Lockheed X-55 Rising Star

The idea of the X-55 came while looking at two F-16s flying belly to belly during an airshow. This was enough to revive the old concept of the Lockheed XFV-1 tailsitter in a modern context. By the way, Rising Star was the original Lokcheed name of the XFV-1, which the US Navy refused to allocate, prefering to dub the aircraft the "Salmon" from the name of its test pilot...


© Stephane Beaumort / AviaDesign 2009