Page 6 - Aerotech News and Review, May 13, 2022

Air Force Flight Test Museum:
The small museum with a big heart
by Renee Marchiano
Edwards AFB, Calif.
After a hiatus caused by the CO- VID-19 pandemic, the Air Force Flight Test Museum at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., is excited to welcome people back to explore the rich history this test base has to offer. Through es- corted family visits, field trips, and home study groups, the museum offers several chances to engage with school-aged youth with Edwards Air Force Base ac- cess.
A recent tour with parents presented the museum the occasion to introduce young visitors to various aspects of flight testing at Edwards AFB; supplying his- torical context and permitting the chil- dren to immerse themselves in the tour. Sergio Cuevas, restoration curator for the museum, provided a memorable learning experience for children to see the planes up and close and personal, capturing tiny hearts and big imaginations with intricate details and demonstrations.
Museum and educational centers, such as the planned future home of
the Air Force Flight Test Museum at Edwards AFB, provide educators and parents valuable resources for first-hand exploration that is not often available in formal learning settings. The museum’s Blackbird Airpark in Palmdale provides structured learning in the classroom via
its summer program, Junior Test Pilot School; a class specifically designed by former test pilots for children in grades 3-6. Junior Test Pilots can earn patches and certificates through successful com- pletion of interactive missions and have access to instructors that engage and em-
power our students.
Even though the museum has big
dreams of expansion in the near future, the staff still has the relatability with per- sonal one-on-one conversations sharing the rich history and deep passion for flight testing at Edwards.
The Air Force Flight Test Museum at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., is excited to welcome people back to explore the rich history this test base has to offer.
Air Force photographs by Adam Bowles
An F-4 Phantom, tail number 37-407,
is one of the many aircraft on display
at the Air Force Flight Test Museum at Edwards Air Force Base,
Calif.
Children interact with Flight Test Museum restoration curator, Sergio Cuevas, on the prototype F-16B at the museum’s restoration Hangar on Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
X-59 model tested in Japanese wind tunnel
by David Meade
NASA Langley
A model of the X-59 aircraft, the centerpiece of NASA’s mission to gather information intended to help enable a new era of commercial faster-than-sound air travel over land, recently completed a round of testing in a wind tunnel in Japan.
NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), un- der an agreement signed in December 2020, conducted independent wind tunnel studies of the 1.62 percent scale model of the X-59. Under a separate agreement, Boeing also participated in both of these tests. The test at JAXA was an opportunity to collaborate with inter- national and industry partners and allowed the NASA research team to acquire tunnel-to-tunnel comparisons prior to the first flight of the X-59 aircraft.
When an airplane travels at supersonic speeds, waves of chang- ing air pressure are created that we perceive as sounds called sonic booms. The shape of the X-59 is designed to reduce these shock waves, so the perceived sound is little more than a thump — if you hear anything at all.
To test the X-59’s design, researchers placed a scale model in a JAXA wind tunnel and took measurements of the pressure waves as the supersonic airflow passed over the model to see if they behave as predicted. This test data can sometimes vary, even when running the same test with the same model. Likewise, putting the model in a different wind tunnel could result in a different version of the data.
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“But that’s a good thing. By using the same model in both wind tunnels, we can improve our certainty in the data obtained and in- crease our understanding of the X-59’s design,” said Melissa Carter, a senior researcher with NASA’s Commercial Supersonic Technol- ogy project.
By comparing the data previously gathered from wind tunnel tests at NASA facilities with the data now gathered from the JAXA test, researchers are able to better understand and predict how the air will react when the X-59 takes flight.
Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, NASA researchers were un- able to participate in person for the test at JAXA. Members of NA- SA’s test team instead traveled to Boeing in Seattle where a “virtual control room” was setup for the test. This setup allowed the NASA team to participate in the testing alongside the Boeing test team and better leverage Boeing’s prior knowledge and experience testing in the JAXA facility.
Preliminary data analysis indicates the pressure signatures are of good quality with well-defined and repeatable features. NASA plans to participate in a follow-on computational prediction workshop with both Boeing and JAXA later this year.
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May 13, 2022