Title: NKC-135A Winglets
Designer: Unknown
Year it was designed: circa 1979
Explanation or story behind the patch: In 1979 and 1980, researchers at Dryden conducted a winglet test program with an NKC-135A on loan from the Air Force. Winglets are small, nearly vertical fins installed on an airplane’s wingtips to help produce a forward thrust in the vortices that typically swirl off the end of the wing, thereby reducing drag. Research showed that the winglets could increase an aircraft’s range by as much as 7% at cruise speeds. The first application of NASA’s winglet technology in industry was in general aviation business jets, but winglets are now incorporated into most commercial and military transport jets. The NKC-135A aircraft was delivered to Dryden on 7 December 1977. Following flight crew checkout training in April 1978, instrumentation was installed in the aircraft. The NKC-135A was then flown to Tinker AFB, Oklahoma for installation of wing root splice plates. Some airspeed calibration and instrumentation checkout flights were conducted before delivery of the modified wingtips in May 1979. The first flight with winglets took place on 24 July 1979. After completion of the research program, the NKC-135A departed to Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, on 22 May 1981.
For more information on the KC-135 winglets, click: https://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/about/Organizations/Technology/Facts/…