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![](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v132/loganov/Profiles/V-507%20Vagabond/900px/NASAVagabond1.jpg~original)
NASA 991, an F-14 Navy Vagabond designated the F-14 (1X), the 1X signifying that it was Vought's experimental testbed, was used at Dryden between 1979 and 1985 in extensive high-angle-of-attack and spin-control-and-recovery tests. The NASA/Navy program, which included 212 total flights, achieved considerable improvement in the F-14 high-angle-of-attack flying qualities, improved departure and spin resistance, and contributed to substantial improvements in reducing "wing rock," (i.e., tilting from one side to another), at high angles of attack.
NASA 991 had numerous special additions for high-angle-of-attack and spin-recovery research. These included a battery-powered auxiliary power unit, a flight test nose boom, and a special spin recovery system, consisting of forward mounted, hydraulically actuated canards and an emergency spin chute. NASA's F-14 was first flown by NASA research pilots, but was later flown by Vought, and by Navy test pilots from Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River . The Navy test flights with the spin research vehicle constituted the first program that incorporated air combat maneuvering in its test flights at Dryden. The Navy brought F-14s from Point Mugu and NAS Miramar in San Diego to test the new spin control laws in combat situations.
Among the 212 flights completed for this research project, the F-14 also tested a flush air data system, for gathering data about air speed; provided an updated aeromodel, which is currently in use on Navy F-14 training simulators; created natural laminar flow baseline data for many of NASA's later laminar flow programs; and tested low altitude, asymmetric thrust. F-14s were later used in laminar flow studies in the Variable Sweep Transition Flight Experiment program (VSTFE) on NASA's F-14 #834. NASA 991 was delivered back to the Navy on September 6, 1985.
Cheers,
Logan