Browse All : Images of Germany and Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC)

Hugh Dryden Touring Aeronautical Research Facilities in Germany

Hugh Dryden Touring Aeronaut …

Title	Hugh Dryden Touring Aeronautical Research Facilities in Germany
Full Description	Dr. Hugh L. Dryden (left), along with Dr. Ben Lockspeiser of England, Dr. Theodore von Karman, and Dr. A.P. Rowe of England, toured aeronautical research facilities in occupied Germany on May 9, 1945. As scientific deputy to the Scientific Advisory Group of the Army Air Forces, headed by Dr. von Karman, Dr. Dryden wore an officer's uniform without rank insignia.
Date	05/19/1945
NASA Center	Headquarters

A head-on view of the X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Demonstrator aircraft (right), accompanied by a NASA F-18 chase aircraft during a research flight over the desert floor. The X-31 had a three-axis thrust-vectoring system, coupled with advanced flight controls, to allow it to maneuver tightly at very high angles of attack.

X-31 in Flight with F-18 Cha …

Photo Description	A head-on view of the X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Demonstrator aircraft (right), accompanied by a NASA F-18 chase aircraft during a research flight over the desert floor. The X-31 had a three-axis thrust-vectoring system, coupled with advanced flight controls, to allow it to maneuver tightly at very high angles of attack.
Project Description	The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force?s Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Photo Date	1994

This is a computer enhanced artist's concept of a semi-tailless X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Aircraft in flight. In 1994, software was installed in the X-31 to demonstrate the feasibility of stabilizing a tailless aircraft at supersonic speed, using thrust vectoring. This software allowed destabilization through the control laws of the aircraft in incremental steps to the goal of simulation 100 percent tail-off. Quasi-tailless tests began in 1994. The first phase started with supersonic evaluations at Mach 1.2. Later subsonic evaluations were performed. During the flights the aircraft was destabilized with the rudder to stability levels that would be encountered if the aircraft had a reduced-size vertical tail.

X-31 Quasi-Tailless (Artist …

Photo Description	This is a computer enhanced artist's concept of a semi-tailless X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Aircraft in flight. In 1994, software was installed in the X-31 to demonstrate the feasibility of stabilizing a tailless aircraft at supersonic speed, using thrust vectoring. This software allowed destabilization through the control laws of the aircraft in incremental steps to the goal of simulation 100 percent tail-off. Quasi-tailless tests began in 1994. The first phase started with supersonic evaluations at Mach 1.2. Later subsonic evaluations were performed. During the flights the aircraft was destabilized with the rudder to stability levels that would be encountered if the aircraft had a reduced-size vertical tail.
Project Description	The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force?s Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Photo Date	1993

X-31 in flight - Double Reve …

X-31 in flight, Herbst maneu …

X-31 landing

X-31 in flight - Post Stall …

X-31 in flight - Herbst Turn

X-31 in flight - Mongoose Ma …

X-31 in flight over the Moja …

X-31 in flight - Post Stall …

X-31 wing removal

Photo Date	1995

X-31 Quasi-Tailless (Artist …

Photo Description	This is a computer enhanced artist's concept of a semi-tailless X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Aircraft in flight. In 1994, software was installed in the X-31 to demonstrate the feasibility of stabilizing a tailless aircraft at supersonic speed, using thrust vectoring. This software allowed destabilization through the control laws of the aircraft in incremental steps to the goal of simulation 100 percent tail-off. Quasi-tailless tests began in 1994. The first phase started with supersonic evaluations at Mach 1.2. Later subsonic evaluations were performed. During the flights the aircraft was destabilized with the rudder to stability levels that would be encountered if the aircraft had a reduced size vertical tail.
Project Description	The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force?s Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Photo Date	1994

One of two X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Demonstrator aircraft, flown by an international test organization at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, turns tightly over the desert floor on a research flight. The aircraft obtained data that may apply to the design and development of highly-maneuverable aircraft of the future. The X-31 had a three-axis thrust-vectoring system, coupled with advanced flight controls, to allow it to maneuver tightly at very high angles of attack.

