Combat aircraft

A varied mission

Today the Armstrong Flight Research

Center is NASA’s premier location

for atmospheric  ight research and

operations. It is chartered to research,

develop and test advanced aeronautics,

space and related technologies and to

conduct atmospheric earth and space

science  ight operations. It is the only

NASA facility where the organization

can check aircraft  ight controls,

avionics, electronics and other systems

simultaneously. For this, it operates

an exotic  eet of highly specialized

manned and unmanned aircraft, which

are  own by experienced test pilots.

The current chief test pilot at NASA

Armstrong is Nils Larson. He started his

career at the USAF Academy in 1986

and, after pilot training, became a T-37

instructor pilot. Later in his career he  ew

the U-2. In 1995 he went to the USAF

Test Pilot School (Class 95A) at Edwards

and following graduation he joined the

445th Flight Test Squadron at the same

base,  ying the F-15 and T-38. Unusually,

he also graduated from the US Naval Test

Pilot School at Naval Air Station Patuxent

Rich Cooper

http://www.combataircraft.net // June 2018 89

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