Nov 13 1985
From The Space Library
NASA announced an award of a $400,000 contract to North American Aircraft Operations of Rockwell Internatl. Corp. for preliminary design of a pivoting wing for a supersonic aircraft. The contract covered Phase B of a joint NASA/Navy program to design, develop, and flight test an aeroelastically tailored, pivoting-oblique wing for transonic and supersonic flight evaluation. It was part of a four-phase procurement program to modify the NASA Ames-Dryden F-8 fly-by-wire research aircraft to a supersonic oblique-wing configuration.
For takeoff and landing, the pivoting wing was set in the conventional aircraft flight position. For faster flight speeds, the wing pivoted so that one side was swept forward and the other side swept aft, forming an oblique angle with the aircraft's fuselage. In the oblique wing configuration, an aircraft in high-speed flight encountered less air resistance.
The contract covered preliminary design of the oblique wing, its pivot assembly, and flight control program for the F-8's computers. The company would also define the aircraft's flight envelope and assess the operational capabilities of oblique wings for potential naval applications.
A follow-on contract phase would provide detailed design, fabrication, ground testing, and flight support for a 12-month flight test program of approximately 40 flights. (NASA Release 85-152)
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