X-31 in Banked Flight over E …

Photo Description	One of two X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Demonstrator aircraft, flown by an international test organization at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, turns tightly over the desert floor on a research flight. The aircraft obtained data that may apply to the design and development of highly-maneuverable aircraft of the future. The X-31 had a three-axis thrust-vectoring system, coupled with advanced flight controls, to allow it to maneuver tightly at very high angles of attack.
Project Description	The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force?s Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Photo Date	1994

A photograph of the noseboom on the X-31 shows the Kiel air data probe angled at 10 degrees to better align the tip with the airflow at very high angles of attack. The devices were mounted on the nose of the X-31s to measure air pressure. Icing in the unheated Kiel probe on the first X-31 (Bu. No. 164584), caused that aircraft to crash on January 19, 1995. The aircraft obtained data that may apply to the design and development of highly-maneuverable aircraft of the future. Each had a three-axis thrust-vectoring system, coupled with advanced flight controls, to allow it to maneuver tightly at very high angles of attack.

X-31 Kiel Probe Side View

Photo Description	A photograph of the noseboom on the X-31 shows the Kiel air data probe angled at 10 degrees to better align the tip with the airflow at very high angles of attack. The devices were mounted on the nose of the X-31s to measure air pressure. Icing in the unheated Kiel probe on the first X-31 (Bu. No. 164584), caused that aircraft to crash on January 19, 1995. The aircraft obtained data that may apply to the design and development of highly-maneuverable aircraft of the future. Each had a three-axis thrust-vectoring system, coupled with advanced flight controls, to allow it to maneuver tightly at very high angles of attack.
Project Description	The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force?s Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Photo Date	June 1993

The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability aircraft in flight over California?s Mojave desert during a 1992 test flight.

X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuv …

Photo Description	The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability aircraft in flight over California?s Mojave desert during a 1992 test flight.
Project Description	The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force?s Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Photo Date	April 1992

The first X-31 (Bu. No. 164584) flies over Edwards Air Force Base, California, in 1993. Aircraft 584 completed 292 flights during the Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) program before being lost on January 19, 1995 when icing in the nose probe caused the flight control computer to receive bad data. German test pilot Karl-Heinz Lang ejected after the aircraft became uncontrollable. The program continued, using the second aircraft (Bu. No. 164585).

X-31 #1 in Flight over Edwar …

Photo Description	The first X-31 (Bu. No. 164584) flies over Edwards Air Force Base, California, in 1993. Aircraft 584 completed 292 flights during the Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) program before being lost on January 19, 1995 when icing in the nose probe caused the flight control computer to receive bad data. German test pilot Karl-Heinz Lang ejected after the aircraft became uncontrollable. The program continued, using the second aircraft (Bu. No. 164585).
Project Description	The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force?s Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Photo Date	August 1993

The X-31 aircraft, on a research mission from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, is flying nearly perpendicular to the flight path while performing the Herbst maneuver. Effectively using the entire airframe as a speed brake and using the aircrafts unique thrust vectoring system to maintain control, the pilot rapidly rolls the aircraft to reverse the direction of flight, completing the maneuver with acceleration back to high speed in the opposite direction. This type of turning capability could reduce the turning time of a fighter aircraft by 30 percent. The Herbst maneuver was first conducted in an X-31 on April 29, 1993, in the No. 2 X-31 aircraft by German test pilot Karl-Heinz Lang.

