Dryden Aircraft

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F-15B #836
11.28.11
 
The Eagle Aero probes fly attached to the red device underneath NASA’s F-15B research test bed aircraft.The Eagle Aero probes fly attached to the red device underneath NASA’s F-15B research test bed aircraft. (NASA Photo/Carla Thomas) The F-15B Research Testbed is a modified twin-engine jet fighter that provides NASA, industry, and universities with long-term capability for the efficient flight test of aerodynamic, instrumentation, propulsion, and other flight research experiments. This aircraft is a unique airborne resource, and is considered by researchers to be a virtual "flying wind tunnel” and reliable supersonic testbed. In addition to flying research missions, Dryden's F-15B also is used for crew training, pilot proficiency, and safety chase support for other research aircraft.

Bearing NASA tail number 836, the F-15B is about 64 feet long and has a wingspan of just under 43 feet. It is powered by two Pratt and Whitney F100-PW-100 turbofan engines that can produce almost 24,000 pounds of thrust each in full afterburner. It is capable of dash speeds of Mach 2.3, or 2.3 times the speed of sound, at altitudes of 40,000 to 60,000 feet. With an external flight test fixture mounted beneath the fuselage in place of the standard external fuel tank, speeds are limited to Mach 2.0. The aircraft has a full-fuel takeoff weight of about 42,000 pounds and a landing weight of about 32,000 pounds. It has aerial refueling capability for extended-duration research missions.

The data acquisition system in the aircraft makes the F-15B one of the most versatile testbed aircraft NASA flies. An on-board video system monitored from the rear seat of the cockpit provides a high-speed airborne video and photo capability that can be downlinked to researchers on the ground. The data system includes a research airdata system for the aircraft, as well as a Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation package; a radome with a nose boom that contains an airdata probe; a digital data recorder; and telemetry antennas.

Recent Activity In 2008, 836 hosted several research projects aimed understanding and overcoming the challenges associated with providing civilian overland supersonic transport as well as advanced propulsion system design.

Lift and Nozzle Change Effects on Tail Shock (LaNCETS) quantified how changes in lift distribution and nozzle area ratio affect the supersonic shock structure on the aft end of NASA’s highly modified F-15 (837) research aircraft.

The Propulsion Flight Test Fixture (PFTF) was flown to quantify the flow field surrounding a research inlet (to be flown in early 2009). This project brings the PFTF one step closer to full operational capability, which will allow the F-15B to demonstrate and study advanced propulsion concepts in flight.

In 2006, Gulfstream Aerospace and Dryden teamed in a project called Quiet SpikeTM to investigate the suppression of sonic booms. The project centered around a retractable, 24-foot-long lance-like spike mounted on the nose of NASA Dryden's F-15B (#836) research testbed aircraft. The spike, made primarily of composite materials, created three small shock waves that traveled parallel to each other all the way to the ground, producing less noise than typical shock waves that build up at the front of supersonic jets.

This highly successful project put spike-induced sonic boom suppression theory to the test in the actual flight environment afforded by NASA's supersonic F-15B.


Points of Contact

Jim Smolka
Director for Flight Operations (Acting)

661.276.3210
jim.smolka-1@nasa.gov

Mariaelena A. Nichols
Flight Operations Business Analyst

661.276.3099
Mariaelena.A.Nichols@nasa.gov