The first prototype was flown on 25 February 1945, by Bell's chief test pilot, Jack Woolams. He found it to have satisfactory flight characteristics, although it was under-powered. The expected instability was confirmed – spins were avoided (until a larger tail fin was installed). The second prototype did incorporate a modified tail and an aileron boost system.Koehnen 1982, pp. 44, 48. One unusual characteristic was extremely high landing speeds, due to factors including the XP-83's lack of drag brakes – in addition to the sleek aerodynamics and relatively high minimum thrust settings common to early jet aircraft, and necessary to prevent unintended flame-outs. This meant that test pilots were forced to fly "stabilized approaches" (i.e. very long and flat landing approaches).Koehnen 1982, p. 48.
