NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

More accustomed to taking photos of others, NASA Dryden photographer Tom Tschida snapped this image of himself in the gondola of Randy Wright's balloon during Tschida’s first-ever hot-air balloon ride at the 2009 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. (NASA photo / Tom Tschida) The view from the gondola of a hot-air balloon gives one a glimpse into the reasons why ballooning is a popular hobby, according to Tom Tschida, a photographer at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, Calif.

Tschida experienced his first view from aloft in a hot air balloon named Peacock on a brisk morning during the 2009 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Tschida had only briefly seen a hot air balloon up close prior to the event.

"I hung out with the crew as the balloon was readied," Tschida recalled. "The pilot, Randy Wright, briefed the Peacock's crew about what would happen. A set of stairs was brought over for us to climb into the balloon. The crew did everything else," he added.

Tschida had previously done some skydiving, so he imagined that the experience would be similar. Once aloft, the flight was peaceful and calm as the balloon drifted, but he noted that the burst of flame from the burner used to heat the air that kept the balloon aloft was loud.

NASA Dryden photog Tom Tschida gazes apprehensively at colorfully costumed balloon pilot Randy Wright as Wright uses a sword to open a bottle of champagne during the post-flight initiation ceremony. Tschida had just landed after his first hot-air balloon flight at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. (Photo courtesy Debra Cooper) Tschida's photographic creative juices also flowed in different ways in the air.

"Up in the balloon, I naturally shot more wide than I did on the ground to take advantage of the different perspectives," he said. "From the air you experience and see the whole thing and the view - which must be the biggest draw for balloonists."

As the balloon drifted over the Rio Grande, Wright dipped the balloon's gondola and its occupants in twice as part of a tradition, soaking them in cold water, before ascending again. Tschida admitted the landing was exhilarating and a bit rough as the gondola hit the ground and slid to a stop about 20 feet from its touchdown spot.

The ride is only part of the experience for a first-time flier. In a traditional initiation ceremony to commemorate the flight, Tschida and another fellow passenger lay on the deflated envelope while the rest of the crew piled on top to assist in deflating the balloon. Tschida was then asked to kneel in front of Wright, who retold a brief history of ballooning and recited a ballooning prayer. After opening a bottle of champagne with a sword, the pilot offered a toast, Tschida was directed to pick up a cup of champagne with his mouth and drink it, and was then ceremoniously doused with the bubbly beverage.

NASA Dryden photographer Tom Tschida gets doused with champagne during a post-flight initiation ceremony after his first-ever hot-air balloon flight at the 2009 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. (Photo courtesy Debra Cooper) The sense of community from Albuquerque residents also impressed the NASA photographer.

"As you go over neighborhoods little old ladies in robes and kids on bikes come out to see the balloons. When the balloon lands, kids, adults and other crews all come to help hold the basket down," he said.

"The flight gave me broader depth of understanding into what ballooning is and how it works," Tschida reflected. "I also learned how complex it is and how critical the direction of the wind is at different altitudes (since) the balloon is only controlled by changing its altitude. There is inherent risk, but it is fun. It was like being under the parachute in skydiving; it is calm and quiet with a great view of everything."

Jay Levine, X-Press Editor
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center

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Blowing in the Wind – Tunnel, That is, at Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

NASA exhibits and education lead Tony Springer (right) demonstrates a flow visualization wind tunnel to help visitors conceptualize how a wind tunnel works and what it contributes to aeronautics. The miniature wind tunnel was one of the interactive displays in the NASA exhibit at the 2009 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. (NASA photo / Tom Tschida) Aeronautics can seem like such heady stuff, but NASA staff members at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta used a tool to bring some sky-high concepts down to Earth for Fiesta visitors.

One such tool was the flow-visualization wind tunnel that brings the wind tunnel aeronautical engineering technology down to a more manageable, desktop size.

“Before we fly anything it’s tested in a wind tunnel, regardless of whether it is researched at NASA or with our partners in other government agencies, industry or academia,” said Tony Springer, NASA lead for communication and education.

Visitors at the Balloon Fiesta had an opportunity to experience for themselves the value of wind tunnels and how they work, regardless of how they’re used to test components, concept models or full-size aircraft or automobiles.

In the case of the miniature flow-visualization wind tunnel, a smoke-like vapor is used to demonstrate the airflow around an object placed in the wind tunnel. Wind-tunnel components take incoming air through a honeycomb material that increases the air to provide what researchers call laminar flow, or smooth air.

The model wind tunnel permits people to observe airflow patterns over scale-model aircraft and cars to better visualize what researchers are looking for in their designs. It also shows how the wind tunnel can help those researchers see on the ground a representation of how a concept, shape or component will perform in flight.

