From: skunk-works-digest-owner@mail.orst.edu To: skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu Subject: Skunk Works Digest V5 #352 Reply-To: skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu Errors-To: skunk-works-digest-owner@mail.orst.edu Precedence: bulk Skunk Works Digest Thursday, 13 July 1995 Volume 05 : Number 352 In this issue: Re: F-117 F-117 incidents Re: Variable Stability / In-Flight Simulators JP-7 fuel I forgot the subject :( Re: Variable Stability / In-Flight Simulators Re: Variable Stability / In-Flight Simulators Re: Variable Stability / In-Flight Simulators Re: Variable Stability / In-Flight Simulators Re: Variable Stability / In-Flight Simulators Re: Variable Stability / In-Flight Simulators See the end of the digest for information on subscribing to the skunk-works or skunk-works-digest mailing lists and on how to retrieve back issues. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Robin J. Lee" Date: Thu, 13 Jul 1995 01:32:36 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: F-117 On Thu, 13 Jul 1995, Wei-Jen Su wrote: > Anyone know the log or background of the F-117 display at the Air > Force Base Museum in Dayton, Ohio? It was really flyable or just a > mock-up of that airplane? > I don't think that airplane was coated with RAM (Radar Absortion > Material) because I remember the story when the F-117 arrived for the > first time in the Paris Air Show, the French president in that time, > tried to touch the F-117 when suddenly the US soldier in charge of the > security of the airplane yell: "Don't touch!!!" :() > This is because the president of France might use his ring to > scratch the RAM of the F-117 and then later analyse... > So, I don't think the F-117 is coated with RAM because anybody > can touch the airplane at the museum... The F-117 on display at the US Air Force Museum at Dayton was the second of five full-scale development/SENIOR TREND aircraft. This particular aircraft (serial 79-10781) did indeed fly (for the first time on 18 Dec 1981) through an extensive test program that lasted through 1981 and into 1982. I believe all of the SENIOR TREND aircraft were RAM-coated, since the tests involved low-observables refinements and served to identify problems for modifications to production aircraft. A complete RAM coating had in fact already appeared on the second aircraft (HB 1002) of the preceding HAVE BLUE program. It's a virtual certainty that the RAM has been removed on the display F-117s. The stuff is supposed to be subject to deterioration anyway, and line F-117s are supposed to regularly undergo touch-up jobs with the RAM spray. There are only two F-117s on display today...in addition to the one at Dayton, the first FSD aircraft (79-10780) serves as a "plane on a stick" outside Nellis AFB. The other three FSD aircraft are retained as development aircraft at Palmdale with the 410th Flight Test Squadron (along with a newer production F-117, 85-0831). Speaking of F-117 serials, has anybody heard which aircraft was involved in the May crash yet? ____________________________________________________________________________ Robin J. Lee amraam@netcom.com Vulture's Row Worldwide Web Page URL: http://webcom.com/~amraam/ ------------------------------ From: Kathryn & Andreas Gehrs-Pahl Date: Thu, 13 Jul 1995 05:14:50 -0400 (EDT) Subject: F-117 incidents On my way out the door, I had to peek into my email.... The following is forwarded from Peter Merlin : 5 April 1995 F-117A, tail number 824, caught fire during a nigh landing at Holloman AFB. The pilot, assigned to the 9th FS, escaped without injury. Cause of mishap was materiel failure (possibly a broken fuel line). Aircraft has not yet been written off. Lockheed and AF are trying to decide if it is economical to repair 824. 