29AUG1995
Between August and November 1995, an experimental McDonnell Douglas MD-11 conducted landings under engine power only.
It happened at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California, and it was the first time a transport aircraft landed with normal controls switched off.
It was part of a NASA project to develop a computer-assisted engine control system that enables a pilot to land a plane safely when its normal control surfaces fail.
The Propulsion-Controlled Aircraft (PCA) system uses standard autopilot controls already present in the cockpit, together with the new programming in the aircraft’s flight control computers.
The first PCA tests by NASA were carried out with a modified twin-engine F-15 Eagle research aircraft. The F-15A was the second U.S. Air Force Eagle (71-0281), sent to work with NASA in 1976.
04FEB1976
BARE METAL: C-17 STRIPPED (with video)
C-130 PAINT PREP, OR THE EMPEROR GETS SOME NEW CLOTHES