The Hyper III was a full-scale lifting-body remotely piloted research vehicle (RPRV) built at what was then the NASA Flight Research Center located at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California.

This photograph shows NASA's 3/8th-scale remotely piloted research vehicle landing on Rogers Dry Lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, in 1975.

Technicians check instrumentation and systems on NASA 808, a PA-30 aircraft, prior to a research flight. The aircraft was used as the testbed in development of control systems for remotely piloted vehicles that were "flown" from the ground. The concept led to highly successful programs such as the HiMAT and the subscale F-15 remotely piloted vehicles. Over the years, NASA 808 has also been used for spin and stall research related to general aviation aircraft and also research to alleviate wake vortices behind large jetliners. This 1980 photograph taken inside a hangar shows technicians measuring moment of inertia.

Dryden Flight Research Center's Piper PA-30 Twin Commanche, which helped validate the RPRV concept, descends to a remotely controlled landing on Rogers Dry Lake, unassisted by the onboard pilot. A Piper PA-30 Twin Commanche, known as NASA 808, was used at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center as a rugged workhorse in a variety of research projects associated with both general aviation and military projects. In the early 1970s, the PA-30, serial number 301498, was used to test a flight technique used to fly Remotely Piloted Research Vehicles (RPRV's). The technique was first tested with the cockpit windows of the light aircraft blacked out while the pilot flew the aircraft utilizing a television monitor which gave him a "pilot's eye" view ahead of the aircraft. Later pilots flew the aircraft from a ground cockpit, a procedure used with all RPRV's. TV and two-way telemetry allow the pilot to be in constant control of the aircraft. The apparatus mounted over the cockpit is a special fish eye lens camera, used to obtain images that are transmitted to the ground based cockpit. This project paved the way for sophisticated, highly successful research programs involving high risk spin, stall, and flight control conditions, such as the HiMAT and the subscale F-15 remotely piloted vehicles. Over the years, NASA 808 has also been used for spin and stall research related to general aviation aircraft and also research to alleviate wake vortices behind large jetliners.

NASA researchers are using the X-56A, a low-cost, modular, remotely piloted aerial vehicle, to explore the behavior of lightweight, flexible aircraft structures.

The Hyper III was a low-cost test vehicle for an advanced lifting-body shape. Like the earlier M2-F1, it was a "homebuilt" research aircraft, i.e., built at the Flight Research Center (FRC), later redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center. It had a steel-tube frame covered with Dacron, a fiberglass nose, sheet aluminum fins, and a wing from an HP-11 sailplane. Construction was by volunteers at the FRC. Although the Hyper III was to be flown remotely in its initial tests, it was fitted with a cockpit for a pilot. On the Hyper III's only flight, it was towed aloft attached to a Navy SH-3 helicopter by a 400-foot cable. NASA research pilot Bruce Peterson flew the SH-3. After he released the Hyper III from the cable, NASA research pilot Milt Thompson flew the vehicle by radio control until the final approach when Dick Fischer took over control using a model-airplane radio-control box. The Hyper III flared, then landed and slid to a stop on Rogers Dry Lakebed.

One of the Spacewedge remotely-piloted research vehicles in flight under a steerable parafoil during 1995 research flights conducted by NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center.

The Perseus proof-of-concept vehicle flies over Rogers Dry Lake at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, to test basic design concepts for the remotely-piloted, high-altitude vehicle.

This 1976 photograph of the Oblique Wing Research Aircraft was taken in front of the NASA Flight Research Center hangar, located at Edwards Air Force Base, California. In the photograph the noseboom, pitot-static probe, and angles-of-attack and sideslip flow vanes(covered-up) are attached to the front of the vehicle. The clear nose dome for the television camera, and the shrouded propellor for the 90 horsepower engine are clearly seen.

Oblique Wing Research Aircraft in flight

This photo shows the instrumentation and equipment inside the Spacewedge #3, a remotely-piloted research vehicle flown at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, to help develop technology for autonomous return systems for spacecraft as well as methods to deliver large Army cargo payloads to precise landings.

The Perseus proof-of-concept vehicle in flight at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California in 1991. Perseus is one of several remotely-piloted aircraft designed for high-altitude, long-endurance scientific sampling missions being evaluated under the ERAST program.