X-31 at High Angle of Attack

Photo Description	The X-31 aircraft, on a research mission from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, is flying nearly perpendicular to the flight path while performing the Herbst maneuver. Effectively using the entire airframe as a speed brake and using the aircrafts unique thrust vectoring system to maintain control, the pilot rapidly rolls the aircraft to reverse the direction of flight, completing the maneuver with acceleration back to high speed in the opposite direction. This type of turning capability could reduce the turning time of a fighter aircraft by 30 percent. The Herbst maneuver was first conducted in an X-31 on April 29, 1993, in the No. 2 X-31 aircraft by German test pilot Karl-Heinz Lang.
Project Description	The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force?s Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Photo Date	1994

The X-31 aircraft on a research mission from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California, is flying nearly perpendicular to the flight path while performing the Herbst maneuver. Effectively using the entire airframe as a speed brake and using the aircraft's unique thrust vectoring system to maintain control, the pilot rapidly rolls the aircraft to reverse the direction of flight, completing the maneuver with acceleration back to high speed in the opposite direction. This type of turning capability could reduce the turning time of a fighter aircraft by 30 percent. The Herbst maneuver was first conducted in an X-31 on April 29, 1993, in the No. 2 aircraft by German test pilot Karl-Heinz Lang.

X-31 Demonstrating High Angl …

Photo Description	The X-31 aircraft on a research mission from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California, is flying nearly perpendicular to the flight path while performing the Herbst maneuver. Effectively using the entire airframe as a speed brake and using the aircraft's unique thrust vectoring system to maintain control, the pilot rapidly rolls the aircraft to reverse the direction of flight, completing the maneuver with acceleration back to high speed in the opposite direction. This type of turning capability could reduce the turning time of a fighter aircraft by 30 percent. The Herbst maneuver was first conducted in an X-31 on April 29, 1993, in the No. 2 aircraft by German test pilot Karl-Heinz Lang.
Project Description	The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force?s Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Photo Date	1994

X-31 at High Angle of Attack

Photo Description	The X-31 aircraft on a research mission from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, is flying nearly perpendicular to the flight path while performing the Herbst maneuver. Effectively using the entire airframe as a speed brake and using the aircrafts unique thrust vectoring system to maintain control, the pilot rapidly rolls the aircraft to reverse the direction of flight, completing the maneuver with acceleration back to high speed in the opposite direction. This type of turning capability could reduce the turning time of a fighter aircraft by 30 percent. The Herbst maneuver was first conducted in an X-31 on April 29, 1993, in the No. 2 X-31 aircraft by German test pilot Karl-Heinz Lang.
Project Description	The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force?s Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Photo Date	1994

One of two X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Demonstrator aircraft (top), flown by an international test organization at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, is seen here accompanied by a NASA F-18 chase aircraft during a research flight over the desert floor. The X-31 had a three-axis thrust-vectoring system, coupled with advanced flight controls, to allow it to maneuver tightly at very high angles of attack.

X-31 in Flight with F-18 Cha …

Photo Description	One of two X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Demonstrator aircraft (top), flown by an international test organization at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, is seen here accompanied by a NASA F-18 chase aircraft during a research flight over the desert floor. The X-31 had a three-axis thrust-vectoring system, coupled with advanced flight controls, to allow it to maneuver tightly at very high angles of attack.
Project Description	The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force?s Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Photo Date	1994

X-31 in Banked Flight over E …

Photo Description	One of two X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Demonstrator aircraft, flown by an international test organization at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, turns tightly over the desert floor on a research flight. The aircraft obtained data that may apply to the design and development of highly-maneuverable aircraft of the future. The X-31 had a three-axis thrust-vectoring system, coupled with advanced flight controls, to allow it to maneuver tightly at very high angles of attack.
Project Description	The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force?s Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Photo Date	1994

The right wing of the X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Technology Demonstrator Aircraft is seen here being put into a shipping container May 18, 1995, at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, by U.S. and German members of the program. To fit inside an Air Force Reserve C-5 transport, which was used to ferry the X-31 to Europe on May 22, 1995, the right wing had to be removed. Manching, Germany, was used as a staging base to prepare the aircraft for participation in the Paris Air Show. At the air show on June 11 through the 18th, the X-31 demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with advanced flight control systems to provide controlled flight at very high angles of attack. The aircraft arrived back at Edwards in an Air Force Reserve C-5 on June 25, 1995, and off loaded at Dryden the 27th. The X-31 aircraft was developed jointly by Rockwell International's North American Aircraft Division (now part of Boeing) and Daimler-Benz Aerospace (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm), under sponsorship by the U.S. Department of Defense and the German Federal Ministry of Defense.