10 May 1995 F-117A, tail number 822, crashed during routine night training mission. Aircraft impacted in unpopulated area of Red Mesa, about seven miles SSW of Zuni, New Mexico. Pilot, Capt. Kenneth Levens of the 9thFS, was killed when the aircraft impacted at about a 60-degree nose own attitude. Levens had 70 hours experience in F-117s. He made no attempt to eject. The impact crater was 20 feet deep and 25 feet across. Zuni tribal fire and police personnel were the first on scene. Mishap occured at about 2230 hours on 10 May. Air Force personnel from Kirtland AFB arrived at 0830 the next day. The AF team included EOD, Medical, Legal, Environmental, Transportation, Civil Engineer, Security Police, and Public Affairs personnel. The bulk of the wreckage was removed in large wooden crates on two flatbed trucks on 31 May. One crate fell off a truck, two miles NE of the site, and heavy equipment was called in to lift it back into place. Armed security personnel were still in place at the site, even after the crates had been removed. - -- Andreas [bye] - --- --- Andreas & Kathryn Gehrs-Pahl E-Mail: schnars@ais.org 313 West Court St. #305 or: gpahl@raptor.csc.flint.umich.edu Flint, MI 48502-1239 Tel: (810) 238-8469 WWW URL: http://www.umcc.umich.edu/~schnars/ - --- --- ------------------------------ From: Charles_E._Smith.wbst200@xerox.com Date: Thu, 13 Jul 1995 04:04:14 PDT Subject: Re: Variable Stability / In-Flight Simulators The VISTA is currently flying GE. As most of you know, the F16 can be equipped with either GE or P&W fans. The VISTA is scheduled to have the GE replaced with the P&W 2-D nozzle engine. Last time I visited Calspan they showed a movie of the new P&W on the test stand. The nozzle is round, and when installed will be the fastest moving "control surface" on the A/C. There is a political side to this change. The VISTA will be the first F16 to be converted from GE to P&W power. Since the 2 D nozzle engine is still the "stocker" from the nozzle forward, it is beleived that P&W sees this as an opportunity to get a field conversion process in place. With the price of afterburning turbofans these days, one quickly sees the advantage for Pratt and the potential loss for GE. I`m sure my elected officials will be involved, aerospace specialists that they are! BTW- the T33 is pretty busy. It did have a scrub recently because the tip tanks were about to fall off! Chuck ------------------------------ From: albert.dobyns@mwbbs.com (ALBERT DOBYNS) Date: Wed, 12 Jul 95 23:55:00 -0500 Subject: JP-7 fuel > Date: Tue, 11 Jul 1995 16:55:41 -0400 (EDT) > From: Mary Shafer > Subject: Re: JP-7 fuel > Message-Id: MS> I don't think that JP-7 is much thicker than JP-5. Now, JP-4, which > was avgas-based, was thinner, but I just don't see that much > difference between JP-5, JP-7, and JP-8. It's not viscosity, but > volatility that's the issue. Incidentally, people make a lot over > being able to drop a lit match in a pool of JP-7 and not have it > burn, but you can also do that with regular old gasoline, as my > driver's education teacher illustrated. Ah, I'm glad you came to my rescue and provided more details that I haven't seen in the books! After reading something about the tanks having some sort of sealer in the tanks, I mistakenly assumed the sealer was injected in just the places where the metal panels meet each other. And I thought they had to inject the stuff from the inside of the tanks. I had no idea they had to smear the stuff all over the inside surfaces! Someone actually threw a match into gasoline and the match went out??? That gives me the shivers! MS> The sealant isn't exactly injected into the seams of the tanks. > Rather, it's spread carefully all over the inside of the tank. If > you get a leak in a fuel tank, you have to empty the tank and go in > and scrape off all the old sealant from the area that you think is > leaking. Then you spread new sealant very carefully over this area, > let the sealant cure, and refill the tank. Then you discover that > either the leak was coming from some place else or that you didn't > get it sealed right and the fuel is still soaking the drogue chute. > At this point you're down to exactly one gallon of tank sealant and > the one guy who is really good at spreading it is going on vacation. > OK, this only happened once--usually the resealing works quite well. Hmmm, I