An F-16XL Scamp model, four per cent the size of the full-scale aircraft, is tested in the Basic Aerodynamics Research Tunnel (BART) at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia as part of NASAs High Speed Research Program. The photograph shows a basic flow visualization test using smoke and a laser light sheet to illuminate the smoke. The tests will be used to investigate the basic flow field on the F-16XL before actual flight tests are made. The F-16XL is at Langley for the High-Lift Project, one element of the NASA High-Speed Research Program. The joint Langley-Dryden high-lift flight test program is aimed at improving performance, reducing engine noise and limiting noise exposure by using specially-designed high-lift devices on or in the wing. Even though this is a fighter-type aircraft, the sweep and general arrangement of the uniquely-designed cranked arrow wing resemble those planned for the next generation of high-speed civil transport. Flight tests of the F-16XL will allow Langley engineers to determine the accuracy of their ground- generated information and predictive methods including wind tunnel tests, computer simulations and piloted simulations.