X-31 Wing Storage for Shippi …

Photo Description	The right wing of the X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Technology Demonstrator Aircraft is seen here being put into a shipping container May 18, 1995, at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, by U.S. and German members of the program. To fit inside an Air Force Reserve C-5 transport, which was used to ferry the X-31 to Europe on May 22, 1995, the right wing had to be removed. Manching, Germany, was used as a staging base to prepare the aircraft for participation in the Paris Air Show. At the air show on June 11 through the 18th, the X-31 demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with advanced flight control systems to provide controlled flight at very high angles of attack. The aircraft arrived back at Edwards in an Air Force Reserve C-5 on June 25, 1995, and off loaded at Dryden the 27th. The X-31 aircraft was developed jointly by Rockwell International's North American Aircraft Division (now part of Boeing) and Daimler-Benz Aerospace (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm), under sponsorship by the U.S. Department of Defense and the German Federal Ministry of Defense.
Project Description	The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Photo Date	1995

X-31 team members perform an engine fit check on the X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability demonstrator aircraft in a hangar at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California.

X-31 Engine Fit Check

Photo Description	X-31 team members perform an engine fit check on the X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability demonstrator aircraft in a hangar at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California.
Project Description	The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force?s Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Photo Date	March 3, 1998

Bob Meyer (right), acting de …

Title	Bob Meyer (right), acting deputy director of NASA Dryden, shakes hands with Les Bordelon, executive
Description	Bob Meyer (on the right), acting deputy director of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, shakes hands with Les Bordelon, executive director of Edwards Air Force Base. The handshake represents Dryden's acceptance of an Air Force C-20A delivered from Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The aircraft will be modified to carry equipment and experiments in support of both NASA and U.S. Air Force projects. The joint use of this aircraft is a result of the NASA Dryden/Edwards Air Force Base Alliance which shares some resources as cost-cutting measures.
Date	09.30.2002

C-20A on NASA Dryden Ramp

Title	C-20A on NASA Dryden Ramp
Description	An Air Force C-20A, delivered from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, arrives at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, in September 2002. The aircraft will be modified to carry equipment and experiments in support of both NASA and U.S. Air Force projects. The joint use of this aircraft is a result of the NASA Dryden/Edwards Air Force Base Alliance which shares some resources as cost-cutting measures.
Date	10.03.2002

STS-55 Landing at Edwards

Title	STS-55 Landing at Edwards
Description	The Space Shuttle Columbia completes the STS-55 Spacelab D-2 mission 6 May with a landing at NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (later redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, at 7:30 a.m. (PDT). The landing was scheduled for the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, but was diverted to Dryden during the final hours of flight because of unacceptable weather at the Florida facility. The STS-55 mission began with the launch from Kennedy at 7:50 a.m. (PDT), 26 April. Aboard Columbia were commander Steve Nagel, pilot Tom Henricks, mission specialists Jerry Ross, Charles Precourt, and Bernard Harris, and payload specialists Hans Schlegel and Ulrich Walter, both from Germany. During Columbia's flight the NASA space shuttle fleet logged more than one year of combined flight time in space, including the time of all previous orbiters and Columbia on this flight. That mark was reached at 7:01:42 (PDT) on 5 May, and with Columbia's landing the total flight time had reached 365 days, 23 hours, and 28 minutes. Space Shuttles are the main element of America's Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis. Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines with two solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused. When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields. The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the Shuttle's altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS), propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles are also being used to carry elements of the International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit. The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell's Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid rocket booster motors. Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external tanks. Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of 470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site.
Date	01.01.1993

