F 
R

6
- 
9 
8

Home | Update | LATEST ISSUE | Gallery | FR Profile | Datafiles | FR 6/98

ECLIPSE TESTS: QF-106 ON THE STRING

by Christopher Hess

QF-106 in tow A fighter jet on a long lead: During the last few months, this unusual picture was seen frequently on the airfield of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California. The jet, a QF-106, is the star of a concept study which NASA is currently carrying out for Kelly Space and Technology and the US Air Force. The flight tests of the Eclipse program focus on the future re-usable space shuttle Astroliner.

The idea behind the concept is that a Boeing 747 would tow the Astroliner up to a launch altitude of 45,000ft. Reaching this altitude the shuttle would be released from the tow aircraft. It would then start its own engine subsequently carrying the payload to an altitude of 400,000 ft. Once the payload is released it would also fire up its propulsion system and continue to its final orbit altitude. The Astroliner itself will glide down to Earth, much like the Space Shuttle does today. The advantage of towing the launch vehicle to a launch altitude is a considerable saving potential on fuel.

The recent demonstration flights at the Dryden Flight Research Center involved a QF-106 out of the Air Force's UAV inventory. This specific aircraft was chosen because its delta wings are very similar shaped to the future Astroliner's design. A special tow link was fitted to the nose of the jet in front of the cockpit. Based on the modifications the jet is now called EXD-1 (Experimental Demonstrator 1). For the trials, it was towed by a C-141 Starlifter on a 300m tow cable made out of Vectran. The flight tests included different configurations of the EXD-1, including a dirty configuration with gear and flaps down. Also, the jets flight characteristics in the wake turbulence of the tow aircraft was studied in one of the flights.

From page 112 of FLUG REVUE 6/98

Home | Update | LATEST ISSUE | Gallery | FR Profile | Datafiles | FR 6/98
Copyright 1998 by Motor-Presse Stuttgart. All rights reserved.
Last updated May 7, 1998
FLUG REVUE, Ubierstr. 83, 53173 Bonn, Germany