SPACEPHOTOS

NASA's two-seat F-16XL research aircraft is shown in the modification hangar at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, during installation of the titanium ''glove'' on the upper surface of its modified left wing. The aircraft subsequently concluded a 13-month-long, 45-flight research program which investigated drawing off a small portion of the boundary-layer air in order to provide laminar--or smooth--flow over a major portion of a wing flying at supersonic speeds. A turbo-compressor in the aircraft's fuselage provided suction to draw air through more than 10 million tiny laser-drilled holes in the glove via a manifold system employing 20 valves. Data obtained during the program could assist designers of future high-speed aircraft in developing a more efficient civil transport.