Boeing's 737-800-based Multimission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) will complete high-speed wind tunnel stability and control testing at the company's Philadelphia site later this month. Initial wind tunnel tests of an 11%-scale model "found the 737 MMA had good aircraft stability with the weapon bay doors open", says Neal Mosbarger, Boeing's MMA flight technology manager. In total, the company will conduct around 3,000h of wind tunnel testing of the US Navy's Lockheed Martin P-3 Orion replacement, before equipping the service with up to 108 of the aircraft.
Source: Flight International