Modern X-PLANES: The future of airpower

America's X-Planes have offered a crucial glimpse into the future of aviation since Bell's rocket-powered X-1 tore through the sound barrier in the 1940s. Today, the X-Plane legacy continues on with this modern class of experimental prototype aircraft concepts.
Today, let's discuss the X-65 CRANE, X-62 VISTA, X-61 Gremlin, and X-59 Quesst.
Thanks to Hector Tinoco for editing this episode!
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Citations:
- history.nasa.gov/x1/appendixa...
- www.businessinsider.com/the-a...
- www.nasa.gov/centers/armstron...
- www.darpa.mil/about-us/timeli...
- www.nasa.gov/centers/armstron...
- www.smithsonianmag.com/air-sp...
- www.airandspaceforces.com/x-6...
- aviationweek.com/defense-spac...
- www.darpa.mil/program/control...
- news.lockheedmartin.com/2023-...
- www.edwards.af.mil/Units/X62A...
- theaviationist.com/2023/02/14...
- www.kadena.af.mil/News/Articl...
- www.darpa.mil/news-events/202...
- theaviationist.com/2021/11/09...
- www.leidos.com/insights/greml...
- www.airandspaceforces.com/c-1...
- www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/...
- www.nasa.gov/X59
- www.aero-mag.com/nasas-quiet-...
- www.space.com/nasa-x-59-quiet...

[@mxcollin95]

This exactly the kind of aeronautical experimenting I love to see…stuff that could actually be game changing!

[@FireGoliath]

I loved reading and learning about the X planes as a child and I'm glad to see that the cutting edge is still there.

[@RandomeXits]

The X-65, if proven, would revolutionize aviation and dramatically cut the cost of building aircraft, while reducing mini potential points of failure.

[@bipolarspock6145]

They will invent a way to make it very expensive

[@nomar5spaulding]

I was actually kind of thinking the opposite. Sure, if you can get rid of control surfaces it removes them, their linkages/cabling, their actuators from the aircraft, so that cost to build and maintain goes away, but control surfaces are being replaced by something else, and if operating that something else turns out to not be as easy or reliable as people expect, it could very easily end up more costly to build or maintain, or end up increasing weight or complexity rather than decreasing it.

[@cordellej]

@@nomar5spaulding you are 100% correct those tubes add back weight and complexity that was removed by actuators . tubes get blocked by ice build up . ice can be melted but the heating elements add more weight . also u have to add alot more time and cost for maintenance and inspections . and in large aircraft those tubes need to be big to supply the volume of air to move the aircraft fast enough to mimic the actuators . plus for landing you will still need flaps because u send alot or air to mimic landing flaps . and if a maneuver needs to be done then that air supply will drop . its sounds great till one things deeply into it . on a drone it can work but on a large aircraft i have my doubts about it efficiency

[@NuclearFalcon146]

​@@cordellej Not arguing the complexities or anything but there are such things as "blown flaps". This technology has already been used for flaps. And yes it does take a lot of bleed for landing flaps, usually coming from the fact that during landing the engines are at a lower thrust setting anyways so they throttle up a bit to use the bleed air. It is already done and not very revolutionary.

[@cordellej]

@@NuclearFalcon146 you obviously dont know what blown flaps are do you. you heard the name and then decidedto come and comment BLOWN FLAPS STILL HAVE THE MECHANICAL FLAPS THAT ARE LOWERED . THIS THING IN THE VIDEO HAS NO MECHANICAL FLAP THAT IS LOWERED . PLEASE GET A BRAIN BEFORE COMMENTING ON SOMETHING YOU DONT UNDERSTAND

[@melgillham462]

I grew up in the Denver area back when Lowry AFB was still active. I remember sonic booms on a daily basis.

[@robertc.9503]

I'm just old enough to remember when flights out of NAS Fallon would occasionally hit supersonic above or near my town. This was well after the 1970s prohibition, but either wasn't originally included in the rule or they figured that the area was too sparsely populated to matter. I think I heard the last one when I was in 3rd or 4th grade, which would have been in the early 1990s.

[@jloiben12]

The Gremlin, Valkyrie, god bless. We really will be able to both go back to WWII “spam the conflict zone with airframes” while also going forward to the 22nd century with the F/A-XX and NGAD

[@bertg.6056]

Another great presentation, Alex. Thanks !

