Rockwell HiMAT Research Aircraft by NASA on The Commons
Via Flickr:
This HiMAT (Highly Maneuverable Aircraft Technology) subscale research vehicle, seen here after a research flight, was one of two flown by the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center (now Armstrong Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, from mid 1979 to January 1983. The maiden flight of the HiMAT project was on July 27, 1979. The aircraft demonstrated advanced fighter technologies that have been used in the development of many modern high performance military aircraft. HiMAT research at Dryden was conducted jointly by NASA and the Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Because the two planes were controlled from a ground station, experimental technologies and high-risk maneuverability tests could be employed without endangering pilots. The aircraft were flown 26 times during the three-and-a-half-year history of the program. The HiMAT project represented a shift in focus by researchers at Dryden. Through the Vietnam era, the crux of fighter research had been speed. In the 1970s, driven by a national energy crisis, new digital technology, and a changing combat environment, researchers sought to develop efficient research models for experiments into the extremes of fighter maneuverability. As a result, the quest for speed, long considered the key component of successful air combat, became secondary. NASA Media Usage Guidelines Credit: NASA Image Number: EC79-12055 Date: January 3, 1980
