Message posted by aaron Johnson on May 08, 2003 at 16:08:06 PST:

CHICAGO - The Boeing X-31A VECTOR aircraft completed a three-year, multinational flight test program last week, successfully demonstrating the use of thrust vectoring technologies for performing extremely short takeoff and landing (ESTOL) operations.
In its final flight April 29 at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., the X-31A performed the last in a series of fully automated ESTOL landings on an actual runway, approaching at a high 24-degree angle of attack (twice the normal 12-degree AOA) at only 121 knots (more than 30% slower than the normal 175-knot landing speed.)

© 2003 Antelope Valley Press, Palmdale, California (661) 273-2700

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• chat tonight 730pm PST if you like C U there just hang around, ill be there! aaron Johnson 05/14/2003, 16:31:48 PST (0)