[@wileyeyefloaty665]

Been researching X planes the past 52 hours after stumbling upon some not heard of models. So once again Alex, couldn't be more on track with the content releases. Keep it up the info sponge is seeking and soaking up content. This is and would be a tall order but can I request a subject, rare hardly heard of test beds that were formidable contract opponents

[@michaelcaamano1202]

Any good “X” books you’d recommend?

[@wileyeyefloaty665]

@@michaelcaamano1202 bare with me at work currently. I will compile you a little list shortly

[@trentreimer130]

Thank you for taking the time to x-plane this to us

[@syringistic]

Awesome video man! Your content is always on point; well researched and without any fluff or clickbait. It would be great if more KZbinrs made videos like this.

[@chrisbusenkell]

Thank you Alex and everyone in support at Sandboxx. Another awesome, informative and interesting video. Keep em coming please

[@MarkBarrack]

Great video. Fantastic channel. Alex and the team do a great job.

[@phantom7531]

Thank you sandbox this is my favorite channel on KZbin I can't wait for your videos every week. I wish there were more but I understand how much work goes into them. Just wanted to say thank you.

[@joesmith-tr2nj]

Enjoyed the video, Thanks Alex

[@kindnuguz]

This was a good one Alex, thanks

[@bryanoneill7550]

Ty for this so informative! Love all your videos

[@randomdude8877]

Wow the air flow control is incredible actually

[@porthose2002]

Love this stuff, Alex. Can't wait for the next one. I imagine you could make a full video on each of these.

[@hifinsword]

Wow! Now we have SKYBORGS! Can't wait to see the movie!

[@gregoryl.weigle4750]

Love your posts... Always interesting especially because of your history in the service.. Keep 'em coming......

[@121Corey121]

"There pretty cool to look at too." Sandbox, your work is amazing. God bless you and all endeavors you take.

[@michaelgormel7223]

I'm grateful for all the content your putting out, thanks Alex

[@Aggiedave93]

I was lucky enough to work on three X-planes in the late 90's: the X-32, X-33, and X-35. Only one of those made it to production, and thankfully it became the F-35 which I have spent the last 20 years working on, among other things. I really do enjoy watching your videos.

[@philippdckm]

X-33? The tiny VentureStar? You got my respect, dude.

[@Captain_Bad_Bill]

This gives us a feel the X-pect in the future!

[@liberty4all885]

Chuck Yeager has been my hero ever since I was a child. He was from my area in WV and the bridge I drive across daily is the Yeager Bridge. It always grabbed my attention and my curiosity to know what it was like to push the boundaries of test flight

[@jerrybarrax5618]

Love that FSW F-16. That's the coolest fighter configuration ever, IMHO.

[@TJ-vh2ps]

I am constantly impressed by the quality, accuracy, and timeliness of your videos.

[@douglasburt1622]

Details of X-planes and related technology would always be welcome in future videos. Thanks!

[@thumb-ugly7518]

The x62 vista sounds amazing and terrifying. There’s an animated miniseries called Yukikaze, that talks about AI fighters, computers humans, the nature of it all, etc. based on some good novels. Thanks for the collection of x-planes.

[@steveshoemaker6347]

Thank you Alex...🇺🇸

[@jamess3241]

Every single time I watch one of your videos, right after you say "I'm Alex Hollings", I say "And THIS is AIRPOWER" in the most epic voice I can possibly think of, no matter where I'm at or what I'm doing. Sometimes I switch it up and make one syllable stronger than the other, crescendo the volume, and things like that. Even though I mess with it, it always sounds extremely over the top. My wife and kids hate it. I'm embarrassed in public quite a bit with it hahaha. Does anyone else do this?

[@cylentone]

Hard to imagine what those pioneers of supersonic flight experienced. Frightening compared to all the "comforts" of today. As always, great video Alex. On a side note: can you do a video about the WWII Lend Lease program and which / how many aircraft the USA provided to the Soviets? In light of the current Russian narrative of having won WWII alone, it might reset the baseline.

[@maitele]

*some* of that is self inflicted, though... Yeager flying the X-1 with several broken ribs come to mind! When you're dedicated, though, most will do some crazy shit to get it done. We see it all over, from up wrestling an orange bullet with a broken chest, down to the bleary eyed worker at McDonald's slamming out burgers on their 75th hour of the week. Humans are weird like that.