F-18 HARV research pilot Dan …

Title	F-18 HARV research pilot Dana Purifoy
Description	Dana D. Purifoy is an aerospace research pilot at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. He joined NASA in August 1994. Purifoy is a former Air Force test pilot who served as a project pilot in the joint NASA/Air Force X-29 Forward Swept Wing research program conducted at Dryden from 1984 to 1991. His most recent assignment in the Air Force was flying U-2 aircraft as a test pilot at Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, CA. In addition to flying the X-29 at Dryden as an Air Force pilot, Purifoy also served as project pilot and joint test force director with the AFTI F-16 (Advanced Fighter Technology Integration/F-16) program, also located at Dryden. Before his assignments as project pilot on the X-29 and AFTI/F-16 aircraft, Purifoy was chief of the Academics Systems Branch at the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards. Prior to becoming a test pilot, he flew F-111 and F-16 aircraft in Great Britain and Germany. He has accumulated 3800 hours of flying time in his career. The final flight for the F-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle (HARV) took place at NASA Dryden on May 29, 1996. The highly modified F-18 airplane flew 383 flights over a nine year period and demonstrated concepts that greatly increase fighter maneuverability. Among concepts proven in the aircraft is the use of paddles to direct jet engine exhaust in cases of extreme altitudes where conventional control surfaces lose effectiveness. Another concept, developed by NASA Langley Research Center, is a deployable wing-like surface installed on the nose of the aircraft for increased right and left (yaw) control on nose-high flight angles.
Date	01.01.1996

X-31 #1 in Flight over Edwar …

Title	X-31 #1 in Flight over Edwards AFB
Description	The first X-31 (Bu. No. 164584) flies over Edwards Air Force Base, California, in 1993. Aircraft 584 completed 292 flights during the Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) program before being lost on January 19, 1995 when icing in the nose probe caused the flight control computer to receive bad data. German test pilot Karl-Heinz Lang ejected after the aircraft became uncontrollable. The program continued, using the second aircraft (Bu. No. 164585). The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace,, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Date	08.01.1993

X-31 #2 in Flight

Title	X-31 #2 in Flight
Description	Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner., The second X-31 (Bu. No. 164585) Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) aircraft flies over Edwards Air Force Base, California. The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General
Date	01.01.1993

X-31 at High Angle of Attack

Title	X-31 at High Angle of Attack
Description	The X-31 aircraft, on a research mission from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, is flying nearly perpendicular to the flight path while performing the Herbst maneuver. Effectively using the entire airframe as a speed brake and using the aircraft's unique thrust vectoring system to maintain control, the pilot rapidly rolls the aircraft to reverse the direction of flight, completing the maneuver with acceleration back to high speed in the opposite direction. This type of turning capability could reduce the turning time of a fighter aircraft by 30 percent. The Herbst maneuver was first conducted in an X-31 on April 29, 1993, in the No. 2 X-31 aircraft by German test pilot Karl-Heinz Lang. The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was, conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Date	03.01.1994

X-31 at High Angle of Attack

Title	X-31 at High Angle of Attack
Description	The X-31 aircraft, on a research mission from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, is flying nearly perpendicular to the flight path while performing the Herbst maneuver. Effectively using the entire airframe as a speed brake and using the aircrafts unique thrust vectoring system to maintain control, the pilot rapidly rolls the aircraft to reverse the direction of flight, completing the maneuver with acceleration back to high speed in the opposite direction. This type of turning capability could reduce the turning time of a fighter aircraft by 30 percent. The Herbst maneuver was first conducted in an X-31 on April 29, 1993, in the No. 2 X-31 aircraft by German test pilot Karl-Heinz Lang. The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was, conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Date	01.01.1994

