Boeing NT-43A Radar Test Bed, 73-1155 aka 'Bill Clinton Airplane'

GTX said:
You know that if you so dislike him, you aren't forced to watch....unless you are into "hate watching".
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I do appreciate a warning when a posted video is egregiously wrong, though.
 
GTX said:
You know that if you so dislike him, you aren't forced to watch....unless you are into "hate watching".
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This was the first time I actually attempted to watch one of his videos. YouTube frequently tries to shove his videos down my throat as "recommendations" and I have never taken the bait. Again, the guy comes off as creepy.

There was absolutely nothing correct in this video other than pointing out the locations of the fore and aft radomes.
 
NT-43 and B-2 conducting measurements over Death Valley in 2022

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z87kpAjHB8U


Signature measurement flights are typically done through Death Valley for non sight-sensitive aircraft. More covert testing is done within the China Lake airspace (near Randsburg Wash) and two areas inside the Nevada Test and Training Range.
 
I have to admit that I do share your opinion. I don't understand his take at swarming every subject with dozens of video per week.

Undoubtedly he has some talents to keep such momentum. But for God Sake, a bit of more research would certainly produce something worth to see, at least for my own taste.

There is so much interesting YouTube channels dedicated to aviation that people like him seeking to be on top should look as a source of inspiration.
 
TomcatViP said:
I have to admit that I do share your opinion. I don't understand his take at swarming every subject with dozens of video per week.

Undoubtedly he has some talents to keep such momentum. But for God Sake, a bit of more research would certainly produce something worth to see, at least for my own taste.

There is so much interesting YouTube channels dedicated to aviation that people like him seeking to be on top should look as a source of inspiration.
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You do realise it is a business model and that Simon is just the presenter. The writing is done by others
 
quellish said:
NT-43 and B-2 conducting measurements over Death Valley in 2022

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z87kpAjHB8U


Signature measurement flights are typically done through Death Valley for non sight-sensitive aircraft. More covert testing is done within the China Lake airspace (near Randsburg Wash) and two areas inside the Nevada Test and Training Range.
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When lived in AV even after I left NG and left the AV in 2020, when a B-2 took flew over the house at exactly 0530, time for air-to air imaging, like clockwork.
 
There is a part of me that Straka, Rasmussen
and others at NCAR used this as an airborne Doppler On Wheels (DOW) replacement.

Recently, the Storm Chase community suffered not one but two losses--Stormtrack's lead --and now--Chuck Doswell.
 
Hydroman said:
Call Sign: Blue Dress 1. The original imaging antenna was cigar shaped, the projected waveforms were from the Lewinsky Effect. The pilot always denied saying, I did not image that aircraft!
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You have been very naughty lately, and I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you sit in the back of the class with me such that we can snicker quietly together.
 
publiusr said:
There is a part of me that Straka, Rasmussen
and others at NCAR used this as an airborne Doppler On Wheels (DOW) replacement.

Recently, the Storm Chase community suffered not one but two losses--Stormtrack's lead --and now--Chuck Doswell.
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No, it performs airborne diagnostic radar imaging of aircraft.

It regularly performs this service for B-2s that have undergone maintenance.

Recently it has been used to perform this service in support of the development of the new F-22 pods.
 
If we end up sn
_Del_ said:
You have been very naughty lately, and I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you sit in the back of the class with me such that we can snicker quietly together.
Click to expand...

_Del_ said:
You have been very naughty lately, and I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you sit in the back of the class with me such that we can snicker quietly together.
Click to expand...
I'll have to contact Elon, need a ride to and a drink at the Mars Bar. Snicker, Snicker.
 
I remember the original airborne imaging aircraft had a flat whale-tail type aft radar antenna, I assume that has been replaced?
 
Hydroman said:
I remember the original airborne imaging aircraft had a flat whale-tail type aft radar antenna, I assume that has been replaced?
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There were two aircraft, one with a forward radar and one with a flying saucer for the rear radar. The first aircraft eventually got a rear radar and the other aircraft was retired.
 
quellish said:
Reading various threads around the internet about this aircraft it seems there are some misconceptions about what it actually does.

Low observable aircraft are built to RCS requirements and specifications. How do you measure whether the produced aircraft meets the specification?

Mounting the aircraft on a pole for static RCS testing is useful but not always practical and does not reflect what the RCS will be when the aircraft is flying and operational. Flying aircraft have vibrating engines, active antennas, moving parts, and flexing structures which all affect the RCS. The physical and electrical properties of materials also change in flight.

Collecting standard RCS measurements may tell you there is a problem but does not help identify the source of the problem. A polar plot may not be sufficient to identify the individual scattering sources contributing to the RCS.

The NT-43 Radar Testbed (RAT55) carries radars in the nose and tail that not only collect RCS data but also act as diagnostic imaging radars. These radars use inverse synthetic apeture radar to image the scattering sources of the target aircraft. Individual scattering sources are easy to identify. This is what you need to correct any problems in the RCS.

In-flight ISAR diagnostic imaging is performed on low observable aircraft regularly to verify the signature after maintenance, etc.

Below is an example ISAR image of an aircraft.
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To give a more modern example of a diagnostic ISAR image....

The lower chamber of Lockheed's Helendale RCS range has diagnostic radar similar to those used on NT-43. These are used to image the models before and after they are tested and to find potential problems with the models (coating flaws, etc.). Many years ago Lockheed had a great video about stealth up that showed this, and showed the output of the diagnostic radar imaging system.

Thankfully @flateric posted screenshots from the video here:

Such as these :

Lockheed Martin - How - Stealth.flv_snapshot_02.49_[2011.04.27_20.31.25].jpg Lockheed Martin - How - Stealth.flv_snapshot_02.59_[2011.04.27_20.32.50].jpg

Which were images of a "pole cap" calibration model. This gives you some idea of what the NT-43 radar systems "see" when they are imaging an aircraft. NT-43 does this in flight, with the "client" aircraft also in flight. In flight testing of aircraft signatures is extremely important - a flying, operating aircraft is very different than one sitting on a pole on the ground!
 
144867 was the Hughes/Raytheon testbed for the APG-71 radar for the F-14D program. Opinion only, but I think it unlikely that it was also used for diagnostic imaging during the same time period.
 
aim9xray said:
144867 was the Hughes/Raytheon testbed for the APG-71 radar for the F-14D program. Opinion only, but I think it unlikely that it was also used for diagnostic imaging during the same time period.
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After the APG-71 work, 144867 (N577HA) was later used as diagnostic imaging aircraft. I know several people that flew missions on it. RAT 55 replaced it.
n577ha_3.jpg
 

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