“We can show people how air moves over or around an aircraft and explain to them how similar methods are used in launch vehicles and even tall buildings to see how the air is going to flow, or what the aerodynamic characteristics are of the object,” Springer said.

A wave of hot air balloons takes off during a mass ascension during the second day of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Oct. 4. (NASA photo / Tom Tschida) NASA uses wind tunnels at its centers, other government agencies or at industry-partner facilities. The tunnels range in size from a few inches to full-scale tunnels of 80 by 120 feet that can test a full-sized aircraft, he explained.

“Wind tunnels allow you to determine what the aerodynamics of a vehicle are before you actually expend money on a full-scale aircraft. They’re also used to reduce the unknowns, because you don’t want to put a person or some hardware at risk,” Springer said.

The concepts usually start small and get larger as the test article solidifies from data acquired through a number of increasingly complex tests in incrementally larger wind tunnels with bigger and bigger models, Springer said. Researchers essentially start off with a toy, where they can take the wings and flight control surfaces off and they can change out components to determine the optimum aerodynamic range through wind-tunnel tests.

“Every U.S. commercial and military aircraft or launch vehicle has been tested in NASA wind tunnels or uses NASA-developed technology. NASA has gone beyond the fundamental research that defines the concepts to actual application of them in the wind tunnel and following on with flight test,” Springer said.

A number of key modern aircraft technologies were first proven in wind tunnels before undergoing the crucible of flight research.

A team led by Dr. Richard Whitcomb of Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va., originated a number of those technologies, including area rule, the supercritical wing and winglets.

Area rule is the concept that a narrowing of the fuselage over the wing reduces aerodynamic drag at transonic speeds.

Crewmembers tip a hot air balloon gondola upright to prepare it for the final stages of launching. (NASA photo / Tom Tschida) The supercritical wing, an airfoil shape that reduces drag at speeds just below Mach 1, enables an aircraft to go slightly faster or see an increase in performance as a result of drag reduction. Research flights made at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., with a modified F-8 validated wind-tunnel predictions that aircraft using the supercritical wing experienced increased cruising speed, saw improved fuel efficiency of about 15 percent, and saw better flight range than those featuring conventional wings. As a result, supercritical wings are now common on most modern subsonic military and commercial transports.

Winglets, which were tested on a KC-135 at Dryden, are end plates on the wing that “fool” the wing into behaving as though it had a longer span. In other words, with winglets, the wing is more efficient without the performance penalties of actually having a larger wing. The economic advantages of winglet use eventually led to their adoption on light aircraft, business jets, airliners and heavy military transports.

Another area of wind-tunnel use is icing research, which has made flight safer through use of NASA’s world-class facilities, Springer said.

Aerodynamic drag reduction also is valuable to the design of semi trucks and racecars.

In fact, a research effort led by Ed Saltzman at Dryden on aerodynamic drag on semi trucks revolutionized the trucking industry in the 1970s. That research lead to major design changes resulting in an increase in efficiency and a 20 to 25 percent increase in fuel economy over vehicles that did not feature the aerodynamic improvements.

A professional racing association used the NASA Langley Full Scale Wind Tunnel for a detailed look at aerodynamics on racecar drag reduction. Another area of interest was the impacts of aerodynamics with multiple racecars, Springer said.

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Full of Hot Air: A NASA F/A-18 at the Balloon Fiesta - 10.05.09

Visitors to the NASA exhibit at the 2009 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta had the opportunity to picture themselves as pilots in full pressure suits in front of a NASA aircraft. The half-scale inflatable model of an F/A-18 made it easy to identify where the NASA display was located. (NASA photo / Tom Tschida) Finding the NASA exhibit at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta isn't difficult. Just look for the inflatable airplane.

At an event featuring hot air balloons, NASA appropriately has an F/A-18 half-scale blow-up model airplane that makes the way to the agency's exhibit more obvious.

"The main objective is for the F/A-18 to draw attention to the NASA tent that has a number of aeronautics displays. NASA is not just space, but also aeronautics," said Mary Ann Harness, public outreach specialist and exhibit coordinator at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center.

"We try to bring the F/A-18 inflatable aircraft to events where we can't bring one of our research aircraft," Harness added. "NASA Headquarters provided it to us several years ago and it has been a wonderful tool and exhibit piece."

NASA uses F/A-18s obtained from the U.S. Navy between 1984 and 1991. Two have a two-seat cockpit while the others are single-seat aircraft. Based at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center on Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., the versatile aircraft are used both for research missions and for mission support.

NASA Dryden uses F/A-18 aircraft for integration of experiments such as test fixtures, sensors and subsystems and for researching such equipment in flight conditions. Sometimes the aircraft's flight control systems or vehicle structure, or both, are extensively modified to validate new configurations, integrated designs and research objectives.