X-31 at High Angle of Attack

Title	X-31 at High Angle of Attack
Description	The X-31 aircraft on a research mission from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, is flying nearly perpendicular to the flight path while performing the Herbst maneuver. Effectively using the entire airframe as a speed brake and using the aircrafts unique thrust vectoring system to maintain control, the pilot rapidly rolls the aircraft to reverse the direction of flight, completing the maneuver with acceleration back to high speed in the opposite direction. This type of turning capability could reduce the turning time of a fighter aircraft by 30 percent. The Herbst maneuver was first conducted in an X-31 on April 29, 1993, in the No. 2 X-31 aircraft by German test pilot Karl-Heinz Lang. The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was, conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Date	01.01.1994

X-31 Being Loaded into C-5 C …

Title	X-31 Being Loaded into C-5 Cargo Plane
Description	Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner., The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Technology Demonstrator Aircraft, based at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, begins rolling aboard an Air Force Reserve C-5 transport which ferried it on May 22, 1995 to Europe where it was flown in the Paris Air Show in June 1995. To fit in the C-5 the right wing of the X-31 had to be removed. At the air show, the X-31 demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with advanced flight control systems to provide controlled flight at very high angles of attack. The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced
Date	01.01.1995

X-31 Demonstrating High Angl …

Title	X-31 Demonstrating High Angle of Attack - Herbst Maneuver
Description	The X-31 aircraft on a research mission from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California, is flying nearly perpendicular to the flight path while performing the Herbst maneuver. Effectively using the entire airframe as a speed brake and using the aircraft's unique thrust vectoring system to maintain control, the pilot rapidly rolls the aircraft to reverse the direction of flight, completing the maneuver with acceleration back to high speed in the opposite direction. This type of turning capability could reduce the turning time of a fighter aircraft by 30 percent. The Herbst maneuver was first conducted in an X-31 on April 29, 1993, in the No. 2 aircraft by German test pilot Karl-Heinz Lang. The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was, conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Date	01.01.1994

X-31 Engine Fit Check

Title	X-31 Engine Fit Check
Description	X-31 team members perform an engine fit check on the X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability demonstrator aircraft in a hangar at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan, of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Date	03.03.1998

X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuv …

Title	X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Aircraft in Flight
Description	P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner., The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability aircraft in flight over California's Mojave desert during a 1992 test flight. The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric
Date	04.01.1992

X-31 in Banked Flight over E …

Title	X-31 in Banked Flight over Edwards AFB
Description	One of two X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Demonstrator aircraft, flown by an international test organization at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, turns tightly over the desert floor on a research flight. The aircraft obtained data that may apply to the design and development of highly-maneuverable aircraft of the future. The X-31 had a three-axis thrust-vectoring system, coupled with advanced flight controls, to allow it to maneuver tightly at very high angles of attack. The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Date	01.01.1994

X-31 in Banked Flight over E …

Title	X-31 in Banked Flight over Edwards AFB
Description	One of two X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Demonstrator aircraft, flown by an international test organization at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, turns tightly over the desert floor on a research flight. The aircraft obtained data that may apply to the design and development of highly-maneuverable aircraft of the future. The X-31 had a three-axis thrust-vectoring system, coupled with advanced flight controls, to allow it to maneuver tightly at very high angles of attack. The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Date	01.01.1994

X-31 in Flight over Edwards …

Title	X-31 in Flight over Edwards AFB
Description	One of two X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Demonstrator aircraft, flown by an international test organization at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, turns tightly over the desert floor on a research flight. The aircraft obtained data that may apply to the design and development of highly-maneuverable aircraft of the future. The X-31 had a three-axis thrust-vectoring system, coupled with advanced flight controls, to allow it to maneuver tightly at very high angles of attack. The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Date	01.01.1994

X-31 in Flight with F-18 Cha …

Title	X-31 in Flight with F-18 Chase
Description	One of two X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Demonstrator aircraft (top), flown by an international test organization at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, is seen here accompanied by a NASA F-18 chase aircraft during a research flight over the desert floor. The X-31 had a three-axis thrust-vectoring system, coupled with advanced flight controls, to allow it to maneuver tightly at very high angles of attack. The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal, Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Date	01.01.1994