seem to have put my reply ahead of your comments. This sealant application process sounds like lots of manual labor! And you can't tell if the leak is sealed until you put the panels back on and pump the fuel back in? Or am I jumping to conclusions again?? You mentioned the drogue chute soaking in the fuel. Does the chute suffer any damage when this happens? I don't know what the chute is made of. It must be fairly strong stuff to withstand the force of catching enough air to slow the bird down significantly. It's not a one-piece chute is it? I mean isn't it made of strips in some pattern that lets air pass through it at a controlled rate? I wonder what the sealant is made of. MS> One of the things that we're doing while we've got the plane laid up > for the mods is to completely reseal that tank--none of the usual > patching here and there, but resealing the whole thing in one piece. > The Air Force ordered new sealant, enough for _years_ of leaking > tanks, with only five planes flying. To me that's good news! The more things we have in the way of spare parts, the better!! Random thought: why didn't the Air Force (or CIA in the A-12 days) select any women for crews? I know NASA has a woman engineer who is a backseater (she isn't qualified as a pilot is she?). Maybe in the old days of flying and spying, the policy was to not allow women to fly anything considered to be a combat situation. I really need to visit your facility some day if I can ever pry enough money out of our bank and or credit cards. Is it hard for a civilian like me to get within arm's reach of the SR's? Or to sit in the front cockpit and have the canopy lowered? I've always wondered exactly what the visibility is like through what look like somewhat small windows. Oh, and then there's so many knobs and switches to manipulate! Maybe I should be handcuffed before seathing in the pilot's seat! Thanks again for your interesting response! - -Al- þ SLMR 2.1a þ You can have your SR in any color as long as it's black! ------------------------------ From: albert.dobyns@mwbbs.com (ALBERT DOBYNS) Date: Wed, 12 Jul 95 23:58:00 -0500 Subject: I forgot the subject :( BH> Date: Wed, 12 Jul 1995 00:58:46 -0600 (MDT) > From: Brad Hitch > Subject: Re: JP-7 fuel > Message-ID: BH> JP-7 was specially developed for the SR-71 to deal with the effect > of high fuel temperatures. Most jet fuels have components which > react with .....sorry to snip so much out of your message but I didn't want to .....over quote....... That was the most detailed info on the fuel's characteristics I've ever read. What book do you have that has this info? Is there a way I can get a copy?? BH> Just my $1.50 worth I'd rate your info as being worth more than $1.50 (which probably isn't enough to buy a gallon of JP-7!) Thanks for the info from an old SR-71 fan! - -Al- - --- þ SLMR 2.1a þ I'm not sure where we're at, but we're making good time. Please consider the subject to be JP-7 fuel! Can't use those memory cells anymore! ------------------------------ From: mangan@edac1.kodak.com (Paul Mangan) Date: Thu, 13 Jul 95 10:04:00 EDT Subject: Re: Variable Stability / In-Flight Simulators Mary, I was curious, is that a 2 seater or single seater. I've only seen single seaters but I would thing there are 2 seat trainers and I was curious if something like this would be based on a 2 seater. Paul mangan@kodak.com > > See comments below. I've flown in the two Learjets and the NT-33A; I'm > scheduled to fly the VISTA in September. > > Regards, > Mary > > Mary Shafer DoD #0362 KotFR shafer@ursa-major.spdcc.com > URL http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/People/Shafer/mary.html > Some days it don't come easy/And some days it don't come hard > Some days it don't come at all/And these are the days that never end.... > > > On Wed, 12 Jul 1995, Kathryn & Andreas Gehrs-Pahl wrote: > > > Here is a list of variable stability aircraft -- as many as I can think of: > > > > * 1 Convair NC-131H-CO, serial '53-7793', c/n 245, originally designated > > C-131B-CO, modified and operated by Calspan