The HiMAT (Highly Maneuverable Aircraft Technology) subscale research vehicles flown by the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center from mid 1979 to Jan. 1983 demonstrated advanced fighter aircraft technologies that could be used in the development of future high-performance military aircraft.
Two vehicles were used in the research program conducted jointly by NASA and the Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH. They provided data on the use of composites, aeroelastic tailoring, close-coupled canards, and winglets, and they investigated the interaction of these then-new technologies upon each other.
The two vehicles were flown a total of 26 times during the three and one-half year program.
HiMAT Design
Designed with rear mounted swept wings and a forward controllable canard coupled to the flight control system, the HiMAT vehicles had twice the turning capability of military fighters.About 30 percent of the materials used to build each HiMAT were composites. These materials -- glass fibers and graphites -- gave the structures additional strength for increased maneuverability and high "G" loads encountered during their flights.
About one-half the size of a standard manned fighter and powered by a small jet engine, the HiMAT vehicles were launched from NASA's B-52 carrier aircraft at an altitude of about 45,000 ft. They were flown remotely by a NASA research pilot from a ground station with the aid of a television camera mounted in the HiMAT cockpits. When the research portion of a HiMAT flight ended, the vehicle was landed remotely on the dry lakebed adjacent to Dryden.
Flown Remotely
Control techniques used by pilots at the ground-based cockpit to fly the HiMATs were much the same as those used to fly and land a conventional manned aircraft.The HiMATs were flown remotely because it was an established safe way to test advanced technologies without subjecting a pilot to a high-risk environment. Remotely Piloted Research Vehicles (RPRVs) like HiMAT could also be flown more economically than larger manned vehicles.
Each HiMAT had a digital fly-by-wire control system. Pilot commands were fed to an on-board computer which sent electrical commands to the flight control surfaces.
The vehicles were 22 ft long and had a wing span of just under 16 ft. They weighed 3,400 lb at launch, and were powered by a General Electric J-85 turbojet producing 5,000 lb of thrust.
The supersonic research vehicles had a top speed of Mach 1.4.
HiMAT Technologies
Technologies tested on the HiMAT vehicles appearing later on other aircraft include the extensive use of composites common now on military and commerical aircraft; the rear-mounted wing and forward canard configuration used very successfully on the X-29 research aircraft flown at Dryden; and winglets, now used on many private and commercial aircraft to lessen wingtip drag and enhance fuel savings.One of the two HiMAT vehicles is at Dryden. The other belongs to the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.
Don Nolan
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
Edwards, Calif. 93523
(805) 258-3447
Don_Nolan@qmgate.dfrc.nasa.gov
Modified: February 2, 1994