Mar. 07, 2005

Dryden Flight Research Center
P.O. Box 273
Edwards, California 93523
Phone 661/276-3449
FAX 661/276-3566

Alan Brown 
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
Phone: 661/276-2665
alan.brown@dfrc.nasa.gov

RELEASE: 05-52P

PHOTO RELEASE

TOGETHER AGAIN -- NASA's two F-15 research aircraft don't get a lot of 
flight hours, and it's even less frequent that they are in the air 
together on the same mission. But research pilots Jim Smolka and 
Craig Bomben from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center put the highly 
modified aircraft through their paces during a mission over the 
Edwards Air Force Base test range in late July that supported the 
Intelligent Flight Control System (IFCS) project. Canard-equipped 
F-15B 837, NASA's IFCS aircraft, was flying structural mode 
validation flights at the time, leading to Generation II IFCS flights 
planned for later this year. F-15B 836 was flying safety chase and 
for pilot proficiency in air refueling. Both aircraft performed 
aerial refueling from an Air Force KC-135 tanker aircraft. At the end 
of the mission, the two joined up for a formation fly-over of their 
home at NASA Dryden. 

-NASA-

PHOTO EDITORS: Publication-quality photos to support this release are 
available for downloading from the Internet at: 
http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/F-15B_837/index.html .

CAPTIONS: 

EC05-0148-30 - One of NASA's two F-15 research aircraft gets refueled 
in mid-air over Lake Isabella from a USAF KC-135 tanker while NASA's 
other F-15 flies chase alongside. 
-- NASA Dryden photo by Carla Thomas.

EC05-0148-31 -- NASA's two modified F-15B research aircraft joined up 
for a fly-over of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center on Edwards 
AFB, Calif., after a research mission. 
--NASA Dryden photo by Tony Landis.

EC05-0148-04 -- NASA F-15B research aircraft #836 shadows its 
stablemate, F-15B #837, during an Intelligent Flight Control System 
mission from NASA Dryden. 
--NASA Dryden photo by Carla Thomas.

	
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