SPACEPHOTOS

In this NACA High-Speed Flight Station photograph, the X-3 Stiletto is seen illuminated by sunlight off the lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base. This photograph illustrates why, of all the early NACA test aircraft, the X-3 was called the ''best looking of the lot.'' The X-3 Stiletto was a single-place jet aircraft with a slender fuselage and a long tapered nose, manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company. The X-3’s primary mission was to investigate the design features of an aircraft suitable for sustained supersonic speeds, which included the first use of titanium in major airframe components. It was delivered to the NACA High-Speed Flight Station in August of 1954 after some Douglas and Air Force evaluation testing. Although it made some significant contributions to knowledge about ''inertial coupling,'' a tendency to diverge from the intended flight path at near supersonic speeds, the X-3 never lived up to its expectations as a Mach 2 aircraft.