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FDL-5 Hypersonic Research Craft & Launcher (1969)
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 two 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!
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Scale: 1:72
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Material: Resin
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Number of pieces: 41
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Length: 18"
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Launcher Included
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Astronaut figures included
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Choice of conventional rocket or aerospike engine
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Full cockpit
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CAD design by Chris Corke
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Pattern by BLAP! Models
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Casting by BLAP! Models
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Decals by JBOT for both the NASA and Air Force variations
Resin kit requires assembly & painting.
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