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13-645: The AFTI/F-111A was part of the Advanced Fighter Technology Integration (AFTI) Program by the United States Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory and NASA , which was an extension of the earlier transonic aircraft technology (TACT) program to install a supercritical wing onto an F-111. Unlike the TACT program, AFTI utilized a mission adaptive wing , which, instead of standard control surfaces , could smoothly change

26-567: A monitor with a telescopic camera view of the aircraft in flight, linked to the FPS-16 tracking radar. At the conclusion of the program, the aircraft was donated to the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, and became a static display at the entrance to Eagle Range. This aircraft reappeared at Edwards AFB without the engine as a captive test platform for optics testing. The Program Manager was John Seaberg,

39-739: A significant reduction in drag. Additionally, none of the aircraft's 46 rotary actuators failed during testing, however, its 16 power drive units (PDU) required 37 component or complete replacements. As of April 2023, the aircraft used in the TACT and AFTI programs is in storage at the Air Force Flight Test Museum at Edwards AFB . Data from Standard F-111A, Mission Adaptive Wing General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era United States Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory US Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory (or just Flight Dynamics Laboratory)

52-526: A two person crew with a Remote Pilot and Remote Flight Engineer, similar to crew assignments for two man fighters like the F-4 and F-14. The RPS Pilot station had two monitors with a nose camera view and a moving map display. The pilot controlled the aircraft with a 3-axis control stick, similar to the Apollo spacecraft. The flight engineer controlled video display, on-board system operation, and recovery commands. He viewed

65-628: Is located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and is part of the Air Force Wright Laboratory . The Laboratory was eventually merged into the Air Force Research Laboratory in 1997. The plan for FDL's 1988 fiscal year said about the laboratory's mission: The Flight Dynamics Laboratory (FDL) is part of the Air Force Wright Aeronautical Laboratories (AFWAL), a four-laboratory organization which

78-567: Is part of the Aeronautical System Division located at Wright-Patterson AFB OH. The FDL is responsible for planning, formulating, and executing the USAF technology programs for aerospace vehicles in the technical domains of structures and dynamics , vehicle equipment/subsystems, flight control, and aeromechanics. The FDL maintains a superior technical base by exploring promising approaches in science and technology which will provide options in

91-654: The Air Force Museum by the Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory at WPAFB to investigate high maneuverability flight and discover whether a high performance remotely piloted aircraft could perform some of the same missions as crewed aircraft. The 147G was particularly suited for this since it had an extended nose section for equipment, a more powerful engine, and a larger wing than previous FireBee variants. These aircraft were originally designed for covert, high altitude surveillance. The redesigned aircraft

104-550: The RPA for fighter missions was the lack of a video tracking system, which made tracking maneuvering targets extremely difficult. Future plans for the aircraft included a combination video and infrared tracker for target acquisition. The design of the remote pilot station (RPS) was also revolutionary, featuring elements of the F-106 fighter, industrial controls, and NASA satellite control station designs. The overall system design concept required

117-481: The development of Air Force systems and prevent technological surprise. The Vibration and Aeroelastic Facility (VIAER) supported the acquisition and analysis of dynamics data in various aircraft, missile, and ground support equipment. The Flight Dynamics Laboratory developed the FDL-23, a 2nd generation Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA). In the early 1970s, two Ryan Model 147G reconnaissance drones were requisitioned from

130-482: The engine shaft bent at 10 G's and impacted the compressor housing, damaging its engine. On its sixth mission, the aircraft refused to accept ground commands and self-recovered in the mountains north of Los Angeles with minor damage. The Program was completed successfully, and met all of its development objectives. Several major new systems including the digital autopilot and the command/control system were adopted by production drone programs. The major limitation to using

143-433: The shape of its airfoil in flight. The concept was inspired by birds, which change the shape of their wings to adapt to new flight conditions. By late 1981, Boeing had built a full-scale wing section and had received the variable-sweep actuator boxes from an F-111. The new wings were installed on the 13th service test F-111A ( serial number 63-9778), which had previously been used in the TACT program. In November 1983,

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156-499: The systems for the MAW was powered up for the first time, revealing problems that delayed the program by five months. The MAW of the AFTI/F-111A had four automatic flight modes: The first flight of the AFTI/F-111A took place on 18 November 1985. A total of 59 flights were conducted between 1985 and 1988, resulting in satisfactory results from the four flight modes during testing and showing

169-520: Was fitted with a reinforced wingbox , an active rudder, a Cohu nose video camera, a Vega digital control/data link, speed brakes, and a Lear-Sieglar digital proportional autopilot . The modified drone was originally designated the FDL-23 and later the XQM-103 . Six captive and six free flight test flights were performed, with the aircraft able to perform 10G turns in its final configuration. On its fifth mission,

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