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Dryden Historical Aircraft Photo Collection
The Photo Collection is no longer supported at this location. The photos have been relocated.
This collection contains digitized photos of many of the unique research aircraft flown at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
at Edwards, California. These images date from the 1940s. Recent photos are added only to the Image Gallery. No copyright protection is asserted for these photographs. See Using NASA Imagery and Linking to NASA Web Sites for more information. Multiple resolutions are available. All are 24-bit color JPEGs. The FAQ will answer some frequently asked questions.

Dryden Aircraft Slideshow feature the best photos of various aircraft. What's New lists photos recently added to the collection.

Aircraft Research Program Flight Dates #Images
 A-5A Vigilante (Historical) A-5A  SST & Sonic Boom Research  1963 3
 Active Aeroelastic Wing (AAW)  (Historical)AAW  Active Aeroelastic Wing Research  2001 - present 25
 AD-1 (Historical)AD-1  Oblique Wing Research  1979 - 1982 7
 Aero-Commander (Historical)Aerocommander  Unswept Fuselage Study  1968 2
 Aerospike Rocket TestAerospike Rocket  First known data from a solid fueled aerospike rocket in flight  Present 3
 AltairAltair  Remotely operated, uninhabited aircraft program  Present 24
 Altus (Historical)Altus  ERAST Program - High Altitude Unmanned Aerial Vehicle  1996 - 1997 10
 Apex (Historical)Apex  ERAST Program - High Altitude Sailplane  1995 - 1998 3
 APV-3 NUAVT  (Historical)APV-3 NUAVT  Auto Piloted Vehicle (APV-3) Networked Unmanned Aerial Vehicle  2005 3
 Autonomous Aerial Refueling (AAR) (Historical)AAR  F/A-18 #845 Autonomous Aerial Refueling (AAR) project  2002 - 2003 10
 Autonomous Airborne Refueling
 Demonstration (AARD)		AARD  F/A-18 #845 Autonomous Airborne Refueling  2006 - present 12
 Autonomous Formation Flight (AFF) (Historical)AFF  Autonomous Formation Flight Control  2000 - 2001 8
 Autonomous Soaring ProjectAutonomous Soaring model in flight  Thermal Lift Tests to Extend UAV Flight Range and Endurance  2005 3
 B-29 Superfortress (Historical)B-29  Air Drop Mothership  1940s - 1960s 10
 B-47A Stratojet (Historical)B-47A  Landing Drag Chute Study and Dynamic Response Research  1953 - 1957 7
 B-52 Stratofortress B-52  Air Drop Mothership (Historical)  1959 - 2004 44
F-111 chute drop  F-111 Chute Drop Test (Historical)  1989 2
HiMat drop  HiMAT Mothership (Historical)  1979 - 1983 2
Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster  Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (Historical)  1970s - 1980s 6
Drag chute tests  STS Drag Chute Tests (Historical)  1990 - 1991 5
X-38 drop  X-38 Mothership (Historical)  1997 - 2000 11
 B-57B Canberra (Historical)Apex  Atmospheric Research  1982 3
 Bell 47 (Historical) Bell 47  Support and LLRV Chase/Training  early 1960s - 1985 3
 Boeing 720 (Historical) Boeing 720  CID - Controlled Impact Demonstration  1984 7
 Boeing 727 (Historical)Boeing 727  Vortex study  1974 1
 Boeing 747 (Historical)Boeing 747  Vortex study  1974, 1979 4
 C-17 Globemaster III C-17  Propulsion Health Management (PHM)  2003 - present 11
 C-140 Jetstar (Historical) C-140  General purpose airborne simulator  1963 - 1988 5
 C-141A (Historical) C-141A  Eclipse tow aircraft  1997 1
 Centurion (Historical)Centurion  High Altitude Solar Powered Aircraft  1997 30
