NASA's single-seat F-16XL on a research flight over the desert near the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA. The aircraft was most recently used in the Cranked-Arrow Wing Aerodynamics Project (CAWAP) to test boundary layer pressures and distribution.
EC96-43418-3
NASA’s single-seat F-16XL on a research flight over the desert near the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA. The aircraft was most recently used in the Cranked-Arrow Wing Aerodynamics Project (CAWAP) to test boundary layer pressures and distribution.
Previously it had been used in a project to investigate the characteristics of sonic booms for NASA’s High Speed Research Program. Data from the program could be used in the development of a high-speed civilian transport. During the series of sonic boom research flights, the F-16XL was used to probe the shock waves being generated by a NASA SR-71 and record their shape and intensity.
February 15, 1996
NASA Photo / Jim Ross