EC95-43338-13
Project: Advanced Control Technology for Integrated Vehicles (ACTIVE)
This November 13, 1995, photograph of the F-15B #837 at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA, showed the aircraft’s two new Pratt & Whitney nozzles that could turn up to 20 degrees in any direction. These nozzles gave the aircraft thrust control in the pitch (up and down) and yaw (left and right) directions. This reduced drag and increased fuel economy or range as compared with conventional aerodynamic controls, which increase the retarding forces (drag) acting upon the aircraft.
Ground testing of a new thrust-vectoring concept employing the nozzles took place during the first two weeks of November 1995 and went well, and flight tests began in March 1996. These tests could result in significant performance increases for military and commercial aircraft. The ACTIVE research project was the product of a collaborative effort by NASA, the Air Force’s Wright Laboratory, Pratt & Whitney, and McDonnell Douglas Aerospace.
13 Nov 1995NASA Photo› F-15 ACTIVE Project Description