 CV-990 (Historical) LSRA  LSRA - Landing Systems Research Aircraft  1993 - 1996 17
 D-558-1 Skystreak (Historical) D-558-1  Transonic Flight Research  1947 - 1953 11
 D-558-2 Skyrocket (Historical) D-558-II  Transonic and Supersonic Flight Research  1949 - 1956 18
 Daedalus (Historical) Daedalus  Human Powered Aircraft  1987 - 1988 2
 DC-8 DC-8  Airborne Laboratory  1997 - present 129
 Demonstrator 2  (Historical) Demonstrator 2  ERAST Research  1996 1
 E-2C Hawkeye E-2C Hawkeye  Loads Lab weight tests for planned modifications  2005 3
 Eclipse (Historical) Eclipse  Towed aircraft launch  1997 16
 ER-2 ER-2  High altitude Research  1997 - present 34
 F-4A Phantom (Historical) F-4A  Navy fighter  1965 1
 F-4C Phantom II (Historical) F-4C  Air flow tests  1984 2
 F4D Skyray (Historical) F4D  N/A  1950s 1
 F5D-1 Skylancer (Historical) F-5D  Develop Dyna-soar launch pad abort procedures  1961 - 1970 6
 F-8A Crusader (Historical) F-8A  SCW - Supercritical Wing  1971 - 1973 7
 F-8C Crusader (Historical) F-8C  DFBW - Digital Fly-By-Wire  1972 - 1985 8
 F-14 Tomcat (Historical) F-14  Variable Sweep Transition flight experiment  1986 - 1987 8
 F-15 Eagle F-15B ECANS in flight  F-15B SBRDC/ECANS  2007 - present 7
F-15 IFCS  F-15B #837 Intelligent Flight Control System  2002 - present 9
Quiet Spike taking off  F-15B #836 Quiet Spike (Historical)  2006 - present 19
F-15B  F-15B #836 Research Testbed Aircraft  1993 - present 38
F-15  F-15 #837 ACTIVE - Thrust Vectoring (Historical)  1993 - 2009 27
F-15rprv  F-15A - Flight Research (Historical)  1976 - 1981 12
F-15rprv  F-15A RPRV/SRV: Remotely Piloted Research Vehicle/Spin Research Vehicle  (Historical)  1975 - 1977 2
F-15 HIDEC  Highly Integrated Digital Electronic Control (HIDEC)  (Historical)  1976 - 1993 7
 F-16 AFTI (Historical) F-16 AFTI  AFTI - Advanced Fighter Technology Integration  1983 11
 F-16XL (Historical) F-16XL #1  Ship #1 (Historical)  1991 - 1996 39
F-16XL #1  Ship #1 CAWAP - Cranked Aero Wing Aerodynamics Project (Historical)  1994 - 1996 13
F-16XL #2  Ship #2 - Supersonic Laminar Flow (Historical)  1992 - 1996 33
 F-18 Hornet
F-18 Chase  Airborne Astronomy  1999 - present 4
F-18 Mission  Mission Support Aircraft  1990 - present 28
F-18 SRA  SRA - Systems Research Aircraft  1993 - 1998 37
F-18 HARV  HARV - High Alpha Research Aircraft (Historical)  1987 - 1997 33
 F-86 Sabre (Historical) F-86 Sabre  Chase Aircraft  1950s 3
 F-100 Super Sabre (Historical) F-100  Inertial Coupling (stability)  1954 - 1956 9
 F-101 Voodoo (Historical)F-101  Air Force fighter  1956 1
 F-104 Starfighter (Historical)F-104  Inertial coupling, reaction controls, noise research  1956 - 1973 30
 F-105 Thunderchief (Historical) F-105  Various flight research projects  1959 - 1968 1
 F-106 Delta Dart (Historical) F-106  Eclipse air tow  1997 - 1998 11
 F-107A (Historical) F-107  Evaluate sidestick flight control system  1957 - 1959 3
 F-111 Aardvaark (Historical) F-111A F-111A (Historical)  1968 2
F-111 AFTI F-111 AFTI - Advanced Fighter Technology Integration (Historical)  1974 - 1986 6
F-111 IPCS F-111E IPCS - Integrated Propulsion Control System (Historical)  1975 1
F-111 TACT F-111 TACT - Transonic Aircraft Technology
 (Historical)		  1972 - 1984 3
 Firebee Drone (Historical) Firebee drone  DAST - Drone for Aeroelastic Structures Testing  1977 - 1984 7
 Gossamer Albatross (Historical) Gossamer Albatross  Human Powered Aircraft  1980 5
