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Description
| Manufacturer: | Bell | |
| Base model: | X-22 | |
| Designation: | X-22 | |
| Version: | A | |
| Designation System: | U.S. Air Force | |
| Designation Period: | 1948-Present | |
| Basic role: | Research | |
| Crew: | 2 | |
Specifications
| Length: | 39' 7" | 12.0 m | |
| Height: | 20' 8" | 6.3 m | |
| Wingspan: | 39' 3" | 11.9 m | |
| Wingarea: | 850.0 sq ft | 78.9 sq m | |
| Empty Weight: | 11,458 lb | 5,196 kg | |
| Gross Weight: | 18,016 lb | 8,170 kg | |
Propulsion
| No. of Engines: | 4 | ||
| Powerplant: | General Electric YT58-GE-8D | ||
| Horsepower (each): | 1250 | ||
Performance
| Range: | 445 miles | 716 km | |
| Max Speed: | 255 mph | 410 km/h | 221 kt |
| Ceiling: | 27,800 ft | 8,473 m | |
Known serial numbers
Recent comments by our visitors
| Justin , ND | Very interested in the x-22 project and was wondering why this aircraft never took off?? would love to see something with duct fans for general aviation. 01/12/2012 @ 19:40 [ref: 51953] |
| Russ Voelker Martinsburg, WV | Tim,
I understand that after the first prototype (#1520) made its unfortunate forced landing they turned it into a simulator. I think your photos are of all that remains of #1520. Thanks 06/19/2011 @ 06:55 [ref: 39663] |
| Bill Hamilton TUCSON, AZ | I'M A BORN "AIRCRAFT BUFF", AND HAVE SEEN MORE AIRCRAFT, THAN MOST PEOPLE. I WAS BORN & RAISED IN BUFFALO ,AND I TOO ,REMEMBER THE X-22A, AS IT FLEW AROUND THE AREA, DURING IT'S FLIGHT TEST PROGRAM, BACK IN THE 70'S. IT WAS THEN, AND REMAINS TO THIS DAY, "THE STRANGEST LOOKING,AND...THE LOUDEST AIRCRAFT,I'VE EVER SEEN OR HEARD!" WITH IT'S "DUCTED FAN CONFIGURATION, THE SOUND WAS "UNMISTAKABLE". IF IT FLEW OVER HEAD, YOU COULD'NT HELP BUT TO STOP AND LOOK UP AT IT ! THERE'S NO QUESTION, THAT THE X-22A, WAS A "VERY UNIQUE" AIRCRAFT, AND I'M GLAD SHE IS NOW IN A MUSEUM ON PERMANENT DISPLAY, WHERE SHE "PROUDLY BELONGS". 10/11/2010 @ 19:49 [ref: 31468] |
| kevin barry Williamsville, NY | When I was a youngster I watched the Bell X-22A fly low over our house. It was so low the trees would bend and the grass was flattened. I lived along the take-off and landing route that the plane used as it came into Buffalo Airport.
It was the most amazing thing to see a large airplane simply hover and move slowly and loudly right over our heads. I recall my mother and I standing in the backyard and shielding our eyes as we watched the plane. It just blew my mind! 09/01/2010 @ 19:07 [ref: 29764] |
| Russ Voelker Martinsburg, WV | After witnessing the crash landing of the the first Bell X-22a many years ago I managed to hook up with one of the test pilots, Mr. Stan Kakol. I drove out to Ohio and met him at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. We had a great day touring the museum and he entertained me with his many aviation exploits. We maintained contact until his untimely death on December 1st, 2006. Stan was buried, with full military honors, at Arlington National Cemetery, January 16, 2007. If you happen to be there one day you can pay your respects. (Section 66, Grave 296) 06/11/2008 @ 19:00 [ref: 21409] |
| John D Wilson Chandler, AZ | The X22-A programs conducted by a very small staff of experts at the Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory in Buffalo, New York represent some of the most productive research work accomplished for the United States. For those interested more X22-A information, I recommend reading the account given in the latest edition of The X-Planes - X-1 to X-45 by Jay Miller.