for the USAF Flight Dynamics > > Laboratory (FDL); used as "Total In-Flight Simulator" (TIFS) aircraft, > > since 1969; now out of service; > > In service and flying routinely--it was out here doing system simulation > for the USAF TPS a couple of months ago and I'm proposing a restricted > visibility/synthetic vision/remote optics experiment to be flown next > year. > > > * 1 NT-33A-1-LO, originally designated T-33A-1-LO, serial '51-4120', > > c/n 580-5414, modified and operated by Calspan for the USAF FDL, in 1958; > > used in 1977 for the "Display Evaluation Flight Test" (DEFT) program and > > various others; now out of service and replaced by the NF-16D VISTA/MATV; > > Still in service--they were doing an experiment for the Indonesians or > Singaporeans about 2 weeks ago. Does not travel to Edwards anymore > because it won't run on JP-8. > > > * 1 Lockheed Martin NF-16D-30-GD, originally designated F-16D-39-GD, serial > > '86-0048', leased back to Lockheed Fort Worth Company (LFWC) and modified > > and operated for the USAF as "Variable-stability In-flight Simulator Test > > Aircraft" (VISTA) and "Multi-Axis Thrust-Vectoring" (MATV) testbed with > > General Electric (GE) "Axisymmetric-Vectoring Exhaust Nozzle" (AVEN); > > replaced the NT-33A; > > No longer the MATV, only the VISTA. They pulled out all the MATV stuff > and turned it back into VISTA. VISTA may get thrust vectoring, but it > won't be the MATV thrust vectoring. > > > * 2 Douglas TB-26B-45-DL Invader, one registered 'N9146H', originally > > designated A-26B-45-DL, serial '44-34165', c/n 27444, and another one, > > both modified and operated by Calspan for the USAF Test Pilot School > > (TPS); both had a Variable Stability System (VSS); used for test pilot > > training; both now out of service; 'N9146H' is now on display at the > > Edwards AFB Museum, CA; > > > > * 1 Learjet 24F (?), modified and operated by Calspan for the USAF TPS; has > > VSS; used for test pilot training; replaced TB-26B; > > It's N101VS (VS as in variable stability). Belongs solely to Calspan; the > two TPSs paid for part of the modifications but the plane belongs to Calspan. > > > * 1 Learjet 25B, registered 'N102VS', c/n 180, modified and operated by > > Calspan for the USAF TPS; has VSS; used for test pilot training; replaced > > TB-26B; > > Like N101VS, the sole property of Calspan. Used for research. Only used > for test pilot training when 101VS is unavailable. > > > * 1 Bell X-14B, registered 'N704NA', marked 'NASA 704'; originally designated > > X-14, serial '56-4022', modified to X-14A, registered 'N234NA', marked > > 'NASA 234', then modified to X-14B, had VSS to simulate the flight > > characteristics of a variety of VSTOL designs; acquired by NASA ARC on > > 10/02/1959; out of service after accident with Ron Gerdes, 05/29/1981; > > > > * 2 Bell X-22A, BuAerNo '151520' and '151521', the second was modified and > > operated by Calspan, mainly for the USAF TPS and USN, equipped with VSS > > to simulate various VSTOL designs; now retired and to be displayed at a NY > > museum; the first crashed early in the flight test program, and was used > > for spares and the basis of a ground-based simulator; > > > > * 4 Northrop Grumman G-1159 Gulfstream II, used by NASA JSC as "Shuttle > > Training Aircraft" (STA), simulating Space Shuttle landing flight > > characteristics: > > - c/n 144, registered 'N844NA', marked 'NASA 844', (STA 3); acquired on > > 05/06/1983; > > - c/n 118, registered 'N845NA', marked 'NASA 845', (STA 4); acquired on > > 07/05/1989; was previously used as Lockheed PropFan testbed, registered > > 'N650PF', marked 'NASA 650'; tested in 02/1987; > > - c/n 146, registered 'N846NA', marked 'NASA 846', (STA 1); acquired on > > 05/20/1974; > > - c/n 147, registered 'N847NA', marked 'NASA 847', (STA 2); acquired on > > 06/13/1974; > > > > Other candidates used in the US may be the 2 Grumman X-29A FSW aircraft, > > the 2 Rockwell/DASA X-31A EFM aircraft, the MDD F/A-18A HARV, the MDD F-15A > > HIDEC, the modified Sikorsky S-76 ('Shadow' ?) with an RAH-66A cockpit and > > controls, and several others. > > There was a variable stability F-100C. The X-29s and X-31s were never > used as variable stability aircraft, an neither was the HiDEC. Dryden had > the GPAS, General Purpose Airborne Simulation, a Jetstar. We also used > the F-8 DFBW. > > > Other countries use in-flight variable-stability simulator aircraft too: > > * in Russia, the Flight Research Institute (FRI) in Schukowski uses: > > - 1 Tu-154M, registered 'RA-85317'; > > * in Germany, the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) > > uses: > > - 1 VFW 614, called 'ATTAS' [Advanced Technologies Testing Aircraft > > System], registered 'D-ADAM', c/n G-017; > > - 1 Eurocopter Bo 105, called 'ATTHeS' [Advanced Technologies Testing > > Helicopter System], registered 'D-HEBV'; > > - and later its follow-on/replacement, 1 Eurocopter BK 117, called > > 'ACT-FHS' [Active Control Technology - Flying Helicopter Simulator]; > > * in the UK, the Defence Research Agency (DRA), which includes for example > > the old Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) at Bedford, Farnborough and > > Boscombe Down: > > - 1 Harrier T.2/4 (DB), serial 'XW175', called 'VAAC Harrier'; > > * in France, the Centre d'Essais en Vol (CEV) and maybe other countries, > > like Japan, Sweden, Canada or China (PRC) also. > > The Luftwaffe had a variable-stability F-104 and the British currently > have a variable-stability Hawk. > > > CCV [Control Configured Vehicle] aircraft, like the HiMAT drones, the > > Lockheed Martin (then General Dynamics) YF-16A 'CCV', the Boeing NB-52B > > 'CCV', the SEPECAT Jaguar GR.1 'CCV', the Mitsubishi F-1 'CCV', etc., > > could also be considered as belonging to this group. > > The NB-52B is not only not variable-stablity, it's flying the original > flight control system. The HiMAT RPRVs (we don't call them drones, they're > remotely piloted research vehicles) and the AFTI/F-16 (also F-16 CCV) were > never used as variable stability aircraft. > > > > ------------------------------ From: mangan@edac1.kodak.com (Paul Mangan) Date: Thu, 13 Jul 95 10:18:49 EDT Subject: Re: Variable Stability / In-Flight Simulators Andreas once shaped the electrons to say: > The Calspan Corporation is a company, located in Buffalo, NY, which operates > VSS-equipped and other aircraft for research and training, on behalf and > under contract for the USAF and other government agencies. Calspan has an > operating location at Edwards AFB, and maybe also at other sites. It was/is > also known as Calspan Advanced Technology Center, and was/is a division of > Arvin Industries' Applied Technology Group since 1978. > > -- Andreas You may remember a long time ago when they first came to the Airport at Buffalo that they were responsible for doing some early car crash studies. These were used by a consumer advocate (what's his name) to show how bad the auto industry was. They were also linked with Bell Aircraft and Sierra Research for a variety of things. My impression always was that they were a small struggling research lab willing to take on anything to survive....sounds like they are doing a lot better now. Maybe I made a mistake when I turned down a job with them that was offered to me by one of my co-students when I was attending the old Erie County Technical Institute's night school program. Paul mangan@kodak.com ------------------------------ From: Mary Shafer Date: Thu, 13 Jul 1995 11:03:13 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: Variable Stability / In-Flight Simulators Well, originally it was the Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory and it was a part of the eponymous university. Then the university decided to get out of that business (in part, I think, because there wasn't that much aeronautical business in New York anymore) and they spun it off as a separate entity. Some time in the late '60s or early '70s Cornell demanded that they stop using the name, so it turned into Calspan (Cal for Cornell Aero Lab and span to make it sound good, I guess). They have shock tunnels and wind tunnels in Buffalo, plus