Nov.

9, 2005

Dryden Flight Research Center

P.O. Box 273
Edwards, California 93523
Phone 661/276-3449
FAX 661/276-3566

Frederick A. Johnsen
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
Phone: (661) 276-2998
fred.johnsen@dfrc.nasa.gov

RELEASE: 05-69

NASA TOUTS ITS RESEARCH TOOLS AT LONG BEACH AEROSPACE TESTING EXPO

Supersonic research aircraft and legendary wind tunnels are the exotic
tools being promoted by NASA engineers and pilots at Aerospace
Testing Expo 2005 this week at the Long Beach, Calif., Convention
Center.

The exposition gave NASA the opportunity to talk about its aeronautics
research capabilities to several thousand key players in the global
aerospace industry. Visitors lined up at the NASA Dryden Flight
Research Center booth to try their hand at piloting a jet flight
simulator. Dryden, located on Edwards Air Force Base in California's
Mojave Desert, has the capability to make simulations for a wide
variety of aircraft.

Dryden is also home to supersonic jet aircraft like an F-15B that

recently helped engineers model the trajectories of divots of space
shuttle fuel tank insulating foam, to help prepare the shuttle fleet
to return to flight. In addition to research conducted by Dryden for
NASA, the aircraft and facilities showcased at the expo can be hired
by other government agencies and industry. A point of contact for
researchers interested in Dryden flight research capabilities is:
Greg.Shell@dfrc.nasa.gov.

Representatives from NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field near

San Jose came to the Expo to talk about wind tunnels. Ames has the
agency's West Coast wind tunnel facilities, storied for their
pioneering research dating back to World War II. Coupled with
computer modeling techniques, wind tunnels remain a viable, and less
expensive, alternative to full-scale flight testing in the early
stages of an aircraft development program. More information about
wind tunnel capabilities at Ames is available online at
http://windtunnels.arc.nasa.gov.

Joining the Ames crew at Expo 2005 are engineers from NASA's Glenn
Research Center near Cleveland, Ohio. Glenn brings a particular kind
of wind tunnel expertise to the aerospace community, specializing in
tests of engines and powerplant systems in tunnels built for that
purpose. Glenn's research test facilities website is
http://facilities.grc.nasa.gov.

Legendary among NASA aeronautical research facilities is the Langley

Research Center in Hampton, Va. At the expo, Langley engineers Peter
Jacobs, Richard Wahls and others explain Langley's various test
capabilities including a transonic wind tunnel that can be
pressurized and cooled with nitrogen to produce realistic flight
regimes for modern tests. The gateway into Langley's testing
enterprise online is http://windtunnels.larc.nasa.gov.

There's a noticeable linkage between the NASA centers represented at

Aerospace Testing Expo 2005; advanced aeronautical concepts hatched
at Langley often are flown in the desert skies over Dryden. Airframes
studied at Ames and Langley can benefit from the powerplant testing
at Glenn. It's all part of the first "A" in NASA - Aeronautics.

PHOTO EDITORS: A high-resolution photo to support this release is

available electronically on the NASA Dryden web site at:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/newsphotos/index.html.

For more information about NASA's aeronautics programs on the Web,

visit: http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov.

For more information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/home.

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