FDL-5 Hypersonic Research Craft - 1:72

ABOUT THE DESIGN:

ABOUT THE MODEL:

In the 1960s, Lockheed and the U.S. Air Force's Flight Dynamics Laboratory (FDL) explored several design concepts for hypersonic flight. The three principal vehicles -- the FDL-5, the FDL-6 and the FDL-7 -- all looked markedly different, although all were based on 70-degree triangles.

The FDL-5 was distinguished by its variable-geometry wings, which could be extended for controlled landings. One proposal called for the craft to be carried aloft in the belly of a C-5 Galaxy transport and then released at high altitude, at which point three conjoined solid-rocket boosters would boost it into orbit.

Photos of Lockheed's full-scale FDL-5 mockup have been widely circulated, but the flat, Project Gemini-like cockpit windows shown in these pictures do not conform to the demands of hypersonic vehicles. Recently acquired documents suggest that the FDL-5's cockpit actually blended with the craft's overall body contours, which makes far more aerodynamic sense.

Some believe that the FDL-5 actually flew in 1969. If so, this makes the FDL-5 America's first reusable spacecraft!

Scale: 1:72
Material: Resin
Number of pieces: 41
Length: 18"
Launcher Included
Astronaut figures included
Choice of conventional rocket or aerospike engine
Full cockpit
CAD design by Chris Corke
Pattern by BLAP! Models
Casting by BLAP! Models
Decals by JBOT for both the NASA and Air Force variations