X-31 in Flight with F-18 Cha …

Title	X-31 in Flight with F-18 Chase
Description	A head-on view of the X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Demonstrator aircraft (right), accompanied by a NASA F-18 chase aircraft during a research flight over the desert floor. The X-31 had a three-axis thrust-vectoring system, coupled with advanced flight controls, to allow it to maneuver tightly at very high angles of attack. The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA., Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Date	01.01.1994

X-31 Kiel Probe Close-up Sho …

Title	X-31 Kiel Probe Close-up Showing Inside
Description	A close-up photograph of the Kiel air data probe on the noseboom on the X-31 aircraft shows the orifices used to collect air pressure measurements. Icing in the unheated Kiel probe on the first X-31 (Bu. No. 164584) caused that aircraft to crash. The aircraft obtained data that may apply to the design and development of highly-maneuverable aircraft of the future. Each has a three-axis thrust-vectoring system, coupled with advanced flight controls, to allow it to maneuver tightly at very high angles of attack. The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO, included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Date	06.01.1993

X-31 Kiel Probe Side View

Title	X-31 Kiel Probe Side View
Description	A photograph of the noseboom on the X-31 shows the Kiel air data probe angled at 10 degrees to better align the tip with the airflow at very high angles of attack. The devices were mounted on the nose of the X-31s to measure air pressure. Icing in the unheated Kiel probe on the first X-31 (Bu. No. 164584), caused that aircraft to crash on January 19, 1995. The aircraft obtained data that may apply to the design and development of highly-maneuverable aircraft of the future. Each had a three-axis thrust-vectoring system, coupled with advanced flight controls, to allow it to maneuver tightly at very high angles of attack. The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research, Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Date	06.01.1993

X-31 Loaded in C-5 Cargo Bay

Title	X-31 Loaded in C-5 Cargo Bay
Description	The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Technology Demonstrator Aircraft, based at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California, is secured inside the fuselage of an Air Force Reserve C-5 transport. The C-5 was used to ferry the X-31 from Europe back to Edwards, after being flown in the Paris Air Show in June 1995. The X-31's right wing, removed so the aircraft could fit inside the C-5, is in the shipping container in the foreground. At the air show, the X-31 demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with advanced flight control systems to provide controlled flight at very high angles of attack. The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test, organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Date	01.01.1995

X-31 Quasi-Tailless (Artist …

Title	X-31 Quasi-Tailless (Artist Concept)
Description	This is a computer enhanced artist's concept of a semi-tailless X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Aircraft in flight. In 1994, software was installed in the X-31 to demonstrate the feasibility of stabilizing a tailless aircraft at supersonic speed, using thrust vectoring. This software allowed destabilization through the control laws of the aircraft in incremental steps to the goal of simulation 100 percent tail-off. Quasi-tailless tests began in 1994. The first phase started with supersonic evaluations at Mach 1.2. Later subsonic evaluations were performed. During the flights the aircraft was destabilized with the rudder to stability levels that would be encountered if the aircraft had a reduced size vertical tail. The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test, program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Date	01.01.1994

X-31 Unloading Returning fro …

Title	X-31 Unloading Returning from Paris Air Show
Description	After being flown in the Paris Air Show in June 1995, the X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Technology Demonstrator Aircraft, based at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California, is off-loaded from an Air Force Reserve C-5 transport after the ferry flight back to Edwards. At the air show, the X-31 demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with advanced flight control systems to provide controlled flight at very high angles of attack. The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The, ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Date	01.01.1995