NASA Dryden public affairs director Kevin Rohrer (left) and Dryden life support technician Jim Sokolik set up NASA’s half-scale, inflatable F/A-18 by the NASA exhibit at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. (NASA photo / Tom Tschida) The High Alpha Research Vehicle, Systems Research Aircraft and Active Aeroelastic Wing projects are examples of how NASA has used F/A-18 aircraft to redefine the cutting edge of flight research.

Over the course of 385 research flights conducted from 1987 through 1995, the High Alpha Research Vehicle, or HARV, F/A-18 demonstrated that it was capable of flight at angles of attack between 65 and 70 degrees using thrust-vectoring paddles to direct engine thrust and forebody strakes on the forward fuselage to create side forces that helped control vortices generated at high angles of attack.

The Systems Research Aircraft F/A-18 enabled government and industry to focus on integration, ground test and flight validation of such breakthrough technologies as vehicle management systems, advanced air data systems, photonic based systems, electric aircraft concepts and flight test techniques.

The Air Force Research Laboratory-funded Active Aeroelastic Wing project demonstrated roll control provided by active control of wing flexibility on a modified F/A-18 at transonic and supersonic speeds - a modern outgrowth of the "wing warping" technique used by the Wright brothers to maneuver their first aircraft.

NASA chase pilots in F/A-18s keep in constant radio contact with research pilots and provide an extra set of eyes to monitor key parts of the flight, an important safety feature of research missions. Chase aircraft are used as camera platforms for research missions requiring photos and videos. Aeronautical engineers extensively use photo and video coverage of the flights to monitor and verify various aspects of a research project.

No matter what their use, the F/A-18 plays a key role in NASA flight research.

› View Balloon Fiesta Photo Gallery

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NASA Research and Technology in Focus at Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta - 10.03.09

The first event of the 38th annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta was the Dawn Patrol. The event is comprised of a group of balloon enthusiasts lighting their hot air balloons at the same time to give early morning spectators a light show. (NASA photo / Tom Tschida) NASA is legendary for its work in space, such as the Apollo 11 mission that featured the first steps on the lunar surface by astronaut Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969. In 2009, NASA celebrated the 40th anniversary of that event that still inspires people around the world.

Before NASA sent men to the moon, the agency's aeronautics division flight-tested rocket-powered aircraft that touched the edge of space. Among the 800,000 people expected to attend the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Oct. 3 - 11, many who visit the NASA exhibit are learning more about the sleek black X-15 that 50 years ago redefined the limits of aviation and contributed to the Apollo mission.

Balloon Fiesta attendees have an opportunity to learn not only about the history of NASA aeronautics through a number of displays, but to experience some of it for themselves.

"We're glad to be there," said MaryAnn Harness, public outreach specialist and exhibit coordinator at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center. "We're excited to have the aeronautics lead on the Balloon Fiesta for NASA and we hope to educate a lot of people about flight research."

An F-15 cockpit simulator can allow people to picture themselves in the pilot's seat, lifting off the runways at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. When exhibit attendees exit the cockpit, they can learn about the wind tunnels that are used for researching the different aircraft shapes or the aerodynamics of various parts of an aircraft.

Crewmembers tip a hot air balloon gondola upright to prepare for the final stages of launching it. (NASA photo / Tom Tschida) Visitors can also take a turn at a photo kiosk, where they can be photographed on either the moon or Mars at no cost.

Another exhibit details the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, a modified NASA 747SP with the world's largest airborne infrared telescope installed in its rear fuselage. SOFIA will deploy to locations around the world where its high-tech German-built telescope will scan the heavens with greater ease that Earth- or space-based telescopes. To help people to see how infrared astronomy works, a camera is set up for visitors to see how they and their friends and family appear in the infrared spectrum.

Since the event features hot air balloons, NASA appropriately has an F/A-18 half-scale blow-up model at the entrance of the NASA exhibit. Other, less expansive models of the SOFIA NASA 747 aircraft, the NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and the next-generation Orion spacecraft are available for attendees to view.

In addition, Dryden aerospace engineering technician Jim Sokolik conducts daily demonstrations of a high-altitude pressure suit that was used in the Mach 3 SR-71 program. He also is displaying the suit at Albuquerque area schools and at an American institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics event Oct. 6.

Balloon Fiesta attendees see spectacular and breathtaking views at the events on the field and in the sky. They have similar experiences learning about the latest technologies and testbeds that NASA is developing to explore space, advance aeronautics and reveal more about planet Earth and its environment.

› View Balloon Fiesta Photo Gallery

Jay Levine
Editor, X-Press Special Delivery
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center