McDonnell Douglas F-15 STOL/MTD

F-15 STOL/MTD / NASA NF-15B Research Aircraft
F-15 ACTIVE in 1997
Role	Technology Demonstrator and Research Aircraft Type of aircraft
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	McDonnell Douglas
First flight	7 September 1988 (STOL/MTD)[1]
Retired	15 August 1991 (STOL/MTD) 30 January 2009
Status	Retired from both NASA and military service
Primary users	United States Air Force NASA
Number built	1
Developed from	McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle
Career
Registration	NASA 837
Serial	USAF S/N 71-0290

The McDonnell Douglas F-15 STOL/MTD (Short Takeoff and Landing/Maneuver Technology Demonstrator) is a modified F-15 Eagle. Developed as a technology demonstrator, the F-15 STOL/MTD carried out research for studying the effects of thrust vectoring and enhanced maneuverability. The aircraft used for the project was pre-production TF-15A (F-15B) No. 1 (USAF S/N 71-0290), the first two-seat F-15 Eagle built by McDonnell Douglas (out of 2 prototypes^[2]), the sixth F-15 off the assembly line, and was the oldest F-15 flying up to its retirement. It was also used as the avionics testbed for the F-15E Strike Eagle program.^[3] The plane was on loan to NASA from the United States Air Force.

This same aircraft would later be used in the F-15 ACTIVE ("Advanced Control Technology for Integrated Vehicles") from 1993 to 1999, and later in the Intelligent Flight Control System programs from 1999 to 2008.

While with NASA, the aircraft's tail number was 837.^[4] The aircraft is now on display at Edwards AFB.^[5]

Design and development

In 1975, Langley Research Center began to conduct sponsored programs studying two-dimensional thrust vectoring nozzles;^[6]: 44 government and industry studies of non-axisymmetric two-dimensional (2-D) nozzles in the early 1970s had identified significant payoffs for thrust-vectoring 2-D nozzle concepts.^[6]: 192

In 1977, Langley started a system integration study of thrust-vectoring, thrust-reversing, and 2-D nozzles on the F-15 with McDonnell Douglas. In 1984, the Flight Dynamics Laboratory, the Air Force Aeronautical Systems Division awarded a contract to McDonnell Douglas for an advanced development STOL/MTD experimental aircraft.^[6]: 192

The aircraft used in the STOL/MTD program^[7] has flown several times since the successful STOL/MTD program completion in 1991 that used thrust vectoring and canard foreplanes to improve low-speed performance. This aircraft tested high-tech methods for operating from a short runway. This F-15 was part of an effort to improve ABO (Air Base Operability), the survival of warplanes and fighting capability at airfields under attack.

The F-15 STOL/MTD tested ways to land and take off from wet, bomb-damaged runways. The aircraft used a combination of reversible engine thrust, jet nozzles that could be deflected by 20 degrees, and canard foreplanes. Pitch vectoring/reversing nozzles and canard foreplanes were fitted to the F-15 in 1988.^{[citation needed]} NASA acquired the plane in 1993 and replaced the engines with Pratt & Whitney F100-229 engines with Pitch/Yaw vectoring nozzles.^[8] The canard foreplanes were derived from the F/A-18's stabilators.

Prior to 15 August 1991,^[6]: 194 when McDonnell Douglas ended its program after accomplishing their flight objectives, the F-15 STOL/MTD plane achieved some impressive performance results:

• Demonstrated vectored takeoffs with rotation at speeds as low as 42 mph (68 km/h)^[6]: 194
• A 25-percent reduction in takeoff roll^[6]: 193
• Landing on just 1,650 ft (500 m) of runway compared to 7,500 ft (2,300 m) for the standard F-15^[6]: 193
• Thrust reversal in flight to produce rapid deceleration^[6]: 194

Further modifications

During the 1990s the same F-15 airframe (USAF S/N 71-0290) was further modified (canards and nozzles were retained) for the ACTIVE ("Advanced Control Technology for Integrated Vehicles") program in which Pitch/Yaw Balance Beam Nozzles (P/YBBN) and advanced control-logic programming were investigated. In the ACTIVE configuration it was also used for the LANCETS ("lift and nozzle change effects on tail shock") program, in which computed supersonic shockwave parameters were compared to those measured in flight. The LANCETS flight tests ended in December 2008.^[9] F-15 ACTIVE lasted from 1993 to 1999.

The aircraft would later be used in the F-15 IFCS (Intelligent Flight Control System) program from 1999 to 2008. The airplane was also used for the Space-Based Range Demonstration and Certification project under the Exploration Communications and Navigation Systems program (SBRDC/ECANS) from 2006 to 2007, High Stability Engine Control (HISTEC) program, and High-Speed Research Acoustics in 1997.^{[citation needed]}

Specifications (F-15 ACTIVE)

Data from NASA.^[10]

General characteristics

• Crew: 2
• Capacity: 17,000 lb (7,112 kg)
• Length: 63 ft 8 in (19.42 m) excluding flight test nose boom
• Wingspan: 42 ft 10 in (13 m)
• Height: 18 ft 6 in (5.64 m)
• Wing area: 608 sq ft (56.5 m²)
• Empty weight: 35,000 lb (15,876 kg)
• Gross weight: 47,000 lb (21,319 kg)
• Fuel capacity: 11,520 lb (5,225 kg) (approx. 1,700 gal)
• Horizontal tail span: 28.2 ft (8.60 m)
• Canard span: 25.6 ft (7.80 m)
• Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 turbofan engines, equipped with Pratt & Whitney P/YBBN 20 Degree three-dimensional thrust vectoring nozzles, 17,800 lbf (79 kN) thrust each dry, 29,000 lbf (130 kN) with afterburner

Performance

• Maximum speed: 1,522 mph (2,450 km/h, 1,323 kn)
• Maximum speed: Mach 2.0
• Service ceiling: 60,000 ft (18,288 m)

In popular culture

Patlabor 2: The Movie

In a scene from the 1993 animated film Patlabor 2: The Movie, set in the year 2002, two pairs of F-15 STOL/MTDs (flights "Wizard" and "Priest") are scrambled to intercept a flight of three rogue F-16Js (flight "Wyvern"). Taking into account the, at the time, futuristic nature of some of the technology, analysis and commentary from subject matter experts has been favorable for its authenticity from a military perspective.^[11]

Ace Combat

Numerous entries in the Ace Combat video game series feature the F-15 STOL/MTD as an unlockable player aircraft, and has also been the aircraft of choice for some antagonists. In Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War, Sorcerer Team flies eight F-15 STOL/MTDs. A fictional modernized derivative, the F-15S/MT Eagle+, is used by Abyssal Dision, main antagonist of Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere.

Project Wingman

The plane appears in the Project Wingman video game under the name F/S-15. It is used by allied and enemy units alike and can be unlocked by the player.

See also

Related development

• McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle
• McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• General Dynamics X-62 VISTA
• High Alpha Research Vehicle
• Rockwell-MBB X-31
• Sukhoi Su-37

Related lists

• List of experimental aircraft
• List of military aircraft of the United States

References

• Aircraft of the World: The Complete Guide.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to F-15S/MTD.

• NASA Dryden Fact Sheet – NASA NF-15B Research Aircraft
• NASA Dryden Fact Sheet – F-15B #837
• McDonnell Douglas F-15SMTD Cutaway at flightglobal.com

This page was last edited on 5 April 2024, at 21:45