English: The X-29 Flight Research Aircraft features one of the most unusual designs in aviation history. Demonstrating forward swept wing technology, this aircraft investigated numerous advanced aviation concepts and technologies. The fighter-size X-29 explored the use of advanced composites in aircraft construction, variable camber wing surfaces, an unique forward-swept-wing and its thin supercritical airfoil, and strake flaps. The X-29 also demonstrated three specific aerodynamic effects:canard effects,active controls, and aeroelastic tailoring. Canard effects use canards (small wings) to function as another control surface to manipulate air flow. Active controls enable an airplane to pull air across the plane in specific directions rather than passively letting the air flow over it. Aeroelastic tailoring allows parts of an aircraft to flex slightly when airhits it in a certain way to allow for maximum flexibility of air flow. Although the X-29 was one of the most instable of the X-series in maneuvering capabilities, it was controlled by a computerized fly-by-wire flight control system that overcame the instability going further than any other aircraft testing the limits of computer controls. The first flight was December 14, 1984.
На веб-сайте NASA размещено большое число изображений Советского/Российского космического агентства и других неамериканских космических агентств. Они вовсе не обязательно находятся в общественном достоянии.
Совместный проект SOHO (ESA & NASA) предполагает, что все материалы, созданные их зондом, защищены авторским правом и требуют разрешения для коммерческого необразовательного использования. [2]
{{Information |Description={{en|1=The X-29 Flight Research Aircraft features one of the most unusual designs in aviation history. Demonstrating forward sweptwing technology, this aircraft investigated numerous advanced aviation concepts and technologies.
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Автор
NASA, Courtesy Photo
Заголовок
X-29
Название изображения
EC90-039-4 The No. 2 X-29 technology demonstrator aircraft is seen here during a 1990 test flight. At this angle, the aircraft’s unique forward-swept wing design is clearly visible. The X-29 was flown by NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility later redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, in a joint NASA-Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency-Air Force program to investigate the unique design's high-angle-of-attack characteristics and its military utility. Tufts -- small strips of cloth attached to the surface of the aircraft to visually study the flow of air over the aircraft -- can be seen on the aft fuselage, wing, and tail surfaces of the X-29 in this photo. Angle of attack, or high alpha, refers to the angle of an aircraft's body and wings relative to its actual flight path. This aircraft was flown at Dryden from May 1989 until August 1992. 1990 NASA Photo / Larry Sammons
NASA Identifier: 344175main_EC90-039-4