One of two F-16XL prototype aircraft, on loan from the Air Force, was used by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA, to investigate laminar flow technology and help improve the flow of air over an aircraft's wing at sustained supersonic speeds.
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One of two F-16XL prototype aircraft, on loan from the Air Force, was used by NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA, to investigate laminar flow technology and help improve the flow of air over an aircraft’s wing at sustained supersonic speeds.
A small, perforated titanium wing glove with a turbo compressor was tested on the F-16XL to determine if air suction can remove a small part of the boundary-layer air flowing over the wing and thereby achieve laminar (smooth) flow over a portion of the wing. The flight research program on ship #1 ended in 1996. It was then conducted with NASA’s two-seat F-16XL, ship #2 employing a larger glove.September 3, 1992
NASA Photo / Jim Ross