The test program at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards California, which successfully demonstrated an aircraft wing that could be pivoted obliquely from zero to 60 degrees during flight. The unique oblique wing was demonstrated on a small, subsonic jet-powered research aircraft called the AD-1 (Ames-Dryden-1). The aircraft was flown 79 times during the research program, which evaluated the basic pivot-wing concept and gathered information on handling qualities and aerodynamics at various speeds and degrees of pivot. The AD-1 aircraft was delivered to Dryden in February 1979. The Ames Industrial Co., Bohemia, New York, constructed it, under a US$240,000 fixed-price contract. NASA specified the overall vehicle design using a geometric configuration studied by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Seattle, Washington. The Rutan Aircraft Factory, Mojave, California, provided the detailed design and load analysis for the intentionally low-speed, low-cost aircraft (there, the aircraft was known internally as the Model 35). The low speed and cost, of course, limited the complexity of the vehicle and the scope of its technical objectives. The AD-1 was powered by two small Microturbo TRS18-046 turbojet engines, each producing 220 pounds-force (0.98 kN) of static thrust at sea level. These were essentially the same engines used in the BD-5J. The aircraft was limited for reasons of safety to a speed of about 170 mph (270 km/h). For more details of the project background, aircraft and flight research, click here.
