Dryden Home > Collections > Photo Home > F-4A > Photo F-4A Contact Sheet |
F-4A Photo Gallery Contact Sheet | ||
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Photo Number: | N/A | |
Photo Date: | ||
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Formats: | Low Resolution Image Contact Sheet (4 KBytes) Medium Resolution Image Contact Sheet (4 KBytes) High Resolution Image Contact Sheet (4 KBytes) |
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Photo Description: |
These are the image contact sheets for each image resolution of the NASA Dryden F-4 Photo Gallery. The McDonnell F-4A Phantom II started out as a McDonnell F4H-1. Early testing on the F4H-1 led to a number of changes to the outer wing panels and the tailplane. A blown-flap system of boundary layer control was adapted for production and a J79-GE-8 engine was installed. The modified aircraft became F-4As in 1962. | |
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Project Description: |
NASA Flight Research Center acquired an F-4A Phantom II (Bu. No. 145313) December 3, 1965. It made fifty-five flights in support of short programs, chase on X-15 missions and lifting body flights.
The F-4A supported a biomedical monitoring program involving 1,000 flights by NASA Flight Research Center aerospace research pilots and students of the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School flying high-performance aircraft. The pilots were instrumented to record accurate and reliable data of electrocardiogram, respiration rate and normal acceleration. In 1966 the F-4A flew with monkeys riding in the second seat. These monkeys had been instrumented to collect biomedical data that would be compared with the pilots’ data. Passengers for the second seat were also instrumented and it was found that the pilot, or the person with the most responsibility, had a higher heart rate then the passenger going along for the ride. The primary purpose of this study was to obtain statistically valid baseline information on potential astronaut candidates. In addition to the 1,000-flight study, the techniques and equipment developed for the project proved to be effective and have been used extensively in other programs, including monitoring NASA research pilots flying experimental craft such as the M2-F2 lifting body and the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle. In 1967 the F-4A supported a brief military-inspired program to determine whether an airplane’s sonic boom could be directed and whether it could possibly be used as a weapon of sorts, or at least an annoyance. The flights were made at Ely, Nevada, over a designated area that was instrumented to record the sonic boom. The F-4A flew in this project until July 25, 1967, when a fuel tank burst on take-off, producing a large hole in the wing. The pilot landed the plane safely. The project being unfinished, F-104B (Serial #57-1303) was used to complete the test. NASA also flew an F-4C (serial number 63-7424, NASA tail number 424) in a spanwise blowing study from 1983 to 1985, after which it was returned to the Air Force. |
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Keywords: | F-4A; McDonnell F-4A Phantom II; NASA Flight Research Center; Sonic Boom; biomedical studies; spanwise blowing |
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Last Modified: February 6, 2002 |