Boeing X-32A

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johnbr

2nd Lieutenant
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5,163
Jun 23, 2006
London Ontario Canada
Robert Sullivan
Boeing X-32A 1.jpg
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The X-32 lost due to multiple shortcomings, the biggest being an inferior lift system to the X-35 (which would lead to hot exhaust being reingested by the intake), failure to iron out issues with making the upper surface of the wings out of a single piece of carbon composite (which would have provided significant weight savings), issues with reaching the top speed of the aircraft and making vertical flight in the same test flight (this meant that Boeing had two different aircraft in testing, the X-32A and X-32B), and a sudden Navy decision to modify low speed manuevring requirements, necessitating a change in planform for the X-32.
Aircraft Super Thread Mk.VII
Boeing X-32 JSF contender, early design. The final X-32 used a trapezoidal wing with conventional horizontal stabilators. Apparently at the time, Dassault engineers (known for their Rafale and Mirage delta wing fighters) said Boeing was doing it wrong.

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A major part of the loss was that, in lieu of set performance parameters, the DOD had required "that the prototypes actually deliver the performance that the contractor's detailed estimates promise".

In other words, the winner would be whomever's aircraft performed most closely to what they designed it to do.

LM's X-35 met every estimate of performance, and even beat a few - Boeing's X-32 failed to meet Boeing's estimates on low-speed stability in turbulence (utterly vital for carrier landings) as well as in a couple of other areas - it was this that caused Boeing to come up with the proposed redesign with horizontal stabilizers... the Navy had NOT changed the stability requirements, Boeing had overestimated the stability of their design.
 

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