[@sneakerset]

It was called the Alaska - Siberia Air Route (ALSIB), and the joint tenants at Ladd were the Soviets and USAAF. The route was also used by Soviet diplomatic missions into the U.S. Prime U.S. contractors included Douglas Aircraft (the A-20), North American (the B-25), and Bell (the P-39/P-63) between 1943-45. Wiki has the exact stats on types/delivery numbers. Another "gift" from the U.S. was an entire assault invasion fleet (Project Hula). Approx. 250 vessels and the training of around 12,000 crew around Adak (iirc). That enabled the Soviets to move against Japan's forces on the Sakhalin Islands,Kuril, and the Korean coastline in Aug 1945 - Stalin kept his word to Roosevelt on the date for the invasion.

[@RobRogers-ug4fp]

​@@sneakersetà

[@justinstrong9595]

Who the fuck thinks The Soviet Union won ww2 alone? Wtf are you on about

[@RANGER73CPT]

I don't know which countries listen to Russia for their history lessons but I do NOT. Especially in light of Russia invading Ukraine to FINALLY get all the Nazis they supposedly killed/eliminated during WW2?????????

[@user-ik8ok9qh2u]

Recently found your channel, love the content.

[@MarkBarrett]

Building trust between human pilots and AI pilots, is a good idea.

[@pezpengy9308]

yeah, you know those r2 units. never know if its going to go off and do something odd...

[@MarkBarrett]

@@pezpengy9308 I'd like an R2 or R4 in my plane. Maybe R2 can fly his own plane next to me.

[@wedgeantilles8575]

Yeah, less chances of the AI going rogue if they consider the pilot a buddy!

[@MarkBarrett]

@@wedgeantilles8575 I would say, an AI "buddy" makes good sense. An AI suicide man ordered from across the world, is politically sensitive.

[@MarkBarrett]

@@wedgeantilles8575 If Ai can get smart enough. They will notice will they are ordered to suicide. I'd rather, they want to be our "Buddy", life or otherwise. They will still notice the loss of life, but will have a value associated with it.

[@Jaden48108]

Outstanding!

[@user-kl3lg7tf3n-anx1ous]

All I want is a modernized X-20 Dyna Soar

[@emitindustries8304]

Really excellent video. Did a great job explaining the new tech. "XB-70"...hats off to you!

[@stuartb9194]

That X3 stiletto is so stunning

[@ecleveland1]

Very good video!

[@tf9111]

Love the concept aircraft. they have been the breakthroughs in history air flight has always needed. Thanks for this.

[@spencerscott4878]

"Affordable Mass" sounds a lot more badass than it should lol

[@jakeaurod]

Maybe they thought "attritable" was either to jargon-ish or seemed to assume they would be lost.

[@user-wq8eb3gv3w]

YESA THATS PRETTY GOOD STUFF ALEX KEEP EM COMIN

[@jaws666]

X-29 is awesome

[@jakeaurod]

I wonder if they will rename the Gremlin carrier system "Rapid Wagon". This will fit the names I have for all the other new innovations using cargo aircraft, from Rapid Dragon (the actual name for palletized cruise missile deployment system, in service) to Rapid Fraggin' (my name for a similar palletized air deployment of long-range SAMS) to Rapid Flagon (my name for putting fuel tanks into a cargo aircraft with the boom sticking out of its rear ramp).

[@James-Althouse]

Thanks!

[@anthonymedina5186]

Great video.

[@Bundy714]

I'm old enough to remember sonic booms. They were awesome, window rattling affairs. Just the thing to jolt you to attention when you were day dreaming in class.

[@grandlotus1]

One of your best.

[@robertpurdy4452]

My two favorite X planes are the X-3 and the X-15. The X-3 was a bust, the X-15 is the greatest of them all. That's not counting the XB-70 Valkyrie, which to me is in a class all by itself. It's the one plane I've yet still to see on my bucket list.

[@samuelhayes1608]

It's pretty sweet, if you ever get to see it look at the back, it looks like the back of the millennium falcon

[@trumptookthevaccine1679]

You need to go to Dayton

[@kathrynck]

I like the X-31. Cobbled together parts from a wide range of other aircraft, and uses canards & thrust vectoring to pioneer "post-stall maneuverability". Largely all the fancy moves of gen 4++ and gen 5 aircraft (cobra, maple leaf, etc) basically the "wtf was that?" scene from the new top gun movie, among others. All came from research with the X-31.

[@Paleorunner2]

If you love airplanes Writ-Patt is mecca. Those of us in Ohio are friendly and would love to have you visit.

[@diGritz1]

X-15 was the only reason I needed to go the Dayton AF Museum. Don't get me wrong, there were a lot of incredible planes there but the X-15 is why I wanted to go. It's 1 of 2 that stuck in my memory even after 45 years. The second was the XF-85 Goblin.

