NASA's B-57B Gust Gradient Program

The B-57B Gust Gradient Program is a joint effort of NASA Headquarters, Marshall Space Flight Center, Dryden Flight Research Facility, Langley Research Center, and Ames Research Center. The primary program goal is to measure spanwise variations of turbulent gusts across an airflow. To this end, the NASA B-57B aircraft was equipped with three component gust probes on each wing tip and on the nose. Early results of flights done in conjunction with the Joint Airport Weather Studies (JAWS) project are described.