NASA pilot Ed Lewis with the T-34C aircraft on the Dryden Flight Research Center Ramp. The aircraft was previously used at the Lewis Research Center in propulsion experiments involving turboprop engines, and was used as a chase aircraft at Dryden for smaller and slower research projects. Chase aircraft accompany research flights for photography and video purposes, and also as support for safety and research. At Dryden, the T-34 is used mainly for smaller remotely piloted vehicles which fly slower than NASA's F-18's, used for larger scale projects. This aircraft was returned to the U.S. Navy in May of 2002.

A Rans S-12 remotely piloted "mothership" takes off from a lakebed runway carrying a Spacewedge research model during 1992 flight tests. The Spacewedge was lauched in flight from the Rans S-12 aircraft and then glided back to a landing under a steerable parafoil. Technology tested in the Spacewedge program was used in developing the X-38 research vehicle.

Controlled Impact Demonstration instrumented test dummies installed in plane.

The back seat instrument panel on the NASA T-34C chase plane. In its role as a military trainer, the instructor pilot would ride in the back seat, while the student would be in the front seat. As a chase plane, the back seat would be occupied by a photographer. The aircraft was previously used at the Lewis Research Center in propulsion experiments involving turboprop engines, and was used as a chase aircraft at Dryden for smaller and slower research projects. Chase aircraft accompany research flights for photography and video purposes, and also as support for safety and research. At Dryden, the T-34 is used mainly for smaller remotely piloted vehicles which fly slower than NASA's F-18's, used for larger scale projects. This aircraft was returned to the U.S. Navy in May of 2002. The T-34C, built by Beech, carries a crew of 2 and is nicknamed the Mentor.

A NASA T-34C aircraft, used for safety chase, is shown flying above the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California in March 1997. The aircraft was previously used at the Lewis Research Center in propulsion experiments involving turboprop engines, and was used as a chase aircraft at Dryden for smaller and slower research projects. Chase aircraft accompany research flights for photography and video purposes, and also as support for safety and research. At Dryden, the T-34 is used mainly for smaller remotely piloted vehicles which fly slower than NASA's F-18's, used for larger scale projects. This aircraft was returned to the U.S. Navy in May of 2002. The T-34C, built by Beech, carries a crew of 2 and is nicknamed the Mentor.

The X-56A Multi-Utility Technology Testbed (MUTT) is greeted on an Edwards Air Force Base runway by a U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) team member. NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center and the AFRL, along with participants from Langley Research Center and Glenn Research Center, and support from Lockheed Martin, are using the second X-56A (dubbed “Buckeye”) to check out aircraft systems, evaluate handling qualities, characterize and expand the airplane’s performance envelope, and verify pre-flight predictions regarding aircraft behavior. The 20-minute flight marked the beginning of a research effort designed to yield significant advances in aeroservoelastic technology using a low-cost, modular, remotely piloted aerial vehicle.

A NASA T-34C aircraft, used for safety chase, is shown flying above the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California in March 1997. The aircraft was previously used at the Lewis Research Center in propulsion experiments involving turboprop engines, and was used as a chase aircraft at Dryden for smaller and slower research projects. Chase aircraft accompany research flights for photography and video purposes, and also as support for safety and research. At Dryden, the T-34 is used mainly for smaller remotely piloted vehicles which fly slower than NASA's F-18's, used for larger scale projects. This aircraft was returned to the U.S. Navy in May of 2002. The T-34C, built by Beech, carries a crew of 2 and is nicknamed the Mentor.

An ocean color senor, a passive microwave vertical sounder and an electro-optical sensor were mounted on the Altair UAV for the NOAA-NASA flight demonstration.

A pilot for General Atomics guides the Altair remotely operated aircraft from a ground control station using both visual and telemetered data.

A satellite antenna, electro-optical/infrared and ocean color sensors (front) were among payloads installed on the Altair for the NOAA-NASA flight demonstration

Terrence Hertz, Deputy Associate Administrator for Technology, NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, at the NOAA/NASA Altair flight demo kickoff.

The Perseus A, a remotely-piloted, high-altitude research vehicle, is seen just after landing on Rogers Dry Lake at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The Perseus A had a unique method of takeoff and landing. To make the aircraft as aerodynamic and lightweight as possible, designers gave it only two very small centerline wheels for landing. These wheels were very close to the fuselage, and therefore produced very little drag. However, since the fuselage sat so close to the ground, it was necessary to keep the large propeller at the rear of the aircraft locked in a horizontal position during takeoff. The aircraft was towed to about 700 feet in the air, where the engine was started and the aircraft began flying under its own power.

