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  • Hawker Siddeley XV-6A Kestrel

    The British-built Kestrel was a prototype Vertical/Short TakeOff and Landing (VSTOL) aircraft successfully tested in the 1960s. An improved version, known as the Harrier, became the world's first operational VSTOL fighter when it entered Royal Air Force (RAF) service in 1969.The first Kestrel began

  • Bell Helicopter Textron XV-3

    The product of a 1951 joint U.S. Air Force-U.S. Army initiative, the Bell XV-3 became the world's first successful Vertical Short TakeOff and Landing (VSTOL) tilt-rotor aircraft. By combining the takeoff and hovering capabilities of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft, the

  • Fairchild XSM-73 Bull Goose

    The Fairchild XSM-73 Bull Goose was a pilotless decoy missile designed in the 1950s to simulate the radar signatures of large bombers. If several ground-launched, intercontinental-range SM-73 decoys saturated and confused enemy defenses, the real bombers had a better chance of getting through to

  • American Helicopter Co. XH-26 Jet Jeep

    In 1951 at the request of the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force developed the XH-26, a one-man, pulsejet-driven helicopter. Rather than having an internal engine like other helicopters, the Jet Jeep was powered by two pulsejets on the end of each rotor blade tip. American Helicopter chose the name

  • McDonnell XH-20 Little Henry

    The XH-20 was essentially a test stand built to research ramjet-propelled helicopter rotor blades. The XH-20 first flew in May 1947, but its fuel was delivered through a flexible line from tanks on the ground. In May 1948, it made its first flight with self-contained fuel tanks. Being a test stand,

  • Bell XGAM-63 Rascal

    Please note: This aircraft is in storage.The Rascal was an air-to-surface, supersonic guided missile tested in the 1950s. It was a “stand-off” nuclear weapon to be launched from Strategic Air Command (SAC) bombers up to 100 miles away from the target.The first launch of a guided Rascal took place in

  • Convair XF-92A

    The XF-92A was the world's first jet aircraft to fly with the radical delta-wing configuration pioneered by Germany's Dr. Alexander Lippisch. Convair used the knowledge learned from the XF-92 to design the delta-wing F-102, the U.S. Air Force’s first operational supersonic interceptor. The original

  • Form for Dropped Messages

    Note: This item is currently in storage.This standardized form for dropped messages was used by aircraft observers to quickly report enemy ground movement to friendly troops and waiting intelligence officers. The hand-written report was dropped on Oct. 5, 1918, by pilot Lt. William C. Thomas and

  • McDonnell XF-85 Goblin

    The McDonnell Aircraft Corp. developed the XF-85 Goblin "parasite" fighter to protect B-36 bombers flying far beyond the range of conventional escort fighters. The "parent" B-36 would carry the XF-85 within a bomb bay -- if enemy fighters appeared, the Goblin would be lowered on a trapeze and

  • Republic XF-84H

    The turboprop-driven XF-84H -- a joint Air Force/Navy project -- was designed to combine the speed of jet aircraft with the long range, low fuel consumption, and low landing speed of propeller-driven aircraft. The XF-84H’s modified F-84F airframe included a T-tail and a triangular fin behind the