Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Professor Russ Westphal works on the Boundary Layer Data System (BLDS) attached to the wing of a Beechcraft Beech 200 Super King Air aircraft. The BLDS was attached to the aircraft with removable adhesives for a flight test at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo professors Russ Westphal, left, and Aaron Drake posed next to NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center’s Beechcraft Beech 200 Super King Air aircraft. On the King Air’s wing is the Boundary Layer Data System (BLDS), a sensor developed by Cal Poly and Northrop Grumman. BLDS was flown at NASA Armstrong as a step towards creating a process allowing universities, small businesses and other interested parties to quickly test flight technologies.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Professor Russ Westphal, left, and NASA Armstrong’s Technology Transfer Officer Benjamin Tomlinson remove the Boundary Layer Data System (BLDS) sensor attached to the wing of a Beechcraft Beech 200 Super King Air. The BLDS was flight tested at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center to showcase rapid and flexible flight-testing capabilities.

The support crew for the F-16A, the F-16XL no. 1, and the F-16 AFTI are, top row, left to right: Randy Weaver; mechanic, Susan Ligon; mechanic, Bob Garcia; Crew Chief, Rich Kelly; mechanic, Dale Edminister; Avionics Technician. Bottom row, left to right, Art Cope; mechanic, John Huffman; Avionics Technician, Jaime Garcia; Avionics Technician, Don Griffith, Avionics Tech. Co-op student. The F-16A (NASA 516), the only civil registered F-16 in existence, was transferred to Dryden from Langley, and was primarily used in engine tests and for parts. It was subsequently transfered from Dryden. The single-seat F-16XL no. 1 (NASA 849) was most recently used in the Cranked-Arrow Wing Aerodynamics Project (CAWAP) to test boundary layer pressures and distribution. Previously it had been used in a program to investigate the characteristics of sonic booms for NASA's High Speed Research Program. Data from the program will be used in the development of a high speed civilian transport. During the series of sonic boom research flights, the F-16XL was used to probe the shock waves being generated by a NASA SR-71 and record their shape and intensity. The Advanced Fighter Technology Integration (AFTI) F-16 was used to develop and demonstrate technologies to improve navigation and a pilot's ability to find and destroy enemy ground targets day or night, including adverse weather. Earlier research in the joint NASA-Air Force AFTI F-16 program demonstrated voice actuated controls, helmet-mounted sighting and integration of forward-mounted canards with the standard flight control system to achieve uncoupled flight.

The support crew for the F-16A, the F-16XL no. 1, and the F-16 AFTI are, top row, left to right: Randy Weaver; mechanic, Susan Ligon; mechanic, Bob Garcia; Crew Chief, Rich Kelly; mechanic, Dale Edminister; Avionics Technician. Bottom row, left to right, Art Cope; mechanic, John Huffman; Avionics Technician, Jaime Garcia; Avionics Technician, Don Griffith, Avionics Tech. Co-op student. The F-16A (NASA 516), the only civil registered F-16 in existence, was transferred to Dryden from Langley, and was primarily used in engine tests and for parts. It was subsequently transfered from Dryden. The single-seat F-16XL no. 1 (NASA 849) was most recently used in the Cranked-Arrow Wing Aerodynamics Project (CAWAP) to test boundary layer pressures and distribution. Previously it had been used in a program to investigate the characteristics of sonic booms for NASA's High Speed Research Program. Data from the program will be used in the development of a high speed civilian transport. During the series of sonic boom research flights, the F-16XL was used to probe the shock waves being generated by a NASA SR-71 and record their shape and intensity. The Advanced Fighter Technology Integration (AFTI) F-16 was used to develop and demonstrate technologies to improve navigation and a pilot's ability to find and destroy enemy ground targets day or night, including adverse weather. Earlier research in the joint NASA-Air Force AFTI F-16 program demonstrated voice actuated controls, helmet-mounted sighting and integration of forward-mounted canards with the standard flight control system to achieve uncoupled flight.

Photographed outside their hangar at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, part of Dryden's F-16 fleet is, left to right; an F-16A, the F-16XL no. 1, and the F-16 AFTI. The F-16A (NASA 516), the only civil registered F-16 in existence, was transferred to Dryden from Langley, and was primarily used in engine tests and for parts. It was subsequently transfered from Dryden. The single-seat F-16XL no. 1 (NASA 849) was most recently used in the Cranked-Arrow Wing Aerodynamics Project (CAWAP) to test boundary layer pressures and distribution. Previously it had been used in a program to investigate the characteristics of sonic booms for NASA's High Speed Research Program. Data from the program will be used in the development of a high speed civilian transport. During the series of sonic boom research flights, the F-16XL was used to probe the shock waves being generated by a NASA SR-71 and record their shape and intensity. The Advanced Fighter Technology Integration (AFTI) F-16 was used to develop and demonstrate technologies to improve navigation and a pilot's ability to find and destroy enemy ground targets day or night, including adverse weather. Earlier research in the joint NASA-Air Force AFTI F-16 program demonstrated voice actuated controls, helmet-mounted sighting and integration of forward-mounted canards with the standard flight control system to achieve uncoupled flight.