SPACEPHOTOS

Small numbers on the nose cap of this F-18 Systems Research Aircraft at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, show the locations of 11 tiny holes, which are an integral part of a new air data system installed on the aircraft. The Real-Time Flush Air Data Sensing system measures the speed and direction of the airflow past the aircraft and its altitude, similar to standard air data systems. It differs from those systems by incorporating flush-mounted pressure taps, miniature transducers and an advanced research computer to give the pilot more accurate information than systems employing external probes provide. Stephen A. Whitmore of Dryden’s Aerodynamics Branch won NASA’s Space Act Award for his development of the Real-Time Flush Air Data Sensing system. The award honors projects which are scientifically or technologically significant to the aeronautics and space community. The system was flight tested on the modified F-18 last year, and is now being used as a precise reference system for other air data systems currently being evaluated on the aircraft.