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F-15B

One of NASA's two F-15 research aircraft gets refueled in mid-air over Lake Isabella from a USAF KC-135 tanker while NASA's other F-15 flies chase alongside.

 
Photo Number: EC05-0148-30
Photo Date: July 22, 2005
 
Formats: 640x621 JPEG Image (230 KBytes)
1280x1242 JPEG Image (877 KBytes)
3000x2910 JPEG Image (5109 KBytes)
 
Photo
Description:
One of NASA's two F-15 research aircraft gets refueled in mid-air over Lake Isabella from a USAF KC-135 tanker while NASA's other F-15 flies chase alongside.
 
Project
Description:
NASA's two F-15 research aircraft don't get a lot of flight hours, and it's even rarer to have them in the air together on the same mission. But research pilots Jim Smolka and Craig Bomben from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center put the highly modified aircraft through their paces during a mission over the Edwards Air Force Base test range in late July that supported the Intelligent Flight Control System's (IFCS) project. The canard-equipped F-15B tail number 837, NASA's IFCS aircraft, was flying structural mode validation flights at the time, leading to Generation II IFCS flights planned for later this year. F-15B tail number 836 was flying safety chase as well as for pilot proficiency in air refueling. Both aircraft performed aerial refueling from an Air Force KC-135 tanker aircraft. At the end of the mission, the two joined up for a formation fly-over of their home at NASA Dryden.
 
NASA Photo by: Carla Thomas
 
Keywords: F-15B, F-15 research aircraft, Jim Smolka, Craig Bomben, Intelligent Flight Control System, IFCS, 836, 837, USAF KC-135, refueling, Lake Isabella
 


Last Modified: July 27, 2005
Responsible NASA Official: Marty Curry
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