X-2 Starbuster

X-2 Starbuster airplane model. The X-2 Starbuster was a single-place airplane with wings swept back to 40 degrees. It was 37 ft, 10 in. long, 11 ft high and had a wingspan of 32.3 ft. It was constructed of K-Monel (a copper and nickel alloy) for the fuselage and stainless steel for the swept wings and control surfaces. The aircraft had ejectable nose capsules instead of ejection seats because the development of ejection seats had not reached maturity at the time the X-2 was conceived. The X-2 ejection canopy was successfully tested using a German V-2 rocket. The X-2 used a steel belly-skid main landing gear and a short, unsteerable nose wheel to conserve fuselage space for more internal fuel. The X-2 was powered by an XLR25-CW-3 two-chambered throttleable rocket engine. The Curtiss-Wright manufactured engine had a thrust of 15,000 lb. Two X-2s were made for the Air Force by Bell Aircraft Company of Buffalo, New York. The airplane was air launched from a modified Boeing B-50 Superfortress Bomber.

Mahogany Wood. Scale: 1/32. Wingspan 13 inches, Length 16 1/4 inches.