Photo Description The sleek lines of NASA's Gulfstream III program support aircraft N2NA (now N803NA) are in evidence during a low-level flyover at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center. ED08-0172-04 Project Description NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center is operating a Gulfstream III aircraft for program support. Carrying the registration N803NA, the G-III is primarily used for proficiency of pilots assigned to NASA Dryden's large science aircraft, such as the SOFIA observatory, the DC-8 flying laboratory and the center's other G-III research aircraft for which it has the same or similar operational characteristics. The G-III, which had been in flyable storage at NASA's Johnson Space Center prior to its transfer to NASA Dryden in July 2008, also serves as a launch / recovery crew aircraft for science mission deployments involving unmanned and other research aircraft unable to transport their own ground crews. As a secondary role, the G-III also flies occasional mission management transportation flights on a non-interference basis with its primary use for large team deployments as a more cost-effective alternative to commercial transportation. July 28, 2008 NASA photo / Tom Tschida
