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this f-106 was designed in the mid-1950s

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for supersonic flight

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nasa's langley research center

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originally used the aircraft to study

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lightning by flying it directly into

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thunderstorms

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engineers are now using the plane for

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its highly swept wing to explore a

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design that incorporates a leading edge

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flap an 18-inch wide panel that runs the

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length of the wing and points downward

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wind tunnel tests with f-106 models

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indicate that installing the flap can

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increase the plane's performance by more

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than 20 percent

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265 feet

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when air passes over the wings of a

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plane small tornado-like currents called

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vortices are generated

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again look at the wingtip of the space

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touchdown

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vortices normally form along the entire

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wing and are important to aircraft

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because they generate lift

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looking at a cross-section of the f-106

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by adding a vortex flap air is channeled

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both upward and forward

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according to program manager ron smith

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no wings have ever been designed to make

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use of this vortex but we're controlling

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that vortex that tornado by putting it

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on the leading edge where we form a

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suction which pulls the airplane along

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phil brown is chief test pilot for the

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f-106 program he finds the plane much

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more responsive with the flap when doing

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the movements

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this wing design may someday translate

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into better handling qualities for

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fighter aircraft as well as improvements

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for high-speed transports

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particularly in the

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approach and landing regime where it

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will reduce drag and

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therefore require less thrust therefore

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produce less noise because the engines

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will be at lower power settings

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aerodynamic research for airplane wings

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is also the goal of another research

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using new construction techniques planes

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fly through the air easier because they

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are built with smoother more aerodynamic

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surfaces

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as a result planes burn less fuel fly

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quieter higher and at faster speeds

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in an effort to better understand the

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dynamics behind smooth airflow

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researchers coat this ultra smooth

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highly instrumented learjet wing with an

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once airborne pilots target a variety of

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allies

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and maneuvers designated by aerospace

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engineer cindy lee who sits in the back

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making real-time analysis of flow fields

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over the wing

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cindy can also tell by looking at color

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shifts in the liquid crystal whether the

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airflow is smooth or turbulent she is

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piecing together a series of calibrated

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measurements that may someday help

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aircraft manufacturers design more

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nasa's aeronautical research fine-tuning