SPACEPHOTOS

NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, is flying a modified McDonnell-Douglas F-15B aircraft as a testbed for a variety of transonic flight experiments. The two-seat aircraft, bearing NASA tail number 836, is shown during a recent flight over the high desert carrying a Drdyen-designed Flight Test Fixture (FTF) upon which aerodynamic experiments are mounted. The FTF is a heavily instrumented fin-like structure which is mounted on the F-15B's underbelly in place of the standard external fuel tank. Since being aquired by NASA in 1993, the aircraft has been modified to include video recording, telemetry and data recording capabilities. The twin-engine aircraft flew several flights recently in support of an experiment to determine the precise location of sonic shockwave development as air passes over an airfoil. The F-15B is currently being prepared for the Boundary Layer Heat Experiment, which will explore the potential drag reduction from heating the turbulent portion of the air that passes over the fuselage of a large aircraft.