 Global Hawk Globa Hawk  Unmanned aircraft  2007-present 12
 Gulfstream III C-20A  General project support aircraft  2002 - present 5
 Guppy Guppy  Pilot study and system transport  1962-present 10
 HL-10 (Historical)HL-10  Lifting Body  1966 - 1970 29
 Helios Helios  Solar Powered Aircraft  1999 - 2003 36
 HiMAT (Historical) HiMat  RPV - Highly Maneuverable Aircraft Technology  1979 - 1983 6
 Hyper III (Historical) Hyper III  RPV - Lifting Body reentry configuration  1969 4
 Ikhana Inflatable Wing  Long-endurance, high-altitude unmanned research aircraft  Present 39
 Inflatable Wing (Historical) Inflatable Wing  Inflatable Wing Technology Demonstrator  2001 9
 Iron Cross Attitude
 Simulator (Historical)		 Iron Cross  Reaction Flight Control Systems  1956 3
 KC-135A Stratotanker (Historical) KC-135A  Evaluate capabilities of jet aircraft in air traffic control system and Winglet Study  1958 and 1979 5
 KingAir King Air  Support aircraft  1997 - present 7
 L-1011 L-1011  Adaptive Performance Optimization  1995 - 1997 5
Wing Vortex Study  Wing Vortex Study (Historical)  1977 1
 Lear 24 (Historical) Lear 24  Jet transport  2001 1
 LLRV (Historical) LLRV  Lunar Landing Research Vehicle  1964 - 1967 9
 LRV (Historical) LRV  Low Reynolds Vehicle  1981 - 1982 2
 M2-F1 (Historical) M2-F1  Lifting Body  1963 - 1964 22
 M2-F2 (Historical) M2-F2  Lifting Body  1966 - 1967 18
 M2-F3 (Historical) M2-F3  Lifting Body  1970 - 1972 10
 MD-11 (Historical) MD-11  Propulsion Controlled Aircraft  1995 10
 Mini-Sniffer (Historical) Mini-Sniffer  Air sample gathering  1974 - 1977 4
 Morphing Airplane Morphing airplane  Inflight Configuration Changes  present 1
 Oblique Wing Research
 Aircraft (Historical)		 Oblique Wing Research Aircraft  Oblique Wing Research  1976 2
 Orion Crew Module (Historical) Orion crew module  Launch Abort System Flight Tests  2007 - 2010 23
 OV-1C (Historical) OV-1C  Stall speed warning system  1983 2
 P-3D Orion (Historical)P-3D  Shuttle Tile Flight Tests Fixture  1987 2
 P-38 Lightning (Historical) P-38  World War II fighter  mid 1940s 1
 P-51D Mustang (Historical) P-51  Chase (X-1A), Pilot proficiency  1950s, 2000 4
 PA-30 TwinComanche (Historical) PA-30  NASA 808 RPRV - Remotely Piloted Research Vehicle  1979 - 1980 2
 Paresev (Historical) Paresev  Spacecraft landing control systems  1962 - 1964 10
 Pathfinder (Historical) Pathfinder  Solar Powered Aircraft  1994 - 1997 35
 Pathfinder-Plus Pathfinder-Plus  Solar Powered Aircraft  1998 - 2003 32
 Pegasus (Historical) Pegasus  Air-launched space booster  1989 - 1994 9
 Perseus (Historical) Perseus  Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor
 Technology		  1993 - 1994, 1998 23
 Phoenix Missile Phoenix Missile  Hypersonic testbed  2007 - present 3
 PIK-20E (Historical) PIK-20  Sailplane Research Aircraft - airflow over lifting surfaces  1981 - 1991 2
 Power-Beaming Power-Beaming  Continuous flight using beamed laser energy  2002-present 10
 Propulsion Controlled Aircraft
 (PCA)		 MD-11 aircraft taking off   Propulsion Controlled Aircraft (PCA)  1993-present 9
 Proteus Proteus  Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor
 Technology		  1999- present 7
 Quiet Spike Quiet Spike taking off   Sonic boom research  2006 - present 19
 R4D  Skytrain (Historical) R4  Support aircraft  1950s 3
 RF-84F (Historical) RF-84-F  Pitch up studies  1965 1
