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Terminology

experimental aircraft

Illustration — A LTV XC-142 experimental V/STOL aircraft. An experimental aircraft is an aircraft intended for testing new aerospace technologies and design concepts. The term research aircraft or testbed aircraft, by contrast, generally denotes aircraft modified to perform scientific studies, such as weather research or geophysical surveying, similar to a research vessel.

experimental aircraft

A Ling-Temco-Vought XC-142A tested at the NASA Langley Research Center in 1969. Official description: Ling-Temco-Vought XC-142A: A tilt-wing prototype used in vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) studies. After vertical takeoff with the wing pivoted upward, the wing pivoted horizontally and the craft would fly as a conventional airplane." Langley was extensively involved in wind-tunnel testing of X

NASA · Public domain

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In this article

  1. 01Origins and development
  2. 02Notes, references and evidence

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