their Flight Research Department, which is the pre-eminent in-flight simulation group. They also have the support contract for the wind tunnels at Ames Research Center and AEDC. They do car crashing for manufacturers and DoT. Regards, Mary Mary Shafer DoD #0362 KotFR shafer@ursa-major.spdcc.com URL http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/People/Shafer/mary.html Some days it don't come easy/And some days it don't come hard Some days it don't come at all/And these are the days that never end.... On Wed, 12 Jul 1995, Dave Cox wrote: > > On Wed, 12 Jul 1995, Kathryn & Andreas Gehrs-Pahl wrote: > > > > * 1 Convair NC-131H-CO, serial '53-7793', c/n 245, originally designated > > > C-131B-CO, modified and operated by Calspan for the USAF Flight Dynamics > > > Laboratory (FDL); used as "Total In-Flight Simulator" (TIFS) aircraft, > > > since 1969; now out of service; > > Pardon the idiot question, but who/what is Calspan? > --dave ------------------------------ From: Mary Shafer Date: Thu, 13 Jul 1995 11:09:48 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: Variable Stability / In-Flight Simulators Calspan does not have a permanent installation here at Edwards: they had a little test cadre camping out here while they did the acceptence testing on the VISTA and, of course, they bring the planes out for TPS, but they don't have a permanent presence here. (Well, they've got a conex on the TPS ramp, but that hardly counts.) Regards, Mary Mary Shafer DoD #0362 KotFR shafer@ursa-major.spdcc.com URL http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/People/Shafer/mary.html Some days it don't come easy/And some days it don't come hard Some days it don't come at all/And these are the days that never end.... ------------------------------ From: Mary Shafer Date: Thu, 13 Jul 1995 11:14:00 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: Variable Stability / In-Flight Simulators Lou Knotts told me that they were doing the tests _without_ the tip tanks; they're operating out of Niagara Falls Airport, using the alert barn so that they don't have to taxi very far. They only get about 6 approaches without the tip tanks, for about half an hour. They usually get at least 12, in an hour. Regards, mary Mary Shafer DoD #0362 KotFR shafer@ursa-major.spdcc.com URL http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/People/Shafer/mary.html Some days it don't come easy/And some days it don't come hard Some days it don't come at all/And these are the days that never end.... On Thu, 13 Jul 1995 Charles_E._Smith.wbst200@xerox.com wrote: > The VISTA is currently flying GE. As most of you know, the F16 can be equipped with > either GE or P&W fans. The VISTA is scheduled to have the GE replaced with > the P&W 2-D nozzle engine. Last time I visited Calspan they showed a movie of > the new P&W on the test stand. The nozzle is round, and when installed will > be the fastest moving "control surface" on the A/C. > > There is a political side to this change. The VISTA will be the first F16 to be converted > from GE to P&W power. Since the 2 D nozzle engine is still the "stocker" from the > nozzle forward, it is beleived that P&W sees this as an opportunity to get a > field conversion process in place. With the price of afterburning turbofans these days, > one quickly sees the advantage for Pratt and the potential loss for GE. > > I`m sure my elected officials will be involved, aerospace specialists that they are! > > BTW- the T33 is pretty busy. It did have a scrub recently because the tip tanks were > about to fall off! > Chuck ------------------------------ From: Mary Shafer Date: Thu, 13 Jul 1995 11:17:08 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: Variable Stability / In-Flight Simulators Two seater. Pretty much every dedicated in-flight simulator has at least one safety pilot and one evaluation pilot. TIFS, for example, has two of the former and, frequently, two of the latter. Regards, Mary Mary Shafer DoD #0362 KotFR shafer@ursa-major.spdcc.com URL http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/People/Shafer/mary.html