This Day in Aviation History
October 11th, 1990
First flight of the Rockwell-MBB X-31.

The Rockwell-Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability program was designed to test fighter thrust vectoring technology. Thrust vectoring provides additional control authority in pitch and yaw, resulting in significantly more maneuverability than most conventional fighters. An advanced flight control system provides controlled flight at high angles of attack where conventional aircraft would stall or lose control….

Source:
Wikipedia, Rockwell-MBB X-31:  http://gstv.us/1N65FN1

YouTube, X-31 Demonstration , Dryden’s 60 Years of Flight Research video:  http://gstv.us/1N65z83

YouTube, X-31 Vector Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Demonstator: http://gstv.us/1N65CAJ

YouTube, X-31: Breaking the Chain: Lessons Learned: http://gstv.us/1N65DEO

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Photo from:  http://gstv.us/1N65wZO
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