DAST Mated to B-52 on Ramp - Close-up

DAST in Flight. Last Flight

First Captive Flight of DAST Mated to B-52 - Close-up from Below

Supersonic Aircraft Model The window in the sidewall of the 8- by 6-foot supersonic wind tunnel at NASA's Glenn Research Center shows a 1.79 percent scale model of a future concept supersonic aircraft built by The Boeing Company. In recent tests, researchers evaluated the performance of air inlets mounted on top of the model to see how changing the amount of airflow at supersonic speeds through the inlet affected performance. The inlet on the pilot's right side (top inlet in this side view) is larger because it contains a remote-controlled device through which the flow of air could be changed. The work is part of ongoing research in NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate to address the challenges of making future supersonic flight over land possible. Researchers are testing overall vehicle design and performance options to reduce emissions and noise, and identifying whether the volume of sonic booms can be reduced to a level that leads to a reversal of the current ruling that prohibits commercial supersonic flight over land. Image Credit: NASA/Quentin Schwinn

Supersonic Aircraft Model The window in the sidewall of the 8- by 6-foot supersonic wind tunnel at NASA's Glenn Research Center shows a 1.79 percent scale model of a future concept supersonic aircraft built by The Boeing Company. In recent tests, researchers evaluated the performance of air inlets mounted on top of the model to see how changing the amount of airflow at supersonic speeds through the inlet affected performance. The inlet on the pilot's right side (top inlet in this side view) is larger because it contains a remote-controlled device through which the flow of air could be changed. The work is part of ongoing research in NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate to address the challenges of making future supersonic flight over land possible. Researchers are testing overall vehicle design and performance options to reduce emissions and noise, and identifying whether the volume of sonic booms can be reduced to a level that leads to a reversal of the current ruling that prohibits commercial supersonic flight over land. Image Credit: NASA/Quentin Schwinn

A NASA team studying the causes of electrical storms and their effects on our home planet achieved a milestone on August 21, 2002, completing the study's longest-duration research flight and monitoring four thunderstorms in succession. Based at the Naval Air Station Key West, Florida, researchers with the Altus Cumulus Electrification Study (ACES) used the Altus II remotely-piloted aircraft to study thunderstorms in the Atlantic Ocean off Key West and the west of the Everglades. The ACES lightning study used the Altus II twin turbo uninhabited aerial vehicle, built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. of San Diego. The Altus II was chosen for its slow flight speed of 75 to 100 knots (80 to 115 mph), long endurance, and high-altitude flight (up to 65,000 feet). These qualities gave the Altus II the ability to fly near and around thunderstorms for long periods of time, allowing investigations to be to be conducted over the entire life cycle of storms. The vehicle has a wing span of 55 feet and a payload capacity of over 300 lbs. With dual goals of gathering weather data safely and testing the adaptability of the uninhabited aircraft, the ACES study is a collaboration among the Marshall Space Flight Center, the University of Alabama in Huntsville, NASA,s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, Pernsylvania State University in University Park, and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.

A NASA team studying the causes of electrical storms and their effects on our home planet achieved a milestone on August 21, 2002, completing the study's longest-duration research flight and monitoring four thunderstorms in succession. Based at the Naval Air Station Key West, Florida, researchers with the Altus Cumulus Electrification Study (ACES) used the Altus II remotely piloted aircraft to study thunderstorms in the Atlantic Ocean off Key West and the west of the Everglades. The ACES lightning study used the Altus II twin turbo uninhabited aerial vehicle, built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. of San Diego. The Altus II was chosen for its slow flight speed of 75 to 100 knots (80 to 115 mph), long endurance, and high-altitude flight (up to 65,000 feet). These qualities gave the Altus II the ability to fly near and around thunderstorms for long periods of time, allowing investigations to be conducted over the entire life cycle of storms. The vehicle has a wing span of 55 feet and a payload capacity of over 300 lbs. With dual goals of gathering weather data safely and testing the adaptability of the uninhabited aircraft, the ACES study is a collaboration among the Marshall Space Flight Center, the University of Alabama in Huntsville, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, Pernsylvania State University in University Park, and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.

Equipped with a pod-mounted infrared imaging sensor, the Altair UAS aided fire mapping efforts over wildfires in central and southern California in late 2006.

A high-tech infrared imaging sensor in its underbelly pod, the Altair UAS flew repeated passes over the Esperanza fire to aid firefighting efforts.