Mr Beilman is very modest. As the Program Manager, he was the driving force behind the X22-A program(s) success. He worked tirelessly to ensure that program objectives were met on time and within budget which led to a series of programs. You will notice a device on top of the tail of the X22-A. This is the sensing portion of a revolutionary airspeed measuring system called LORAS (Linear Omnidirectional Resolving Airspeed System). Mr Beilman invented this system. Arno Shelhorn designed and developed the electronic system. Mr Beilman , Arno Schelhorn, Bob Till, and Walt Stahl put the prototype system together and conducted tests with a pace car. Conventional airspeed systems are highly inaccurate at the low airspeed you encountered with helicopter flight. LORAS is very accurate at these regimes. The X22-A was noteworthy in that it was the first research plane developed to be a variable stability aircraft. Again, Mr Beilman, Shelhorn and Till were responsible for the development and manufacturing variable stability hardware and instrumentation systems on the aircraft. Also, Bob Till designed the telemetry down link system for the aircraft and instumentation data recovery van. Ron Huber and Tom Gavin designed instrumentation circuitry. Walt Stahl and John Shattuck were outstanding electronic technicians who fabricated much of the flight hardware. Also, Bob Till and Tom Gavin designed and developed the X-22A Fixed-Base Ground Simulator Facility using the near duplicate X-22A cockpit from BuNo 151520. The X-22A pilots were Nello Infanti, Chief Test Pilot, Rogers Smith, and G Warren Hall. Both Rogers Smith and Warren Hall later joined NASA as test pilots in California. Rogers Smith few many of the new X planes as well as the SR-71 Blackbird at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. Warren Hall flew several unique research aircraft including the Rotor Systems Research Aircraft (RSRA) and the X-15 Tilt Rotor Research Aircraft (TRRA) at the NASA Ames Research Center. These outstanding pilots are recognized in the international aeronautics community as the finest handling qualities experts. Dr J Victor Lebacqsz, Bob Chen, Ed Aiken, Chip Chalk, Mike Parrag, Dave Key, John Schuler and Ed Rynaski were from the aeronautics side of the house. They analysed flight data and wrote several technical papers on the research learned from X22-A flight tests. Dr J Victor Lebacqsz was a key figure in the design and execution of numerous X22-A flight test experiments. He was a "hands on" person who always encouraged the staff to be the very best. I can remember him coming to the frigid Buffalo airport to help the technicians get the radar van up and running and assist in putting up landing targets. He also migrated to the NASA Ames Research Center and has since been appointed the NASA Administrator of Aeronautics in Washington, DC. Bob Chen, Dave Key and Ed Aiken also went to the NASA Ames Research Center in support of numerous helicopter research projects like the XV-15. Structural design work was done by Bill Close. The aircraft was maintained by an excellent crew led by Mr Bill Wilcox. Bill is tall, friendly and very competent. He ran a large department and had a big responsibility. He was able to resolve many pesky problems on this highly complex aircraft. Gerry Ewers was the crew chief and he, Don Dobmieir, Henry Chmura, and Dave Kosturbanik kept in in tip top shape. I remember the major overhauls when drive shafts were removed and maintenence performed. These men made many personal sacrifices over the years to see that the X22-A research machine was ready for duty. The Cornell Aeronautical lab headed by Ira Ross and the Flight Research Department headed by Walt Breuhaus was the home of some of the finest aviation research and staff anywhere in the country. Western New Yorkers can remember with pride, that the research accomplished at the Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory provided the information needed for our country to move into the subsequent decades. 12/21/2004 @ 18:17 [ref: 8927] |
| Richard Przybylski Martinsburg, WV | As a child I watch the X-22A fly a number of times. It was a site to see. I always thought that Niagara Falls would become the Aircraft capitol. It was not to be and Niagara Falls is falling apart. Now one of the X-22A's I saw fly is in a museum there in Niagara Falls. Be sure to visit it. 06/14/2004 @ 14:50 [ref: 7608] |
| Russ , WV | As a child I lived along the landing pattern to Niagara Falls Airport and was fascinated by the wide variety of military/civilian aircraft. One day while playing near my home my friends and I watched as this very strange looking aircraft crash landed in a nearby lot. We ran to the scene as the flight crew exited the aircraft. The X-22A, with it's 4 large ducted fans, was a very strange sight indeed!
I'll never forget it. 06/22/2003 @ 19:21 [ref: 6529] |
| P. LEONARD BRUSSELS, OTH | Hello,
I was astonished to find out that the X-22A had existed even before i was born. How can it be that such a genius aircraft was not produced to replaced the chinook. This X-22A is way bether. It is even better then the present V-22. Today it can even be improved very easilly by using JSF type blisks instead of ducted propelers and by making it an hybrid system. In this case four electric motors are running the blisks and the electricity is provided by a buffer battery permanently charged by an APU. In this case the efficiency will be way up and it can even operate in silence at certain times. If the free wold army is to have the very best equipment possible, then it is time to replace both the chinook and the C-130 with this new X-22 (improved version). P. LEONARD (Brussels, Belgium, Dec 18 2002) 12/18/2002 @ 10:01 [ref: 6214] |
| Randy Brown Detroit, MI | I was a "young man" when the X-22a was being tested and I was very impressed by it. I have always wanted to a make a model of it, but I don't think the model manufactures ever made one. My father worked for Bell Aerospace, and brought me a tie tack of a X-22a... That was simply awesome. It remains a fantastic chapter in aviation and I hope to visit the museum one day. I'd like to stay after-hours and spend 5 minutes in the pilot seat... 8^) 06/28/2002 @ 15:39 [ref: 5205] |
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