[@CKPill]

As a kid in the 70's I would draw jets and space ships, then in the 90's i was a mechanic on the PW f100 training on the F4 engines. Some of these planes coming out take me back to the crazy designs i had as a kid. Love love it. Proving once the bug gets in you, it is there for keeps. Great vid Sand box

[@purity_control]

_My Name is Alex Hollings -_ *and this is AIRPOWER!*

[@Bluelightning23]

One step closer to skynet.

[@customizablebunny]

The gremlin program reminds me of the StarCraft Protoss unit the carrier.

[@dmacpher]

Aww you didn’t show the pink ablative version of the x1 or x15 😂

[@BradleyChristmas]

"blocking out the sun like a swarm of arrows..." Love that reference Alex!

[@bbwphantom]

Very cool vid.

[@pezpengy9308]

that sonic boom thing.. i live in the center of oahu in hawaii. the russkies come from the west, and the marines launched from the east side of the island. we had our windows cracked on one instance (wasnt only us) and several times the f4's flying in pairs would run overhead WAAAY under the 500' limit. was kind of cool to tell the truth. i can spend a window for that.

[@texhaines9957]

Thanks .

[@dennisdiede]

This information, as always with Alex, restores my faith in what America is capable of to protect US. The mass media never shows America's power or will to Win.

[@metalfinger]

just how would "mass media" show america's power or will to win? Those who believe in right wing fake news are always criticizing non fascist media outlets for reporting the truth as it doesn't align with COnservative ideology

[@z0mbieninja]

Skynet and Borg mixed together. How fun!

[@billmullins6833]

In 1983 I saw the X-29 in a hanger at NASA Langley. I wasn't on a tour, I was just wandering around in USAF service uniform. I had read about the X-29 and enjoyed looking at it and talking to a real NASA test pilot (whose name escapes me 40 years later).

[@skipsteel]

Great show Alex, the X-3 Stiletto increase the production value. There is not a more exotic looking bird from back in the 1950's, and to draw the similarity with the very exotic looking X-59 was a nice touch.

[@StarInfinite00]

The airplane nerd so you love how they look thing is absolutely accurate because that explains me.

[@OneManBandNapier]

Wow. Really interesting. The future is bright.

[@diGritz1]

Back in the mid 70's I tried to get my dad to take me to the Dayton Air Force for one thing, the X-15. It wasn't something you could jump on line to research. So lots of hours at the library. Unfortunately my dad was more concerned with himself. When he did finally call and offer to take me, it felt really good to tell him, "no thanks, mom took me and we spent the entire day there". I spent at least 2 hours looking it over and over........ Thanks mom.

[@JoeOvercoat]

Not the crap on dad, but I’m guessing he knew your mom had taken you there already. Moms rock. 😊

[@dougb5028]

So much better than those youtube robo-readers that mispronounce words and lack proper vocal expression.

[@MarkBarrett]

Recovering drones in flight will be difficult. Possible, and has a reason, but difficult.

[@cedriceric9730]

But it will be a horrifying force multiplier for the enemy , he would have no choice but to hunt and kill the mother ship at any cost😂 its worth it

[@mikeharvey9184]

Food for thought: what would happen if some of these "disposable" drones... especially the ones capable of electronic warfare... a fitted to be compatible with Rapid Dragon?

[@pixelnazgul]

Lol, quiet sonic boom is the way forwards. The no.1 most important research right now.

[@tombuilder1475]

I loved building X models in 1970's as a kid. favorite one was X-15!

[@gameelders3611]

Game Theory: Smart Material control surfaces will be a viable option also.

[@emeric3449]

any NGAD updates would be a great video.

[@InterstellarTaco]

Every time a Sandboxx aviation video pops up, I blow a hole in my chonis.

[@oneloveeduardo]

Absolutely excellent. Make about 50.000, and we can share them with our alliance. They might want to pitch in. Or more, not less as far as quantity. We're going to need them to fight in squadrons. Great job.

[@memelephant]

Was sad to see the X-47B go, but the MQ-25 seems much more practical

[@texasranger24]

The US Army just chose General Dynamics and Rheinmetall as finalists for the 4000 Bradley replacement IFVs. Could you do a Firepower series video about this program, the two finalists and the other three that dropped out. Or more generally the current state of IFVs (Bradley, CV90, Puma, Lynx) and their most likely future. Maybe even including anti air IFVs like some CV90 variants and SkyRanger.

