Editing Bell X-16

{{Short description|Experimental high altitude aerial reconnaissance jet aircraft}}
{{Infobox aircraft
 |name = X-16
 |image = File:Bell X-16.jpg
 |caption =X-16 Mock-up
 |type =High altitude [[reconnaissance aircraft]]
 |manufacturer = [[Bell Aircraft Corporation]]
 |designer =
 |first_flight = 
 |introduction = 
 |retired =
 |status =
 |primary_user = [[United States Air Force]] (intended)
 |more_users = 
 |produced = 
 |number_built =
 |developed_from = 
 |variants =
}}

The '''Bell X-16''' was a high altitude [[aerial reconnaissance]] [[jet aircraft]] designed in the [[United States]] in the 1950s. The designation of X-16 was a cover to try to hide the true nature of the aircraft mission from the [[Soviet Union]] during the [[Cold War]].<ref>Jenkins et al. 2003, p. 23.</ref>

==Development==
During the second half of 1953, [[Fairchild Aircraft|Fairchild]], Bell, and [[Glenn L. Martin Company|Martin Aircraft]] conducted high altitude reconnaissance aircraft design studies for the [[United States Air Force]] under project MX-2147.<ref name="Polmar p. 26">Polmar 2001, p. 26.</ref> All three designs used [[Pratt & Whitney J57]]-19 turbojets. The Bell and Martin (B-57D) designs were chosen for further development. The Bell '''Model 67''' design was designated the '''X-16'''. A full-scale mock-up was completed and one aircraft was partially completed. It was designed as a high altitude long-range reconnaissance aircraft.<ref name=Miller>Miller, Jay (2001). The X-Planes: X-1 to X-45 (third ed.). Motorbooks International. {{ISBN|1-85780-109-1}}.</ref>

The X-16 design was breaking new ground with its design. Its wingspan was long ({{convert|114|ft|10|in|m|2|abbr=on}}) with a high (11.9) [[aspect ratio (aeronautics)|aspect ratio]]. The structure was significantly lighter and more flexible than usual for jet aircraft wings. The entire aircraft was made as light as possible to achieve its intended 3,000-mile{{clarify|date=August 2018|reason=sm or nm?}} unrefueled range at {{convert|69,500|ft|m|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Polmar p. 26"/>

A total of 28 aircraft were ordered, but none were completed. The first X-16 was about 80 percent complete when the program was cancelled by the Air Force in favor of the [[Martin RB-57D Canberra|Martin RB-57]] in 1956. Although no X-16 was ever completed, it made contributions to aircraft design with its lightweight design. It was also a driving force behind the development of the high-altitude versions of the J57 that would later power the [[Lockheed U-2]] and other aircraft.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}

==Specifications (X-16, as designed)==
[[File:Bell X-16 artist depiction.jpg|thumb|Artist's depiction]]

{{Aircraft specs
|prime units?=kts
 
|ref=<ref name=Miller/>
|crew= one, pilot
|length ft= 60
|length in= 10 
|length m= 18.55 
|span ft=114
|span in=10 
|span m= 35 
|height ft= 17
|height in= 1 
|height m=5.2 
|wing area sqft= 1,099  
|wing area sqm= 102.19 
|empty weight lb= 23,280  
|empty weight kg= 10,582 
|gross weight lb= 36,124  
|gross weight kg= 16,420 
|eng1 name= [[Pratt & Whitney J57|Pratt & Whitney J57-PW-37A]]
|eng1 type=[[turbojet]]s
|eng1 number=2
|eng1 lbf=10,000  
|eng1 kn= 45,20 
|max speed kts= 480 
|max speed mph= 553
|max speed kmh= 885
|range nmi= 2,867 
|range miles= 3,319
|range km= 5,310
|ceiling ft= 71,832  
|ceiling m= 21,900 
|wing loading lb/sqft= 33  
|wing loading kg/m2= 160 
|thrust/weight= 0.55
}}

==See also==
{{aircontent|
|related=
|similar aircraft=
* [[Lockheed U-2]]
* [[Martin RB-57D Canberra]]
* [[Northrop N-204]]
* [[Yakovlev Yak-25#Design and development|Yakovlev Yak-25RV]]
|lists=
|see also=
}}

==References==
;Notes
{{Reflist}}

;Bibliography
{{Refbegin}}
* Jenkins, Dennis R., Tony Landis and Jay Miller. [https://archive.org/download/NASA_NTRS_Archive_20030067480/NASA_NTRS_Archive_20030067480.pdf ''American X-Vehicles: An Inventory – X-1 to X-50''] (Monographs in Aerospace History No. 31: Centennial of Flight Edition). Washington, D.C.: NASA SP-2003-4531, June 2003. Retrieved: 26 July 2009.
* Miller, Jay. ''Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works: The Official History''.  Leicester, UK: Aerofax, an imprint of Midland Publishing, 1995 (revised edition). {{ISBN|1-85780-037-0}}.
* Polmar, Martin. ''Spyplane: The U-2 History''. St. Paul, Minnesota: Zenith Press, 2001. {{ISBN|0-7603-0957-4}}. 
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/x-16.htm X-16 at globalsecurity.org]
{{Bell Aircraft}}
{{X-planes}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1950s United States military reconnaissance aircraft|X-16, Bell]]
[[Category:Bell aircraft|X-16]]
[[Category:Cancelled military aircraft projects of the United States]]
[[Category:Twinjets]]
[[Category:Shoulder-wing aircraft]]
[[Category:Unflown aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear]]