 RSRA (Historical) RSRA  Rotor Systems Research Aircraft  1980 - 1981 2
 Schweizer 1-36 (Historical) Schweizer 1-36  Deep Stall Research  1983 - 1984 3
 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) Shuttle Carrier Aircraft ferrys the Shuttle back to Florida  Space shuttle ferry flights  1981 - present 7
 SOFIA 747SP aircraft  Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy  2006 - present 80
 Sonic Boom Suppression F-18  Designing future quiet supersonic aircraft  2011 - present 4
 Spacewedge (Historical) Spacewedge  Spacecraft Autoland Project  1991 - 1996 6
 SRV (Historical) SRV  RPV - Spin Research Vehicle  1973 - 1981 2
 Shaped Sonic Boom
 Demonstration (SSBD)		 F-5  Reducing sonic boom intensity  2003 - 2004 12
 SR-71 Blackbird SR-71  High speed flight and sonic boom studies  (Historical)  1990 - 1999 43
LASRE  Linear Aerospike SR Experiment (LASRE) (Historical)  1996 - 1999 21
F-5 Ultraviolet Experiment 1994 1
 T-33A (Historical) T-33A  Support and Flight Research  1958 - 1973 4
 T-34C T-34C  Chase, pilot proficiency  1996 - present 10
 T-37 (Historical) T-37  Chase Aircraft, Wake Vortex Studies  1974 2
 T-38 T-38  Chase, pilot proficiency  1970s - present 15
 Theseus Theseus  RPV  1996 16
 Tier 3- Darkstar (Historical) Tier-3  RPV  1995 - 1999 2
 TU-144LL (Historical) TU-144LL  Supersonic Research  1996 - 1999 16
 U-2 (Historical) U-2  Never flown - CIA Cover Story  1960 1
 Voyager (Historical) Voyager  Globe circling flight  1987 1
 X-1 (Historical)X-1  Supersonic flight  1946 - 1958 19
 X-1A (Historical)X-1A  Supersonic flight  1946 - 1958 7
 X-1B (Historical) X-1B  Supersonic flight  1946 - 1958 11
 X-1E (Historical)X-1E  Supersonic flight  1946 - 1958 12
 X-2 (Historical)X-2  Supersonic swept wing  1955 - 1956 8
 X-3 (Historical)X-3  Sustained flight at Mach 2+, low aspect ratio wings,titanium construction  1953 - 1956 11
 X-4 (Historical)X-4  Semi-tailless aircraft  1954 9
 X-5 (Historical)X-5  Variable sweep wings  1952 - 1955 10
 X-15 (Historical)X-15  Hypersonic flight at high altitude  1959 - 1968 55
 X-24 (Historical)X-24  Lifting body flight research  1969 - 1975 32
 X-29 (Historical) X-29  Forward Swept Wing  1984 - 1992 18
 X-31 (Historical) X-31  Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Demonstrator  1992 - 1995 27
 X-33 (Historical)X-33  Advanced Technology Demonstrator  1996 - 1999 25
 X-34 (Historical)X-34  Technology Testbed Demonstrator  1998 - 2000 30
 X-36 (Historical)X-36  Tailless Aircraft Research  1996 - 1997 27
 X-37X-37  Advanced Technology Demonstrator  1999 - present 5
 X-38 (Historical)X-38  Experimental Crew Return Vehicle  1995 - 2001 78
 X-40A (Historical)X-40  Space Maneuvering Vehicle  1996 - 2001 14
 X-43A / Hyper-XX-43A  Unpiloted Hypersonic Research Vehicle  1996 - present 82
 X-45AX-45A  X-45A Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems
 (J-UCAS)		  2001 - present 25
 X-48BX-48B in wind tunner  Blended Wing Body   Present 18
 X-Wing (Historical)X-Wing  Rotor System Research Aircraft  1986 - 1988 3
 XB-70A Valkyrie (Historical)XB-70A  Stability and handling of large delta-wing aircraft at high speed  1967 - 1969 12
 XF-91 Thunderceptor
 (Historical)		XF-91  Prototype fighter  early 1950s 1
 XF-92A (Historical)XF-92A  Evaluate delta wing concept  1953 9
 XV-15 Tilt Rotor Aircraft
 (Historical)		XV-15  Improve design and efficiency of rotorcraft using
 tilt rotors		  1980 - 1981 4
