Only a month ago, Douglas Aircraft's tiny, rocket-powered Navy Skyrocket broke all altitude records by hurtling higher than 77,000 ft. at a speed greater than 1,000 m.p.h. (TIME, Sept. 10). But things never stand still in an aircraft factory. Next week Donald Douglas will trundle out a spectacular successor to the spectacular Skyrocket.
The new X-3 has twin jets initially in its small, almost wingless body, looks more like a guided missile than an aircraft. As a "flying laboratory" for the Air Force, it is designed to top 1,800 m.p.h. and climb as...
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