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F-16XL Ship #2 Main Content
NASA Center: Dryden Flight Research Center
Image # : EC96-43831-5
Date : 01/01/1996


Title

F-16XL Ship #2

Full Description

This in-flight view of NASA's two-seat F-16XL #2 research aircraft clearly shows that the left and right wings are definitely not mirror images of each other. Nevertheless, pilots who have flown the highly modified aircraft at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Califronia, state that the asymmetry created by modifications to its left wing for the Supersonic Laminar Flow Control (SLFC) project was easily handled by the F-16XL's flight controls, and that the plane handled well. The unique aircraft flew 45 research missions over a 13-month period in the SLFC program which ended November of 1996. The project demonstrated that laminar or smooth airflow could be achieved over a major portion of a wing at supersonic speeds by use of a suction system. The system drew a small part of the boundary layer air through millions of tiny laser-drilled holes in a titanium "glove" fitted to the upper left wing. Data acquired during the program will be used to develop a design code calibration database which could assist designers in reducing aerodynamic drag of a proposed second-generation supersonic transport.

Keywords

F-16XL Ship 2 SLFC Supersonic Laminar Flow Control Dryden

Subject Category

Unique Aircraft,

Reference Numbers

  • Center: DFRC
  • Center Number: EC96-43831-5
  • GRIN DataBase Number: GPN-2000-000170

Source Information

  • Creator/Photographer: NASA Jim Ross
  • Original Source: DIGITAL

Image Information ( Copyright Notification )

ResolutionFormatWidth
(Pixels)
Height
(Pixels)
Size
(KBytes)
Thumbnail .jpg 91 71 13
Small .jpg 646 502 316
Medium .jpg 1515 1177 2,153
Large .jpg 3030 2354 10,552


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Updated October 31, 2002
• History Questions: NASA History Office
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• Author: Michael Hahn.  Editor: Dwayne A. Day
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