EG-0069-01
A Piper PA-30 Twin Commanche, known as NASA 808, was used at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center as a rugged workhorse in a variety of research projects associated with both general aviation and military projects.
After being purchased in 1967, NASA 808 was used as a testbed for general aviation flight control research. NASA’s first project with the aircraft was the determination of its stability and control characterisitics in the Langley full-scale wind tunnel. The wind tunnel measurements were then correlated with in-flight measurements of the stability and control characteristics at Dryden. This was the first time full-scale wind tunnel measurements of a general aviation aircraft had been made since the late 1930s. As a result of the studies, several changes were made by the contractor to the aircraft to improve its flying qualities. These changes are manifested in later models of the airplance.
Another project involving general aviation was the PA-30 program to define the operating techniques necessary to enable curved landing approaches as a part of routine operation at major airports. The program, in support of NASA’s Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) project, was designed to facilitate large and small, STOL and conventional aircraft using the same runway…Learn more