This November, we’re celebrating the NASA AD-1, the flagship of one of NASA’s flight test programs from 1979 to 1982.
It successfully demonstrated that a wing can pivot obliquely for zero to 60 degrees while in flight.
The AD-1 was a small, subsonic, jet-powered aircraft that flew 79 times throughout the three-year program.
The net wins from the program revealed that obliquely angled wings reduced drag and allowed for increased airspeed and greater range with the same fuel burn.
The aircraft made its maiden flight late in 1979.