NASA 802 F-8C Digital Fly-By-Wire Testbed

NASA 802 was the Navy F-8C Crusader, Bureau Number 145546, modified to replace mechanical flight-control links with a digital fly-by-wire system. Gary Krier flew its first research flight on May 25, 1972, using an Apollo-derived digital computer and inertial sensing unit. A later phase introduced triple-redundant digital control. The aircraft investigated side-stick control, analytic redundancy management, software backup, and pilot-induced-oscillation suppression, including work supporting Space Shuttle landing controls. Its 210th and final flight of the research program was on April 2, 1985. These dates describe the converted testbed’s research career.