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Ww519 - peter hoag (hl-10 lifting body test pilot) hand signed autographed "u.S. Air mail" fdc please note we have few covers so the one you get may be a different picture. The northrop hl-10 was one of five heavyweight lifting body designs flown at nasa's flight research center (frc--later dryden flight research center), edwards, california, from july 1966 to november 1975 to study and validate the concept of safely maneuvering and landing a low lift-over-drag vehicle designed for reentry from space. It was a nasa design and was built to evaluate "inverted airfoil" lifting body and delta planform.Northrop nasa hl-10 lifting body and the b-52b that launched it flying overnorthrop corporation built the hl-10 and northrop m2-f2, the first two of the fleet of "heavy" lifting bodies flown by the nasa flight research center. The contract for construction of the hl-10 and the m2-f2 was $1.8 Million. "Hl" stands for horizontal landing, and "10" refers to the tenth design studied by engineers at nasa's langley research center, hampton, virginia. Main gear was modified t-38 system retracted manually, and lowered by nitrogen pressure. Nose gear was modified t-39 unit, retracted manually and lowered with nitrogen pressure. Pilot ejection system was a modified f-106 system. Silver zinc batteries provided electrical power for control system, flight instruments, radios, cockpit heat, and stability augmentation system. To assist in pre-landing flare, four throttleable hydrogen peroxide rockets provided up to 400 lbf (1.8 Kn) of thrust.Operational history after delivery to nasa in january 1966, the hl-10 made her first flight on december 22, 1966, with research pilot bruce peterson in the cockpit. Although the xlr-11 rocket engine (same type used in the bell x-1) was installed, the first 11 drops from the b-52 launch aircraft were unpowered glide flights to assess handling qualities, stability, and control. In the end, the hl-10 was judged to be the best handling of the three original heavy-weight lifting bodies (m2-f2/f3, hl-10, x-24a).The hl-10 was flown 37 times during the lifting body research program and logged the highest altitude and fastest speed in the lifting body program. On february 18, 1970, air force test pilot peter hoag piloted the hl-10 to mach 1.86 (1,228 Mph). Nine days later, nasa pilot bill dana flew the vehicle to 90,030 feet, which became the highest altitude reached in the program. During a typical lifting body flight, the b-52 -- with the research vehicle attached to the pylon mount on the right wing between the fuselage and inboard engine pod -- flew to a height of about 45,000 feet and a launch speed of about 450 mph.Moments after being dropped, the xlr-11 was lit by the pilot. Speed and altitude increased until the engine was shut down by choice or fuel exhaustion, depending upon the individual mission profile. The lifting bodies normally carried enough fuel for about 100 se |
