EC96-43485-5
Project: Advanced Control Technology for Integrated Vehicles (ACTIVE)
On Wednesday, April 24, 1996, F-15B #837 flying the ACTIVE project achieved its first supersonic yaw vectoring flight at Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA. ACTIVE was a joint NASA, U.S. Air Force, McDonnell Douglas Aerospace (MDA), and Pratt & Whitney (P&W) project. The team assessed performance and technology benefits during flight test operations
“We hope to set some more records before we’re through,” stated Roger W. Bursey, P&W’s pitch-yaw balance beam nozzle (PYBBN) program manager.
A pair of P&W PYBBNs vectored (horizontally side-to-side, pitch is up and down) the thrust for the MDA-manufactured F-15B research aircraft. Power to reach supersonic speeds was provided by two high-performance F100-PW-229 engines that were modified with the multi-directional thrust vectoring nozzles, visible in this photo of the craft in banked flight. The new concept should lead to significant increases in performance of civil and military aircraft flying at subsonic and supersonic speeds.March 1996NASA Photo› F-15 ACTIVE Project Description