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Oblique Wing Research Aircraft Model

NASA Navy Oblique Wing Research Aircraft Model This pristine model (13x 11x4.5") of the oblique wing research aircraft is mounted on a walnut base (5x8"). The Ames-Dryden-1 (AD-1) aircraft was designed to investigate the concept of an oblique wing, which could be rotated on its center pivot, so that it could be set at its most efficient angle for the speed at which the aircraft was flying. NASA Ames Research Center Aeronautical Engineer Robert T. Jones conceived the idea of an oblique wing and his wind tunnel studies at Ames (Moffett Field, CA) indicated that an oblique wing design on a supersonic transport might achieve twice the fuel economy of an aircraft with conventional wings. The oblique wing on the AD-1 pivoted about the fuselage, remaining perpendicular to it during slow flight and rotating to angles of up to 60 degrees as aircraft speed increased. The aircraft was delivered to the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA, in March 1979 and its first flight was on December 21, 1979. Piloting the aircraft on that flight, as well as on its last flight on August 7, 1982, was NASA Research Pilot Thomas C. McMurtry. The AD-1 flew a total of 79 times during the research program. The aircraft was constructed by the Ames Industrial Co., Bohemia, NY, under a $240, 000 fixed-price contract. The Rutan Aircraft Factory, Mojave, CA, provided the detailed design and loads analysis for the vehicle. Due to safety concerns, the aircraft was limited to speeds of 170 mph. Despite these successful flights, this type of low-speed, low-cost vehicle - as expected - exhibited aeroelastic and pitch-roll-coupling effects that contributed to poor handling at sweep angles above 45 degrees and the fiberglass structure limited the wing stiffness that would have improved the handling qualities. Thus, after completion of the AD-1 project, there was still a need for a transonic oblique-wing research aircraft to assess the effects of compressibility, evaluate a more representative structure, and analyze flight performance at transonic speeds, so the project was cancelled. Minor faults should not detract. Rare.

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