Nov 1 1973
From The Space Library
A variable-sweep-wing testbed F-111 aircraft with NASA'S supercritical wing made its first flight, in a joint Air Force and NASA program at Flight Research Center. Prime pilots were USAF Maj. Stu R. Boyd and NASA research pilot Einer K. Enevoldson. The transonic aircraft technology (TACT) program would investigate application of supercritical wing technology to high maneuverable aircraft at transonic speeds. Wind-tunnel studies of the new airfoil shape-based on research by Dr. Richard T. Whitcomb, Head of Langley Research Center's 8-Foot Tunnels Branch, and almost directly opposite to conventional shapes-had shown it could delay rise in aerodynamic drag and allow an aircraft to perform more efficiently at higher speeds. The new wing, with flat top and upward-curving rear portion of the bottom side, was expected to improve the tactical advantage of military aircraft in air-to-air combat. (NASA Release 73-215; NASA Photo 73-H-1073)
Former Congressman Emilio Q. Daddario was named Executive Director of the new congressional Office of Technology Assessment for a six-year term by the 12-member joint Congressional Technology Assessment Board chaired by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) (A&A, 12/73, 12; Off Tech Ass)
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