 YF-12 Blackbird (Historical)YF-12  High speed, high altitude research, aerodynamic and thermal loads  1970 - 1978 10
 YF-17 Cobra (Historical)YF-17  Prototype aircraft (future F-18)  mid 1970s 3
 YF-102
 Delta Dagger (Historical)		YF-102  Delta wing research  1954 - 1958 4
 YO-3AYO-3A  In-Flight Acoustics Research  1997 - 2004 5
 YRF-84F (Historical)YRF-84-F  Pitch-up research  1954 - 1956 3

Aircraft Fleet Images
 Fleet imagesFleet  All Dryden aircraft fleet photos  1950 - present 50
 Fleet Images from the 1950s
 (Historical)		1950s Fleet  Dryden aircraft fleet photos  1950 - 1959 11
 Fleet Images from the 1960s
 (Historical)		1960s Fleet  Dryden aircraft fleet photos  1960 - 1969 14
 Fleet Images from the 1970s
 (Historical)		1970s Fleet  Dryden aircraft fleet photos  1970 - 1979 2
 Fleet Images from the 1980s
 (Historical)		1980s Fleet  Dryden aircraft fleet photos  1980 - 1989 4
 Fleet Images from the 1990s
 (Historical)		1990s Fleet  Dryden aircraft fleet photos  1990 - 1999 15
 Fleet Images from the 2000s2000s Fleet  Dryden aircraft fleet photos  2000 - present 6

STS - Space Shuttle
 ALT (Historical)ALT  STS Approach and Landing Tests  late 1970s 6
 Ferry FlightsFerry Flights  STS - SCA Ferry Flights 1981 - present 9
 LandingsShuttle landings  STS Dryden/Edwards Landings  1981 - present 39
 MDDMDD  STS Mate-Demate Device  1978 - present 7
 STS-1 Landing (Historical)STS-1  STS-1 Landing at Edwards  April 14, 1981 20
 STS-76 Landing (Historical)STS-76  STS-76 Landing at Edwards  March 31, 1996 7
 STS-92 Landing (Historical)STS-92  STS-92 Landing at Edwards  October 24, 2000 15
 STS-98 Landing (Historical)STS-98  STS-98 Landing at Edwards  February 20, 2001 8
 STS-100 Landing (Historical)STS-100  STS-100 Landing at Edwards  May 1, 2001 10
 STS-111 Landing (Historical)STS-111  STS-111 Landing at Edwards  June 19, 2002 8
 STS-114 Landing (Historical)STS-114 Landing  STS-114 Discovery Space Shuttle landing at Edwards Air Force Base  August 9, 2005 32
 STS-117 LandingSTS-117 Landing  STS-117 Atlantis Space Shuttle landing at Edwards Air Force Base  June 22, 2007 12
 STS-126 LandingSTS-126 Landing  STS-126 Endeavour Space Shuttle landing at Edwards Air Force Base  November 30, 2008 36
 STS-MiscellaneousSTS-111  STS-Miscellaneous  2005 9

Dryden Center Research Facilities Images
 Dryden Research FacilitiesFacilities  Dryden laboratories and buildings  1946 - present 30
 Flight SimulatorsSimulators  Dryden flight simulators  1958 - present 17
 Flight Loads LaboratoryFlight Loads Lab  Stress testing of aircraft under conditions expected in flight  1970 - present 16
 Flow Visualization FacilityFlow visualization  Water Tunnel Flow Studies  1985 3

Other Dryden Images
 Aerodynamic Truck Research
 (Historical)		Truck  Air Flow Research  1975 - 1981 2
 DirectorsDirector  Dryden Center Directors portraits  1946 - present 19
 MiscellaneousMiscellaneous  Miscellaneous Dryden photos  N/A 14end of skip site content
 PeopleDryden people  Dryden people  1946 - present 65
 PilotsDryden pilots  Dryden Research Pilots and their aircraft  1946 - present 79
 Schlieren PhotographySchlieren photography  Shock Wave Visualization Research  1993 1
 VisitorsVisitors to Dryden  Guest speakers, visiting dignitaries, etc  2002 - present 22


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Last Modified: May 30, 2010
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