Patch: F-18 HARV, worm logo

Title: F-18 HARV, worm logo

Designer: Don Gatlin

Year it was designed: 1987

Explanation or story behind the patch: The NASA F-18 HARV (High Alpha Research Vehicle) was one of the crown jewels of high alpha and thrust vectoring research, and one of the most prolific aircraft ever flown by NASA in terms of the numbers of research reports generated. The aircraft flew 396 missions as the HARV aircraft, with 292 missions with the Thrust Vectoring Control System (TVCS) installed. The aircraft was the definitive research tool in the high angle of attack and thrust vectoring era of flight research in the late 1980s and early 1990s.