The SR-71 Blackbird Hang onto your hat! The SR-71, called The Blackbird, is the world's fastest and highest-flying production aircraft. Just what do you do with an aircraft that flies more than 3,500 km/h (that's three times the speed of sound) at altitudes of 25,700 metres? Among other things, The Blackbird helps researchers study the atmosphere and the ozone layer.
	The Blackbird is also being used to study sonic booms. When a supersonic aircraft passes overhead, people on the ground hear a noise like a huge thunderclap. As you might expect, the noise is rather startling, and some people find it quite upsetting. That's why most supersonic aircraft only break the sound barrier over oceans and unpopulated areas. Researchers are using The Blackbird to see how sonic boom overpressures can be reduced. Data from these studies may help develop aircraft designs that would reduce the sonic effect. Anyone who has ever jumped out of their skin upon hearing a sonic boom will no doubt raise a cheer to hear this!

	The F-16XL Air flow changes as it moves across airplane wings. At the wing's leading edge, air flows smoothly. But air flow gets rather turbulent at the wing's trailing edge. Researchers are using the F-16XL to see how they might design a more "perfect" wing. Air would flow smoothly over this wing with no turbulence.
	Devices called "gloves" are attached to the F-16's wings for air flow testing. One such glove covered about 75 percent of the F-16's upper wing surface. The panel, made mostly of titanium, had about 10 million nearly microscopic, laser-cut holes in it. Turbulent air moving over the wing's surface was sucked through the tiny holes. So why all the fuss about excited air above airplane wings? Getting rid of the layer of turbulent air reduces drag and enhances lift. It also saves fuel. Studies show that in the future, flow control systems on commercial planes could reduce drag by up to eight percent. Don't hold your breath, but that could translate into lower costs for passengers one day!

	The YF-23
	The YF-23 is being used to study strain gauge load calibration techniques. On aircraft, strain gauges are used to measure loads on structures and parts. Information from ground tests are used to figure out shear, bending, and torque load equations. The load equations are then used to measure the aircraft loads in flight. It may sound pretty confusing, but measuring flight loads is an important part of flight safety and aircraft certification.

	The Pathfinder The Pathfinder is a prototype long duration solar powered aircraft. Test flights of the lightweight craft have been conducted using both solar and battery power. One eleven hour mission saw The Pathfinder soar to over 15,000 metres! That's an altitude record for solar powered aircraft. The Pathfinder testing will help plan future test missions as well as help plan the next generation of long distance solar planes.
	NASA's next operational solar plane would use electric fuel cells at night and solar cells during the day. This type of plane could stay up in the air for weeks or maybe even months. There are many possible uses for such a plane. It could study the upper atmosphere without disturbing things. The slower a plane can fly, the more unaltered atmosphere samples it can take. The solar plane could study storm developments over the ocean on a long term basis. Data gathered could help scientists predict hurricanes more accurately. The plane could also be used to monitor forests and remote areas for crop damage or fires. The possibilities are quite endless, now they just need to get the solar plane soaring.

	Teir 3 -- Darkstar
	We don't actually have any information about this plane. But it has an awesome name and it looks pretty cool!

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This page was last updated June 12, 1996. Copyright © 1996 Peter Piper Publishing Inc.