EC96-43485-3
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. The new concept should lead to significant increases in performance of civil and military aircraft flying at subsonic and supersonic speeds.
March 1996NASA Photo