X-15 OPERATIONS FLIGHT REPORT

FLIGHT NO: 3-55-82 DATE OF REPORT: 10-5-66

PILOT: William H. Dana DATE OF FLIGHT: 9-14-66

CARRIER AIRCRAFT: B-52 #003 LAUNCH LAKE: Delamar

ENGINE NO: S/N 110 APU #1 14AN APU #2 23AN

PURPOSE OF FLIGHT: 1. Altitude Buildup

2. Solar Spectrum (29)

3. Dual Channel Radiometer (3c)

4. Pace Transducer (16)

5. Tip Pod Accelerometer

6. Cockpit Display

I. Discussion of Previous Operations None II. Aircraft Configuration Changes A. The tip pods, which have been flying on X-15-1, were installed. The Pace transducer and pod accelerometer were installed in the RH pod. The JPL solar spectrometer was installed in the aft LH pod. The Micrometeorite experiment was installed for ballast purposes in the LH pod (the experiment was inoperative).

B. The tail cone experiment was changed for this flight. Experiment 25 was removed and Experiment 3C and the Millikan camera were installed.

C. The Alert computer for the Energy Management System (EMS) was installed. As the program for this flight was to test the computer only, the footprint display was not installed.

D. Both sides of the rudder were painted with heat paint for this flight. The rudder was photographed immediately after flight.

E. The 16A-11 radio and 424D-1 power supply was replaced by an ARC-51 radio, a new and improved unit.

F. The heat and vent duct to the elevator was removed and the plenum output plugged as part of the radio rework. Between 3-A-81 and 3-55-82, the outlet behind the radio was plugged in an attempt to warm up the Alert computer.

G. The 360 day seat inspection was accomplished during the seat rewiring for the new radio.

H. The nose BCS rocket motor heaters were rewired, all #l system heaters in series and #2 system heaters in series, and the two strings in parallel. This is to alleviate heater burnout which has occurred recently.

I. The trim relay and SAS pump shuttle valve were removed for X-15-2. The new shuttle valves allowed the SAS servos to lock-up, the old shuttle valve loaned to ship 2 was reinstalled.

J. Number 2 mixing chamber was changed due to an LN2 flow restriction when operating on one blower.

 III. Instrumentation Configuration Changes A. The recording system was modified as required for items II A, B, and C. Of special interest was the power monitoring on tape and environment monitoring on TM for the Alert computer.

B. The BLN rake pressure data was not recorded for the flight. Three microphones were installed on the RH panel. The rudder panel was not utilized.

 IV. Preflight Events A. The engine was removed to check the main landing gear shock struts and bell cranks due to a suspected hard landing. The bell crank strain gages were recalibrated by NAA in Los Angeles, California, when errors in data were uncovered.

B. Engine, APU, and BCS runs were accomplished on 9/7/66. During the engine run the new radio had noise from TM and TRs. Due to shortage of time and since the level of noise was acceptable, repair was put off until after the flight.

C. The aircraft was mated to B-52 #003 on 9/12/66.

D. Servicing for 3-A-81 was normal on 9/13/66.

E. Flight was aborted on 9/13/66 due to failure of the radio. This was traced to a blown fuse caused by an internal short in the radio. During the return to Edwards, the umbilical came loose causing power transients in the aircraft.

F. The Alert computer was turned on just prior to taxi and failed due to cold temperatures prior to takeoff.

G. The elevator was removed, the radio changed, and the Verdan computer reloaded. The Alert computer was removed, lab checked, reloaded and reinstalled.

 V. Flight Events A. Servicing on 9/14/66 was normal. The Alert computer would not turn on due to the low temperature and was not used for flight.

B. Flight 3-55-82 was accomplished on 9/14/66 with the following items:
 

1. The Lear normal acceleration became intermittent at launch. This can not be checked until inertial preflight due to the aircraft installation.

2. A yaw condition occurred prior to engine shutdown which was believed caused by engine alignment.

3. The third skid failed to deploy. This was due to overheating of the connectors which will be insulated for future flights.

4. The Millikan camera failed to operate due to a broken wire.

5. The radio had a tone as mentioned in item IV B above. This was fixed after the flight by rewiring a portion of the audio circuit with a different type of shielded wire.
 
 

 Approved By: Prepared by:

Perry V. Row Vincent N. Capasso

X-15 Senior Project Engineer X-15 Project Engineer