SPACEPHOTOS

The new look of the left wing on NASA's F-16XL #2, following installation of a laminar flow control panel (dark area, forward center), is visible in this photograph taken Sept. 1, 1995, after the experimental panel's installation. The laminar flow research project, flown at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, investigated the use of a suction system built into the experimental panel and wing to remove a small part of the boundary layer of air along the aircraft wing. By expanding the area of laminar (smooth) flow, this technique could reduce aerodynamic drag and help reduce aircraft operating costs by improving fuel consumption. Data from the NASA research project may lead to the use of a similar suction system to achieve laminar flow on future supersonic transports and other aircraft.