Combat aircraft

The aircraft we use are

well-suited for the job.

They are not brand-new, but we

don’t pull high-g turns with them

Nils Larson

the e ects of thrust-vectoring and

enhanced maneuverability, as well as

acting as an avionics testbed for the

F-15E Strike Eagle. During the following

decade it was used as the F-15 ACTIVE

(advanced control technology for

integrated vehicles), before being

retired at the beginning of 2009 as it

completed a study of intelligent  ight

control programs.

Another charismatic — and extensively

modi ed — F-15 was obtained in 1976

as NASA 835. Built as a YF-15A, it was the

eighth F-15 manufactured and was used

by NASA to develop a digital electronic

engine control system. The aircraft later

became known as the F-15A HIDEC

River in Maryland. Retiring from the

USAF in 2007 as a lieutenant colonel, he

joined NASA as a test pilot. Today, he  ies

a variety of aircraft including the F-15,

F/A-18, ER-2, T-34 and DC-8.

‘The aircraft we use are well-suited for

the job,’ says Larson. ‘They are not brand-

new but we don’t pull high-g turns with

them. We take good care of our aircraft.’

Through the years, nearly every type

built for the US military has  own here

with NASA. Amongst the more famous

was the glorious bare metal B-52B, serial

52-0008, that was used as an airborne

mothership for launching ‘X-planes’

such as the X-15 and the X-43. Other

classics on the NASA roster here have

included the SR-71, the F-8 Crusader and

the F-111.

An enviable fleet

NASA Armstrong now employs more

than 1,150 government and contractor

personnel at its two locations. Its primary

site is on the north-east side of Edwards,

next to Rogers Dry Lake. The second

is 20 miles south at Palmdale Regional

Airport’s building 703.

For years the F-15 Eagle has featured

prominently in the NASA inventory, most

famously the NF-15B (837), also known

as the F-15 STOL/MTD (short take-o

and landing/maneuver technology

demonstrator). It was the  rst two-

seat F-15 ever built by McDonnell

Douglas. At NASA it was used to study

Above: For many

years the NASA

Armstrong

Research Flight

Center has

operated two

Beech King Air

200s (N7NA and

N801NA) for a

variety of support

missions.

Frank Visser

Below: The

pristine F-15B

NASA 836

(74-0141) is towed

out for a morning

sortie from

Edwards AFB.

Frank Visser

Nils Larson,

chief test

pilot at

the NASA

Armstrong

Flight

Research

Center.

Frank Visser

UNIT REPORT // NASA ARMSTRONG

90 June 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net

88-93 NASA Armstrong C.indd 90 19/04/2018 15:35