X-31 wing removal

Title	X-31 wing removal
Description	U.S. and German personnel of the X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Technology Demonstrator aircraft program removing the right wing of the aircraft, which was ferried from Edwards Air Force Base, California, to Europe on May 22, 1995 aboard an Air Force Reserve C-5 transport. The X-31, based at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center was ferried to Europe and flown in the Paris Air Show in June. The wing of the X-31 was removed on May 18, 1995, to allow the aircraft to fit inside the C-5 fuselage. Officials of the X-31 project used Manching, Germany, as a staging base to prepare the aircraft for the flight demonstration. At the air show, the X-31 demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with advanced flight control systems to provide controlled flight at very high angles of attack. The aircraft arrived back at Edwards in a Air Force Reserve C-5 on June 25, 1995 and off loaded at Dryden June 27. The X-31 aircraft was developed jointly by Rockwell International's North American Aircraft Division (now part of Boeing) and Daimler-Benz Aerospace (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm), under sponsorship by the U.S. Department of Defense and The German Federal Ministry of Defense.
Date	01.01.1995

X-31 Wing Storage for Shippi …

Title	X-31 Wing Storage for Shipping
Description	The right wing of the X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Technology Demonstrator Aircraft is seen here being put into a shipping container May 18, 1995, at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, by U.S. and German members of the program. To fit inside an Air Force Reserve C-5 transport, which was used to ferry the X-31 to Europe on May 22, 1995, the right wing had to be removed. Manching, Germany, was used as a staging base to prepare the aircraft for participation in the Paris Air Show. At the air show on June 11 through the 18th, the X-31 demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with advanced flight control systems to provide controlled flight at very high angles of attack. The aircraft arrived back at Edwards in an Air Force Reserve C-5 on June 25, 1995, and off loaded at Dryden the 27th. The X-31 aircraft was developed jointly by Rockwell International's North American Aircraft Division (now part of Boeing) and Daimler-Benz Aerospace (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm), under sponsorship by the U.S. Department of Defense and The German Federal Ministry of Defense. The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator flew at the Ames- Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California (redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1994) from February 1992 until 1995 and before that at the Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The goal of the project was to provide design information for the next generation of highly maneuverable fighter aircraft. This program demonstrated the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with an advanced flight control system to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result was a significant advantage over most conventional fighters in close-in combat situations. The X-31 flight program focused on agile flight within the post-stall regime, producing technical data to give aircraft designers a better understanding of aerodynamics, effectiveness of flight controls and thrust vectoring, and airflow phenomena at high angles of attack. Stall is a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow. Thrust vectoring compensates for the loss of control through normal aerodynamic surfaces that occurs during a stall. Post-stall refers to flying beyond the normal stall angle of attack, which in the X-31 was at a 30-degree angle of attack. During Dryden flight testing, the X-31 aircraft established several milestones. On November 6, 1992, the X-31 achieved controlled flight at a 70-degree angle of attack. On April 29, 1993, the second X-31 successfully executed a rapid minimum-radius, 180-degree turn using a post-stall maneuver, flying well beyond the aerodynamic limits of any conventional aircraft. This revolutionary maneuver has been called the "Herbst Maneuver" after Wolfgang Herbst, a German proponent of using, post-stall flight in air-to-air combat. It is also called a "J Turn" when flown to an arbitrary heading change. The aircraft was flown in tactical maneuvers against an F/A-18 and other tactical aircraft as part of the test flight program. During November and December 1993, the X-31 reached a supersonic speed of Mach 1.28. In 1994, the X-31 program installed software to demonstrate quasi-tailless operation. The X-31 flight test program was conducted by an international test organization (ITO) managed by the Advanced Research Projects Office (ARPA), known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Office (DARPA) before March 1993. The ITO included the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Rockwell Aerospace, the Federal Republic of Germany, Daimler-Benz (formerly Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm and Deutsche Aerospace), and NASA. Gary Trippensee was the ITO director and NASA Project Manager. Pilots came from participating organizations. The X-31 was 43.33 feet long with a wingspan of 23.83 feet. It was powered by a single General Electric P404-GE-400 turbofan engine that produced 16,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner.
Date	01.01.1995

Narrow Search

Remove

What

Where

Who

When

Browse All : Images of Germany and Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC)