A Day of Flight Testing at NASA Armstrong

Jaffe and pilot Nils Larson walk on the ramp before a flight Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The two support the agency’s Crossflow Attenuated Natural Laminar Flow (CATNLF) project, which aims to lower fuel costs for future commercial aircraft by testing a scale-model wing designed to improve laminar flow.NASA/Christopher LC Clark Flight testing is a team sport. For nearly 80 years, teams at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, have used flight testing to push the limits of aerodynamics and advance aviation. Earlier this year, NASA’s Crossflow Attenuated Natural Laminar Flow (CATNLF) initiative tested a wing concept that would maximize the smooth flow of air known as laminar flow, which could lower fuel costs for future airliners. During flight testing, researchers strapped a scale-model CATNLF wing to the bottom of a NASA F-15 aircraft. Here’s what a day of CATNLF flight testing looked like. NASA ground crew prepares the agency’s F-15 research aircraft and Cross Flow Attenuated Natural Laminar Flow (CATNLF) test article ahead of its first high-speed taxi test on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2026, at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The CATNLF design aims to reduce drag on wing surfaces to improve efficiency and, in turn, reduce fuel burn.NASA/Christopher LC Clark 5 a.m. — Aircraft staging Ground crews ready the aircraft for the mission. If the operation involves a chase plane — a second aircraft to monitor the test flight — it would also be prepared, along with its crew. 6 a.m. — Crew brief Pilots, engineers, maintenance techs, project leads, researchers, photographers, and videographers meet to review the flight’s goals, weather reports, and final details. NASA researchers Mike Frederick, right, and Michelle Banchy, left, along with Ashante Jordan and