X-15 landing with F-104 chase

X-15 landing with F-104 chase

This photo of the X-15 near touchdown, accompanied by an F-104 chase plane, is cropped from NASA photo EC88-0180-9, which is available on the NASA Dryden web server.

The X-15 Flight Manual called for airspeed at touchdown to be about 200 knots (230 m.p.h.) The slowest landing was about 145 knots; the fastest were well over 200 knots, mainly in emergency landings with conditions such as excess residual fuel on board and flap failures. Smoke in the foreground served as a landing aid, to visually show instantaneous wind direction and speed.

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