1980's - at Dryden Flight Research Center
Apr. 14, 1981 - 320,000 people at Edwards watched Columbia, the first
space shuttle, land. Dryden VIPs numbered 20,000, and 300,000 were at the East Shore public viewing site.
Oct. 1, 1981 - Dryden consolidated with Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, to become the Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility. Position of Dryden director renamed site manager and John Manke was selected for the post. NASA personnel numbered 491.
July 4, 1982 - President Ronald Reagan headed list of 45,000 guests at Dryden watching the fourth
Space Shuttle landing. Crowd of 500,000 watched from East Shore public viewing site.
Oct. 30, 1984 - NASA's oldest aircraft at the time, the C-47 that towed the
M2-F1 lifting body aloft during that program's early days and was used to support many other projects, was retired.
Dec. 1, 1984 - A remotely-piloted
Boeing 720 test aircraft used in the joint FAA/NASA Controlled Impact Demonstration erupted in flames as it slid through the impact site on the dry lakebed, demonstrating that, contrary to expectations, an anti-misting fuel additive did not substantially inhibit fuel fires.
Apr. 2, 1985 - Steve Ishmael was the first NASA pilot to fly the
X-29 research aircraft investigating forward-swept wings, composite construction concepts, and integrated flight controls.
July 10, 1986 - F-111 Mission Adaptive Wing research aircraft flew Mach 1 for the first time, with Rogers Smith part of two-person crew. Program tested wing with no ailerons, flaps, or slats. The camber changed mechanically in flight based on performance and mission.
Dec. 18, 1989 - The first self-repairing flight control system was demonstrated on the
F-15 Highly Integrated Digital Electronic Control (HIDEC) aircraft, with Jim Smolka as the pilot. The system identified control surface failures or damage, then automatically repositioned other control surfaces to allow the pilot to continue the mission or land safely.
