X-43 Discussion Set For Theater In The Woods
By definition, any discussion about launching the next century
of flight has to include NASA. At EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2004
Wednesday (July 28), Theater in the Woods hosts a special NASA
evening presentation that will highlight several of the agency's
projects, most notably the X-43 Hyper X aircraft and its successful
Mach 7 mission over the Pacific Ocean on March 27 this year. The
X-43 was the first airborne test of a supersonic combustion ramjet
engine (scramjet) and is scheduled to attempt a Mach 10 flight in
the fall.
Cam Martin of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards
(CA), gave a glimpse of what's in store for attendees of the
special evening program. "We are going to have the people who were
hands-on with that (X-43) mission, including extensive video
footage, and they will talk about this exciting mission," Martin
said. "Then they will discuss things that are over the horizon,
such as what general aviation airplanes of the future will look
like to what would flight on other planets look like. Our goal is
to make the evening program informative and entertaining."
Martin, whose first trip to Oshkosh was in 1989, said the EAA
event is especially popular among NASA types because of the
audience. "We were glad that Tom Poberezny thought of us in context
of the theme, Launching the Next Century of Flight, because that's
what draws people out here to the flight research center," he said.
"Everyone who works here is well aware of Oshkosh. The things that
we work with day to day, the things that we resonate with also
resonate very much with the AirVenture audience."
Every year NASA has more people who want to tell their
particular story at Oshkosh, Martin said. "It's always energizing
for us to come, because the AirVenture audience is one that
understands the intricacies of the work we do, where the challenges
are. When someone in one of our fabrication shops finds a new way
to attack a problem, there are a lot of hands-on fabricators at
Oshkosh who appreciate such elegant solutions, things that are
simple." NASA and EAA embody everything from the concept to the
application to actually going out and flying something, he
added.
While the final roster of presenters has not been finalized,
count on representatives from a variety of NASA locations, what
Martin called the NASA Aeronautics Enterprise. Dryden is assembling
and coordinating the program.
"When we fly the Hyper X, we are part of a team that spans the
country, he explained. "That is part of the challenge: to translate
the level of teamwork involved."
Martin, who is a YE flight leader (12 kids, all in sail planes),
added, "It's exciting and encouraging for us when the invitations
come our way. I really appreciate all the things EAA does."