Some days it don't come easy/And some days it don't come hard Some days it don't come at all/And these are the days that never end.... On Thu, 13 Jul 1995, Paul Mangan wrote: > Mary, > I was curious, is that a 2 seater or single seater. I've > only seen single seaters but I would thing there are 2 seat > trainers and I was curious if something like this would be > based on a 2 seater. > Paul > mangan@kodak.com > > > > > See comments below. I've flown in the two Learjets and the NT-33A; I'm > > scheduled to fly the VISTA in September. > > > > Regards, > > Mary > > > > Mary Shafer DoD #0362 KotFR shafer@ursa-major.spdcc.com > > URL http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/People/Shafer/mary.html > > Some days it don't come easy/And some days it don't come hard > > Some days it don't come at all/And these are the days that never end.... > > > > > > On Wed, 12 Jul 1995, Kathryn & Andreas Gehrs-Pahl wrote: > > > > > Here is a list of variable stability aircraft -- as many as I can think of: > > > > > > * 1 Convair NC-131H-CO, serial '53-7793', c/n 245, originally designated > > > C-131B-CO, modified and operated by Calspan for the USAF Flight Dynamics > > > Laboratory (FDL); used as "Total In-Flight Simulator" (TIFS) aircraft, > > > since 1969; now out of service; > > > > In service and flying routinely--it was out here doing system simulation > > for the USAF TPS a couple of months ago and I'm proposing a restricted > > visibility/synthetic vision/remote optics experiment to be flown next > > year. > > > > > * 1 NT-33A-1-LO, originally designated T-33A-1-LO, serial '51-4120', > > > c/n 580-5414, modified and operated by Calspan for the USAF FDL, in 1958; > > > used in 1977 for the "Display Evaluation Flight Test" (DEFT) program and > > > various others; now out of service and replaced by the NF-16D VISTA/MATV; > > > > Still in service--they were doing an experiment for the Indonesians or > > Singaporeans about 2 weeks ago. Does not travel to Edwards anymore > > because it won't run on JP-8. > > > > > * 1 Lockheed Martin NF-16D-30-GD, originally designated F-16D-39-GD, serial > > > '86-0048', leased back to Lockheed Fort Worth Company (LFWC) and modified > > > and operated for the USAF as "Variable-stability In-flight Simulator Test > > > Aircraft" (VISTA) and "Multi-Axis Thrust-Vectoring" (MATV) testbed with > > > General Electric (GE) "Axisymmetric-Vectoring Exhaust Nozzle" (AVEN); > > > replaced the NT-33A; > > > > No longer the MATV, only the VISTA. They pulled out all the MATV stuff > > and turned it back into VISTA. VISTA may get thrust vectoring, but it > > won't be the MATV thrust vectoring. > > > > > * 2 Douglas TB-26B-45-DL Invader, one registered 'N9146H', originally > > > designated A-26B-45-DL, serial '44-34165', c/n 27444, and another one, > > > both modified and operated by Calspan for the USAF Test Pilot School > > > (TPS); both had a Variable Stability System (VSS); used for test pilot > > > training; both now out of service; 'N9146H' is now on display at the > > > Edwards AFB Museum, CA; > > > > > > * 1 Learjet 24F (?), modified and operated by Calspan for the USAF TPS; has > > > VSS; used for test pilot training; replaced TB-26B; > > > > It's N101VS (VS as in variable stability). Belongs solely to Calspan; the > > two TPSs paid for part of the modifications but the plane belongs to Calspan. > > > > > * 1 Learjet 25B, registered 'N102VS', c/n 180, modified and operated by > > > Calspan for the USAF TPS; has VSS; used for test pilot training; replaced > > > TB-26B; > > > > Like N101VS, the sole property of Calspan. Used for research. Only used > > for test pilot training when 101VS is unavailable. > > > > > * 1 Bell X-14B, registered 'N704NA', marked 'NASA 704'; originally designated > > > X-14, serial '56-4022', modified to X-14A, registered 'N234NA', marked > > > 'NASA 234', then modified to X-14B, had VSS to simulate the flight > > > characteristics of a variety of VSTOL designs; acquired by NASA ARC on > > > 10/02/1959; out of service after accident with