(highly integrated digital electronic
control), testing and evaluating a
computerized self-repairing ight control
system. It was an ambitious system that
could detect damaged or failed ight
control surfaces. NASA Armstrong now
ies a trio of shiny white and blue two-
seat Eagles. They are used as aeronautics
research testbeds, as well as for crew
training, pilot pro ciency and safety
chase support for other research aircraft.
The F/A-18 Hornet eet serves as the
primary mission support platform, several
single- and two-seat variants assisting
advanced programs. The role of safety
chase includes photo and video chase,
with the ability for the back-seat mission
crew member to transmit live video
streams back to control rooms for test
monitoring.
A type that inevitably attracts a good
deal of attention is the ER-2 high-altitude
research vehicle. The NASA Armstrong
Flight Research Center has two in its
inventory, both based at Palmdale. Based
on the USAF’s U-2, the ER-2 is dedicated
to high-altitude science and the aircraftare employed on a wide variety of
environmental, atmospheric sampling
and satellite data veri cation missions.
They also carry out electronic sensor
research and even satellite calibration.
From 1971 NASA employed U-2s to
collect such data. However, the initial
dedicated ER-2s arrived in 1981, with
the second following eight years later.
It is the only aircraft that can y into the
lower stratosphere at subsonic speed
and it’s a type in high demand. The two
examples have deployed around theworld on a range of tasks including ozone
layer research in the Arctic stratosphere.
Another old bird at Palmdale is the
NASA DC-8, which acts as NASA’s Airborne
Science Program ying laboratory. It
ies three primary missions: sensor
development, satellite sensor veri cation,
and basic research studies of the
earth’s surface and atmosphere, while
being heavily involved in monitoring
tropical storms.
Palmdale is also home to the SOFIA
(Stratospheric Observatory for Infra-red
Astronomy) program. Conducted together
with the DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft-
und Raumfahrt, or German Aerospace
Center) this joint project was aimed at
developing an airborne observatory
to facilitate infra-red astronomy in the
stratosphere. To carry the large telescope
a Boeing 747SP was modi ed. A major
modi cation added a door in the rear
port fuselage that can be opened during
ight. Behind this is mounted SOFIA’s large
telescope. ‘SOFIA ies a lot and the unique
thing about this aircraft is the stabilized
telescope,’ explained Larson.SonicBAT
Of the many projects conducted by
NASA here in the Mojave Desert, one of
the latest is fascinating — sonic booms
in atmospheric turbulence, or SonicBAT.
The rst half of this program, in which
Nils Larson was intensively involved, was
performed in the summer of 2016 by
NASA Armstrong in order to examine
the e ects of atmospheric turbulence on
sonic booms. For this NASA conducted 69
ights in a two-week period designed to
study the way sonic booms travel through
the atmosphere. ‘Instead of collecting
data during a couple of seconds in a wind
tunnel we could gather real data in a hot
and dry atmosphere up to 15 minutes
during each sonic boom ight,’ explainedLeft: Still wearing
NASA Dryden
titles, an ER-2
is prepared for
a mission. The
aircraft are
heavily engaged
in atmospheric
research. NASA
Below: NASA
806 arrives at
an airshow in
style. Both ER-2s
are based at
NASA’s facility at
Palmdale.
Rich Cooperhttp://www.combataircraft.net // June 2018 91
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