| NASA Center: |
Dryden Flight Research Center |
|---|
| Image # : |
ECN-2203 |
|---|
| Date : |
01/01/1969
|
|---|
|
Title
HL-10 on Lakebed with B-52 flyby
Full Description
NASA research pilot Bill Dana takes a moment to watch NASA's NB-52B
cruise overhead after a research flight in the HL-10. On the left,
John Reeves can be seen at the cockpit of the lifting body. The HL-10
was one of five lifting body designs flown at NASA's Dryden Flight
Research Center, Edwards, California, from July 1966 to November
1975 to study and validate the concept of safely maneuvering and
landing a low lift-over-drag vehicle designed for reentry from
space. Northrop Corporation built the HL-10 and M2-F2, the first two
of the fleet of "heavy" lifting bodies flown by NASA. The contract
for construction of the HL-10 and the M2-F2 was $1.8 million. "HL"
stands for horizontal landing, and "10" refers to the tenth design
studied by engineers at NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.
After delivery to NASA in January 1966, the HL-10 made its first
flight on December 22, 1966, with research pilot Bruce Peterson in the
cockpit. Although an XLR-11 vehicle, the first 11 drop flights from
the B-52 launch aircraft were powerless glide flights to assess
handling qualities, stability, and control. In the end, the HL-10
was judged to be the best handling of the three original heavy-
weight lifting bodies (M2-F2/F3, HL-10, X-24A). The HL-10 was flown
37 times during the lifting body research program and logged the
highest altitude and fastest speed in the Lifting Body program. On
February 18, 1970, Air Force test pilot Peter Hoag piloted the HL-10 to
Mach 1.86 (1,228 mph). Nine days later, NASA pilot Bill Dana flew
the vehicle to 90,030 feet, which became the highest altitude
reached in the program. Some new and different lessons were learned
through the successful flight testing of the HL-10.
Keywords
HL-10 Lifting Body Boeing B-52 Bill Dana M2-F2 NASA Flight Research Center
Subject Category
Lifting Bodies, Top 20 Dryden Aircraft,
Reference Numbers
- Center:
DFRC
- Center Number:
ECN-2203
- GRIN DataBase Number:
GPN-2000-000201
Source Information
- Creator/Photographer: NASA
- Original Source: DIGITAL
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Updated October 31, 2002
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