · July 11, 2020 · 1 Comment

AIRCRAFT

Bell X-1

SCALE & KIT

1/32

MODELER

Eric Galliers

HISTORY

The Bell X-1 (Bell Model 44) is a rocket engine–powered aircraft, designated originally as the XS-1, and was a joint National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics–U.S. Army Air Forces–U.S. Air Force supersonic research project built by Bell Aircraft. Conceived during 1944 and designed and built in 1945, it achieved a speed of nearly 1,000 miles per hour (1,600 km/h; 870 kn) in 1948. A derivative of this same design, the Bell X-1A, having greater fuel capacity and hence longer rocket burning time, exceeded 1,600 miles per hour (2,600 km/h; 1,400 kn) in 1954.[1] The X-1, piloted by Chuck Yeager, was the first manned airplane to exceed the speed of sound in level flight and was the first of the X-planes, a series of American experimental rocket planes (and non-rocket planes) designed for testing new technologies.



Modifications/additions

RB Productions seatbelts, with piping over the seat bulkhead added.
Airscale instruments.
Nose gear leg shortened by approx 2mm
Scratchbuilt pitot tube
Scratchbuilt pipes at rear of exhaust.

Finish:

Alclad and AK Interactive aluminium over Black Base
Tamiya Laquer clear.

PHOTO GALLERY

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Filed Under: Model Airplanes, Scale 1/32 Tagged With: Experimental rocket plane

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Chris Christiansen says:

    Very nice work on the X-1A ! I really appreciate your depicting various colorations of the bird’s aluminum skin
    I’m building my own model from scratch, using a combination of maple for the fuselage, aluminum for the wings and tail, and various plastics for details.
    Wish me luck !
    Sincerly,
    Chris Christiansen
    Vernon, AZ

    Reply

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