The DC-8 in flight near Lone Pine, Calif. In the foreground are the Sierra Nevada Mountains, covered with winter snow. In the distance are the White Mountains. The DC-8's fuselage is painted white with a dark blue stripe down the side. The wings are silver, while the engine pods are white. In this view of the airplane's right-hand side, only a few of its antennas are visible. The experimental payload can be as great as 30,000 pounds of equipment for gathering data of various sorts.