The McDonnell Douglas (later Boeing) X-36 ''Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft'' was an American stealthy subscale

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

jet Jet, Jets, or The Jet(s) may refer to: Aerospace * Jet aircraft, an aircraft propelled by jet engines ** Jet airliner ** Jet engine ** Jet fuel * Jet Airways, an Indian airline * Wind Jet (ICAO: JET), an Italian airline * Journey to Enceladus a ...

designed to fly without the traditional

empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third ed ...

found on most aircraft. This configuration was designed to reduce weight, drag and radar cross section, and increase range, maneuverability and survivability.

Design and development

The X-36 was built to 28% scale of a possible fighter aircraft, and was controlled by a

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

in a ground-based virtual

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...

with a view provided by a video camera mounted in the canopy of the aircraft. For control, a

canard Canard is French for duck, a type of aquatic bird. Canard may also refer to: Aviation *Canard (aeronautics), a small wing in front of an aircraft's main wing * Aviafiber Canard 2FL, a single seat recreational aircraft of canard design * Blé ...

forward of the wing was used as well as split ailerons and an advanced

thrust vectoring Thrust vectoring, also known as thrust vector control (TVC), is the ability of an aircraft, rocket, or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine(s) or motor(s) to control the attitude or angular velocity of the v ...

nozzle A nozzle is a device designed to control the direction or characteristics of a fluid flow (specially to increase velocity) as it exits (or enters) an enclosed chamber or pipe. A nozzle is often a pipe or tube of varying cross sectional area, a ...

for directional control. The X-36 was unstable in both pitch and yaw axes, so an advanced digital

fly-by-wire Fly-by-wire (FBW) is a system that replaces the conventional manual flight controls of an aircraft with an electronic interface. The movements of flight controls are converted to electronic signals transmitted by wires, and flight control co ...

control system was used to provide stability. First flown on 17 May 1997, it made 31 successful research flights. It handled very well, and the program is reported to have met or exceeded all project goals. McDonnell Douglas merged with

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

in August 1997 while the test program was in progress; the aircraft is sometimes referred to as the Boeing X-36. The X-36 possessed high maneuverability that would be ideal for use as a fighter. Despite its potential suitability, and highly successful test program, there have been no reports regarding further development of the X-36 or any derived design as of 2017.

Survivors

*The first X-36 is at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

. It arrived on July 16, 2003, the same day as the Boeing Bird of Prey"Boeing Bird of Prey and X-36 Inducted into Air Force Museum"
Boeing, July 16, 2003. and is displayed in the Museum's Research & Development Gallery. *The second X-36 is displayed outside the Air Force Test Flight Center Museum at

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Specifications (X-36)

References

External links

NASA fact sheet on the X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft

"X-36 Proving Its Agility In Flight Testing"
Boeing, 1997.
''Boeing X-36 (1997): Tailless Agility''

Aviation Week & Space Technology ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', often abbreviated ''Aviation Week'' or ''AW&ST'', is the flagship magazine of the Aviation Week Network. The weekly magazine is available in print and online, reporting on the aerospace, defense and aviati ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcdonnell Douglas X-36 X-36, McDonnell Douglas Canard aircraft

X-36 The McDonnell Douglas (later Boeing) X-36 ''Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft'' was an American stealthy subscale prototype jet designed to fly without the traditional empennage found on most aircraft. This configuration was designed ...

Aircraft first flown in 1997 Mid-wing aircraft Single-engined jet aircraft Two dimension thrust vectoring aircraft Stealth aircraft

Design and development

Survivors

Specifications (X-36)

See also

References

External links