Don Nolan-Proxmire

Headquarters, Washington, DC November 14, 1996

(Phone: 202/358-1983)

Fred Brown
Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA
(Phone: 805/258-2663)

RELEASE: 96-239

F-15 ACTIVE ACHIEVES FIRST-EVER MACH 2 THRUST-VECTORING

A significant milestone in advancing the capabilities of

high-performance aircraft was achieved recently at the Dryden
Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA, when a highly-modified
F-15 aircraft employed thrust-vectoring of its engine
exhausts at speeds of almost Mach 2.

Don Gatlin, Project Manager of the F-15 Advanced Control

Technology for Integrated Vehicles (ACTIVE) program at
Dryden, said the four flights Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 marked the
first time that vectoring -- or deflecting -- of engine
thrust had been accomplished at such speeds. The tests were
carried out in restricted airspace at an altitude of about
45,000 feet.

"We did both pitch (up-and-down) and yaw (side-to-side)

vectoring at more than Mach 1.95, and to our knowledge,
that's the first time in history it's been done," he added.
"That's given us the ability to do thrust vectoring anywhere
in the (flight) envelope of this aircraft."

The F-15 being flown in the ACTIVE research program is a

highly-modified two-seat "B" model of the Air Force tactical
fighter. It employs a digital flight control system, active
canards mounted ahead of the wings and prototype Pitch-Yaw
Balance Beam Nozzles developed by engine manufacturer Pratt
and Whitney which are mounted on the aircraft's F100-PW-229
engines.

ACTIVE is a joint program between Dryden, the Air Force

Flight Dynamics Laboratory, Pratt and Whitney and the
McDonnell Aircraft Division of McDonnell-Douglas Aerospace.
It seeks to improve performance of both commercial and
military aircraft by integrating a variety of advanced
propulsion, aerodynamic and control system technologies.

"The intent is to look at not only performance and

maneuvering benefits, but to look at safety improvements,"
said ACTIVE Chief Engineer Gerard Schkolnik. "These are
things which hadn't really been addressed by previous thrust-
vectoring programs such as the
X-31, the F-18 High-Angle-of-Attack Vehicle or the F-16
multi-axis thrust-vectoring programs."

Although significant improvements in maneuvering

capability due to thrust vectoring were demonstrated in those
programs, speeds were limited to about Mach 1.2, or slightly
above the speed of sound, Schkolnik noted. The current
program is designed to explore the technology across the
entire flight regime of the F-15, which is capable of speeds
in excess of Mach 2 for short periods.

Dryden Research Pilot Jim Smolka, who flew two of the

four milestone flights in the ACTIVE F-15, pointed out that
thrust-vectoring technology has applications for commercial
as well as military aircraft.

"In the commercial arena, it will improve the cruise

performance of future supersonic transports by reducing the
aerodynamic drag on the airplane and will allow the engines
to pick up some of the control," he said. "In the tactical
arena, we're hoping that aircraft will be able to sustain
higher load factors and better maneuverability due to thrust-
vectoring capabilities," Smolka added.

Gatlin noted that thrust vectoring nozzles also have the

potential for reducing noise at takeoff and landing, a
critical design consideration in development of next-
generation supersonic airliners.

The thrust-vectoring nozzles are capable of swiveling up

to 20 degrees in any direction. The aircraft's engine
mounts, as well as the engine cases themselves, were modified
to withstand the higher dynamic forces resulting from thrust
vectoring. The nozzles were designed by Pratt and Whitney to
be adaptable to current or future aircraft employing the same
engine with only minor changes.

The ACTIVE F-15 engines produce about 29,000 lbs. of

thrust each at full power. With a maximum takeoff weight of
47,000 lbs., the research aircraft has a thrust-to-weight
ratio greater than one to one. The aircraft is 64 feet long,
excluding its flight-test nose probe, and has a wingspan of
about 43 feet.

-end-

NOTE TO EDITORS: A number of still photos are avilable to

support this release. Photos are also available on the
Internet under "NASA Dryden Research Aircraft Photo Archive,
Dryden News and Feature Photos, URL:
http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/PhotoServer/photoserver.html."