Skip Top nav bar link group topnav end piece go to business section go to education section go to history section go to gallery section go to news section go to organizations section go to research section go to search engine go to site index topnav end piece
NASA Meatball NASA Dryden Eclipse banner
View of QF-106 aircraft cockpit View of QF-106 aircraft cockpit

Photo Number: EC97-44233-11
Photo Date: September 17, 1997

Formats: 519x480 JPEG Image (137 KBytes)
1108x1024 JPEG Image (633 KBytes)
3000x2772 JPEG Image (5,242 KBytes)

Photo
Description:
View of the cockpit and instrument panel of the QF-106 airplane used in the Eclipse project.

Project
Description:
In 1997 and 1998, the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, California, supported and hosted a Kelly Space & Technology, Inc. project called Eclipse, which sought to demonstrate the feasibility of a reusable tow-launch vehicle concept. The project goal was to successfully tow, inflight, a modified QF-106 delta-wing aircraft with an Air Force C-141A transport aircraft. This would demonstrate the possibility of towing and launching an actual launch vehicle from behind a tow plane.

Dryden was the responsible test organization and had flight safety responsibility for the Eclipse project. Dryden provided engineering, instrumentation, simulation, modification, maintenance, range support, and research pilots for the test program.

The Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC), Edwards, California, supplied the C-141A transport aircraft and crew and configured the aircraft as needed for the tests. The AFFTC also provided the concept and detail design and analysis as well as hardware for the tow system and QF-106 modifications. Dryden performed the modifications to convert the QF-106 drone into the piloted EXD-01 (Eclipse eXperimental Demonstrator–01) experimental aircraft. Kelly Space & Technology hoped to use the results gleaned from the tow test in developing a series of low-cost, reusable launch vehicles. These tests demonstrated the validity of towing a delta-wing aircraft having high wing loading, validated the tow simulation model, and demonstrated various operational procedures, such as ground processing of in-flight maneuvers and emergency abort scenarios.


NASA Photo by: Tony Landis

Keywords: Eclipse; C-141; Kelly Space & Technology; Inc.; U.S. Air Force; Dryden Flight Research Center; QF-106 delta-wing; EXD-01; Air Force Flight Test Center; cockpit.


Last Modified: February 6, 2002
Responsible NASA Official: Marty Curry
Curator: PAO Webmasters

NASA Website Privacy Statement