NASA HAS begun test-flying its Supersonic Laminar Flow Control (SLFC) wing panel on the Lockheed Martin F-16XL test aircraft. The SLFC project, managed by the Langley Research Center, will investigate methods of maintaining laminar airflow over the wing of a supersonic aircraft, as part of NASA's High Speed Research Program, aimed at developing new technologies for incorporation in the conceptual High Speed Civil Transport, which would cruise at Mach 2.4 and carry 300 passengers.
Source: Flight International
