Bristol Type 188

The 50s and 60s were a time of feverish aircraft experiments, and this Bristol 188 was the result of one of them.

Built almost entirely from stainless steel, the aircraft was intended to research the effects of heat generated by continuous high speed flying on aircraft and even featured a refridgerated cockpit and the ability to transmit flight data to a ground station.

Only three were built, and just two of them flew. The Bristol 188 was intended to exceeed Mach 2, but only reached Mach 1.88 and this was one of the reasons the project was cancelled in 1964 - after just two years.