Page 2 - Aerotech News and Review – November 21 2025

2 November 21, 2025 www.aerotechnews.com
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NASA lab builds new aircraft to support complex flight research
by Jay Levine
NASA Armstrong
NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, is build- ing a new subscale aircraft to support increasingly complex flight research, of- fering a more flexible and cost-effective alternative to crewed missions.
The aircraft is being built by Justin Hall, chief pilot at NASA Armstrong’s Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory, and Justin Link, a small uncrewed aircraft pilot. The duo is replacing the center’s aging MicroCub subscale aircraft with a more capable platform that will save time and reduce costs. The new aircraft spans about 14 feet from wingtip to wingtip, measures nine-and-a-half feet long, and weighs about 60 pounds.
The subscale laboratory accelerates innovation by using small, remotely piloted aircraft to test and evaluate new aerodynamic concepts, technolo- gies, and flight control systems. Named after aerospace pioneer Dale Reed, the lab enables rapid prototyping and risk reduction before transitioning to full- scale or crewed flight testing. Its work plays a key role in increasing technology readiness to support NASA’s missions on Earth and beyond.
Hall and Link are modifying an existing subscale aircraft kit by adding a more powerful engine, an autopilot system, instrumentation, and a rein- forced structure. The aircraft will offer greater flexibility for flight experiments, enabling more frequent and affordable testing compared to crewed aircraft.
One example of its potential is the Ro- bust Autonomous Aerial Recapture proj- ect, which uses sensors and video with advanced programming to learn and adapt for mid-air capture. The system relies on a magnetic connection mecha- nism integrated onto the two aircraft.
This capability could support future science missions in which a mother- ship deploys drones to collect samples, recharge, and redeploy for additional missions, saving fuel, reducing cost, and increasing efficiency. Aerial recapture work is funded by the NASA Armstrong Center Innovation Fund and the Space Technology Mission Directorate.
Justin Link turns a subscale aircraft on its side to continue work to mark where the engine cowl will and where to line it up for attachment.
NASA photographs by Christopher LC Clark
Justin Link, left, and Justin Hall attach an engine onto a subscale aircraft on Sept. 3, 2025, at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards, Calif. Link is a pilot for small uncrewed aircraft sysetms at the center’s Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Loboratory, and Hall is the lab’s chief pilot.
Justin Hall, left, and Justin Link attach the wings onto a subscale aircraft at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards, Calif.
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