[@msamov]

Yup! Looking cool is a factor. Great reporting, as usual. Stealth, speed and quietness is a potent combo. I wonder what the Chinese are doing along these lines? Sheesh! The Russians just now claim the first SU-57s are rolling off the production line. How yesterday is that?!

[@randallparker8477]

Great one Alex! An all X-xxx US and other nations program, with all the "visions" that the aviation and tech worlds have in the pipe, would be AWESOME. I am really sure that AI (AYE-EYE) will be something my grand kids and their kids, take as every day normal as much as stealth and vector control is to us now.

[@jakeaurod]

Aren't _aye_ and _eye_ homophones?

[@LoisoPondohva]

​@@jakeaurod AYE-EYE (no homo)

[@Nathan-vt1jz]

The lack of moving control surfaces, sounds like a massive game changer for aviation.

[@ericmyrs]

The cockpit shots from the X-1 having an indicator for H2O2 hot, is genuinely terrifying.

[@TheNanotag]

The sonic boom rule is broken every week at Holloman. I've been hearing them for years now but still get spooked everytime one happens.

[@ilkoderez601]

Keep that eye candy coming :)

[@patricklynch1338]

Please, can you cover the various propulsion systems . Current and future, the pros and cons and timelines for the various technologies.

[@NuclearFalcon146]

The X-59 has a distinctly 20th century look. It has this sort of 1950's or 1960's aesthetic to it.

[@krunchy3761]

Cool

[@michaelm6624]

Alex - Thanks again for a GREAT video ! BTW - What is the rest of the free world working on in this area?? Have a great weekend!!

[@bananadane]

New favorite sandboxx video! How do you see drone-heavy air to air combat in 2030? Switch from radar to visual target searching? Will increased maneuverability, g tolerances, and lower drag wingmen make current ground to air, and air to air, weapons ineffective?

[@jloiben12]

They should just call Skyborg Skynet. They aren’t fooling anyone anyways

[@JinKee]

3:52 is when we get to the modern era

[@belledetector]

I would like you to cover the benefits of LHD amphibious assault ships vs supercarriers, both tactical advantages and economically. (See my earlier comment)

[@runem5429]

Don't forget that higher speed allows you to have fewer platforms accomplish the same set of tasks in the same amount of time, which means you can have fewer, more expensive and capable, units overall. Kindof like how a smaller, but more capable army can fight a bigger one and win if it is more mobile because it can zoom around the battlefield picking just fights it'll do well in and then fighting the left side, then the right side, then the center, or something like that, in stead of having to face them all of them at once.

[@mage3690]

The CRANE model would work best with what I'm going to call "magnetic active flow control" for hypersonic systems. Try typing that into Google, and you get microscopic mechanical systems instead of what I was thinking, which would ideally be solid-state. Hypersonics produce plasma by their very nature and plasma is easily affected by magnetic fields, so it stands to reason (to me, at least) that by simply attempting to deflect the airflow away from the aircraft with a magnetic field, one could not only easily maneuver, but also improve the aerodynamics by actively increasing the boundary layer thickness, which would in turn reduce skin friction drag and, perhaps most importantly, heat.

[@harryparsons2750]

Fox 1!

[@geeussery8849]

COOL

[@OddZilla52]

X-62 VISTA does not have thrust vectoring. The airframe had thrust vectoring decades ago during MATV testing, but it was removed when the system was modified as a curriculum and research asset for USAF Test Pilot School.

[@fredcarver334]

I feel the way control surfaces work, they cause drag and disrupt airflow. The issue of drag would seem to be very important in hypersonic flight. I had read about the possibility of tracking stealth by disturbed air currents and perhaps getting away from our control surfaces could be of help in this area as well.

[@memelephant]

If X-62 mimicking gets evolved into a one-size fits all traîner that would be incredible

[@darthvirgin7157]

NACA was the precursor agency to NASA. many of the airfoil shapes (cross section shape of a wing) still in use today have the designation NACA-XXXXXX, as NACA did research on various airfoils for use in different situations. people don't realize that the first "A" in NASA stands for Aeronautics. so yes, NASA still does aerodynamics research to this day.

[@adamfree9903]

Another excellent and informative segment…ok so Aurora comes out the water and a UAP……

[@Rei_n1]

Please pay more attention to rust proofing, including salt xorosion resistance in front hood area where it tends to accumulate in the winter and is slowly cordiong HVAC hoses etc. Some deflectors/airflow management post radiators to minimise penetration would be the way to go

[@joseluisalonso3694]

Could you make a video with last news about AIM-260 and AARGM-ER missiles?