Ron Gerdes, 05/29/1981; > > > > > > * 2 Bell X-22A, BuAerNo '151520' and '151521', the second was modified and > > > operated by Calspan, mainly for the USAF TPS and USN, equipped with VSS > > > to simulate various VSTOL designs; now retired and to be displayed at a NY > > > museum; the first crashed early in the flight test program, and was used > > > for spares and the basis of a ground-based simulator; > > > > > > * 4 Northrop Grumman G-1159 Gulfstream II, used by NASA JSC as "Shuttle > > > Training Aircraft" (STA), simulating Space Shuttle landing flight > > > characteristics: > > > - c/n 144, registered 'N844NA', marked 'NASA 844', (STA 3); acquired on > > > 05/06/1983; > > > - c/n 118, registered 'N845NA', marked 'NASA 845', (STA 4); acquired on > > > 07/05/1989; was previously used as Lockheed PropFan testbed, registered > > > 'N650PF', marked 'NASA 650'; tested in 02/1987; > > > - c/n 146, registered 'N846NA', marked 'NASA 846', (STA 1); acquired on > > > 05/20/1974; > > > - c/n 147, registered 'N847NA', marked 'NASA 847', (STA 2); acquired on > > > 06/13/1974; > > > > > > Other candidates used in the US may be the 2 Grumman X-29A FSW aircraft, > > > the 2 Rockwell/DASA X-31A EFM aircraft, the MDD F/A-18A HARV, the MDD F-15A > > > HIDEC, the modified Sikorsky S-76 ('Shadow' ?) with an RAH-66A cockpit and > > > controls, and several others. > > > > There was a variable stability F-100C. The X-29s and X-31s were never > > used as variable stability aircraft, an neither was the HiDEC. Dryden had > > the GPAS, General Purpose Airborne Simulation, a Jetstar. We also used > > the F-8 DFBW. > > > > > Other countries use in-flight variable-stability simulator aircraft too: > > > * in Russia, the Flight Research Institute (FRI) in Schukowski uses: > > > - 1 Tu-154M, registered 'RA-85317'; > > > * in Germany, the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) > > > uses: > > > - 1 VFW 614, called 'ATTAS' [Advanced Technologies Testing Aircraft > > > System], registered 'D-ADAM', c/n G-017; > > > - 1 Eurocopter Bo 105, called 'ATTHeS' [Advanced Technologies Testing > > > Helicopter System], registered 'D-HEBV'; > > > - and later its follow-on/replacement, 1 Eurocopter BK 117, called > > > 'ACT-FHS' [Active Control Technology - Flying Helicopter Simulator]; > > > * in the UK, the Defence Research Agency (DRA), which includes for example > > > the old Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) at Bedford, Farnborough and > > > Boscombe Down: > > > - 1 Harrier T.2/4 (DB), serial 'XW175', called 'VAAC Harrier'; > > > * in France, the Centre d'Essais en Vol (CEV) and maybe other countries, > > > like Japan, Sweden, Canada or China (PRC) also. > > > > The Luftwaffe had a variable-stability F-104 and the British currently > > have a variable-stability Hawk. > > > > > CCV [Control Configured Vehicle] aircraft, like the HiMAT drones, the > > > Lockheed Martin (then General Dynamics) YF-16A 'CCV', the Boeing NB-52B > > > 'CCV', the SEPECAT Jaguar GR.1 'CCV', the Mitsubishi F-1 'CCV', etc., > > > could also be considered as belonging to this group. > > > > The NB-52B is not only not variable-stablity, it's flying the original > > flight control system. The HiMAT RPRVs (we don't call them drones, they're > > remotely piloted research vehicles) and the AFTI/F-16 (also F-16 CCV) were > > never used as variable stability aircraft. > > > > > > > > ------------------------------ End of Skunk Works Digest V5 #352 ********************************* To subscribe to skunk-works-digest, send the command: subscribe skunk-works-digest in the body of a message to "majordomo@mail.orst.edu". If you want to subscribe something other than the account the mail is coming from, such as a local redistribution list, then append that address to the "subscribe" command; for example, to subscribe "local-skunk-works": subscribe skunk-works-digest local-skunk-works@your.domain.net To unsubscribe, send mail to the same address, with the command: unsubscribe skunk-works-digest in the body. 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