EDWARDS TO BEGIN TESTS ON TAILLESS X-36 AIRCRAFT.Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer A small, tailless airplane being developed jointly by NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. and McDonnell Douglas McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. It merged with Boeing in 1997 to form The Boeing Company. is expected to be shipped soon to Edwards for flight tests beginning in July or August. The X-36's design had been kept secret until Tuesday's rollout at the McDonnell Douglas plant in St. Louis. At least 25 flights will be made over six months, project officials said. The X-36 program is a $17 million effort by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), civilian agency of the U.S. federal government with the mission of conducting research and developing operational programs in the areas of space exploration, artificial satellites (see satellite, artificial), and McDonnell Douglas to design and build two subscale, tailless airplanes. A tailless aircraft A tailless or tail-less aeroplane traditionally has all its horizontal control surfaces on its main wing surface. It has no (horizontal stabilizer - either tailplane or canard foreplane (nor does it have a second wing in tandem arrangement). offers the benefits of reduced weight - increasing the range - and making the airplane stealthier because it would provide a smaller target for radar. Although no full-scale aircraft are planned at this point, researchers believe it is only a matter of time that their technologies will be incorporated in fighter aircraft fighter aircraft Aircraft designed primarily to secure control of essential airspace by destroying enemy aircraft in combat. Designed for high speed and maneuverability, they are armed with weapons capable of striking other aircraft in flight. designs. Researchers have been looking at a tailless airplane for seven years. About three years ago, McDonnell Douglas approached NASA about the idea of using a subscale prototype to test the concept. NASA and McDonnell Douglas have agreed to split the development costs about 50-50. The aircraft are being produced by McDonnell Douglas' Phantom Works, a Skunk skunk, name for several related New World mammals of the weasel family, characterized by their conspicuous black and white markings and use of a strong, highly offensive odor for defense. Works-like company that is trying to produce products in less time and at significantly lower costs. The X-36 will use a technology called thrust vectoring, developed on a number of test programs at Edwards over several years. Thrust vectoring involves directing the blast from a jet engine's exhaust to help steer the plane, improving its agility. CAPTION(S): PHOTO Photo (color in AV edition only) The remote-controlled X-36 is a joint project of McDonnell Douglas and NASA. Associated Press |
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