At the Edge of Space: The X-15 Flight Program

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Summary: Heart Pounding
Review: A thrill a minute ride with Milt Thompson and the other X-15 pilots as they explored the edges af space and hypersonic flight. These are the people that made todays space shuttle flights possible.

An outstanding book for those interested in experimental flying and aviation history.

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Summary: A pilot's account of the peak of the x-planes
Review: Building on the highly worthwhile Flying Without Wings, At The Edge of Space draws the reader into a time and place that is fast fading from conscious memory, and shares it with the reader with engaging candor and enthusiasm. Milt Thompson may not be the best writer ever, but he writes clearly enough to tell terrific stories of the X-15 proram - about his colleagues on the ground and in the air, about his flights, about a NASA so different from today's it's hard to fathom, and about the X-15 itself. Anyone who likes aeronautics, cutting edge research, or unvarnished accounts of men pushing into the unknown is certain to enjoy this book. The United States is the poorer for having permitted flight test to dwindle to its current level, and this book is a vivid reminder of how far we have fallen in that regard.

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Summary: Not to be missed
Review: Can I be more succint. This is one of the best aviation or space books ever. Do not accept substitutes.

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Summary: An Informative (and humorous) Thrill Ride
Review: Few people have heard of Milt Thompson, but those who follow the groundbreaking flight testing of the late 1940s through the early 1970s know of Milt and his (in)famous exploits. As both an amazing and experienced test pilot, having flown the X-15 and the wingless M2-F1 amongst others, as well as a dry-lake water(less)skier, Thompson lends his considerable insight and knowledge, as well as his sprightly sense of humor to this book.

A truly fascinating read, this is one of very few books concerning the fastest powered manned aircraft program, the hypersonic X-15, which ultimately reached an unofficial record of Mach 6.7. Thompson, along with Scott Crossfield and Neil Armstron, amongst others, flew the X-15 in the early 1960s. This book does justice to the historic program, while maintaining the interest of even the most casual reader, which cannot be said of NASA's X-15 Mission Reports.

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the X-15 flight test program or those interested in the early X-plane projects, as is Thompson's "Flying Without Wings." Those looking for an exciting and engaging non-fiction read should also pick up "At the Edge of Space."

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Summary: An outstanding aviation story
Review: milton thompson , if anyone, should know all about the x-15 flight program! he ws with entire program from 1959-68. he tells a little about the x-15 pilots and this book filled the gap/nitch that for so long was empty. this book was best and only x-15 book in print since richard tregaskis' x-15 diary, the best! however this book is 2nd best and mr thompson helped tell the x-15 story that needed told for so long by someone. more needed to be written on the best aircraft of all time , the x-15. milt thompson helped credit this remarkable rocket/plane/ship in a very describable manor. mr thompson helped tell the x-15 story when noone else has in a very long time. thanks milt! this books been a long time coming. great book/works. a must!!!!!!!!!! for any x-15 buff. book is highly rated on x-15.com site as well.

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Summary: Great Memoir by a Legendary Research Pilot
Review: Much changed at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) between 1941, when it was surprised by the revelation that the British had a working jet engine that was well on its way to powering an aircraft, and 1947 when it contributed significantly to the cracking of the sound barrier. After World War II the high speed frontier became a special province of the NACA, and the transonic flight research conducted at the agency's test facility in the central desert of southern California achieved legendary status. When the NACA was transformed into the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), emphasis on the problems of high speed continued unabated. Without question, one of the most dramatic, popular, and successful activities on this score was the X-15 flight research program.

"At the Edge of Space" describes the conduct of this program from the first flight on June 8, 1959, until the 199th and final flight on October 28, 1968. Initiated under the NACA regime--although all of the flights were made following the creation of NASA--the X-15 program was a joint venture with the military to test both the capacities of rocket-powered aircraft at hypersonic speeds (five or more times the speed of sound) and at extremely high altitudes. Milton O. Thompson describes well the major phases of the program: the testing of engine capability, altitude and speed confines, and human abilities to operate under such extreme conditions. The X-15 program yielded not only this information but also engineering and materials information integral to later spaceflight missions.

The author, who spent his career at NASA's Dryden Flight Test Facility in the California desert, was one of the dozen research pilots who worked on the project during its nearly decade-long operation. Because of this background and the emphasis here toward autobiography, sans scholarly paraphernalia, readers learn quite a lot about the inner-workings of a flight research program and the human aspects of the pilots who labored on it. Some of those involved have become well-known figures in aerospace research and development circles, among them Scott Crossfield, Joe Engle, and the author. Moreover, pilot Neil Armstong, who also wrote a foreword for this volume, has become legendary because of his command of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission.

Thompson is especially strong in describing the human dimension of the X-15 effort, enlivening the narrative with both heroic and humorous anecdotes. Readers, for instance, get to go bar-hopping with some of the X-15 pilots and learn something about their concerns in flying an experimental aircraft. These vignettes are both entertaining and illuminating, and while "At the Edge of Space" has some of the elan and persona made so popular by Tom Wolfe in "The Right Stuff" (1979) there is more sense here that research pilots were only one part of a very large and complex team of individuals working on the X-15 project.

Thompson also does a very good job of treating exceptionally technical issues in a manner understandable to non-specialists. In this way, he is able to explain what exactly was at stake in the project. Much of the technical specifications he leaves to an exceptionally useful appendix containing the details of flight-by-flight activities. The result is the publication of the a wholly adequate general history of the X-15 program from inception through last flight. It is a different publication than a professional historian would have written, and Thompson admits as much in a note at the conclusion of the book, but it represents a fine first-person account of the overall effort.

I hope someone will take up his challenge to present a fully- documented historical account that places the X-15 program in the larger context of the history of technology and the development of aerospace systems. As it is, "At the Edge of Space" will stand as benchmark to begin analysis of this important research program.

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Summary: Z-15 paved the way for Space Shuttle; and all other ventures
Review: The X-15 bullet-shaped rocketplane, was the first "true" space ,machine/rocket! It flew over 400,000 feet high, and at a speed of over 4,500 mph! Faster than 4 bullets shot from a hunting "30 calibre" rifle, the x-15 began in 1959 and ended in 1968. Many tests performed by the x-15((((altitude flights))) are still being used by NASA today, to help with the future and current design of passenger, jet and space aircraft! There will never be another aircraft like the x-15! Three total were built, and one crashed and was rebuilt! Two remain today on permanent display: one in Dayton, OH at Wright-Patterson AFB and the #2 x-15 at The Smithsonian in Washington, DC! The #1 x-15 is in Dayton! Amust read! Milt Thompson and Neil Armstrong both flew it, and should give the best description of anyone!

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Summary: A MUST for your aviation library
Review: This book is written by an engineer. If you're looking for descriptive, beatiful prose go elsewhere. If you want to know the experiences of X-15 rocket pilots in and out of the cockpit, then you'll love this book. By the first couple chapters you'll know the systems on this aircraft, front to back. Thompson doesn't bore you with details. He explains how the aircraft works through his many stories. I loved this book. I feel like I met Milt Thompson and he personally related his experiences to me.