In article ,
Jose wrote:

Shuttle Training
Aircraft (STA), which are four Gulfstream II business jets modified
to perform like the Orbiter during landing.

They sawed the wings off?

http://nasaexplores.nasa.gov/show2_9...=04-067&gl=912

Several modifications were made to Gulfstream II corporate jets to turn them
into the STA. Among the changes was the modification of the thrust reversers.
They produce large amounts of drag by diverting the engine's air intake forward,
producing reverse thrust. By reversing the thrust and lowering the main landing
gear, the STA pilot creates additional drag, which makes it possible to mimic
the Shuttle's steep landing approach. Control surfaces on the modified wings of
the aircraft have been altered or added to make the STA function more like those
on the Shuttle. Inside the aircraft, the left side of the cockpit has been
modified to look like the commander's station on the Shuttle (the right side of
the cockpit remains outfitted with conventional aircraft instrumentation to aid
regular flight). The windows on the left side can be masked to simulate the view
seen through the smaller windows in the Shuttle's cockpit. When the
instrumentation in the real Shuttles' cockpits is updated, the STAs receive
similar updates.

The Shuttle Training AircraftThe most important modification, however, is the
inclusion of a special flight control computer, the Advanced Digital Avionic
System (ADAS). The ADAS is responsible for making sure that the STA handles like
the Shuttle during approaches by controlling the thrust reversers and control
surfaces. It does this using a technique called "model following." The computer
has been programmed with information about the Shuttle's parameters during an
approach. During flight, it performs rapid calculations to make the STA's flight
parameters match those of the Shuttle. The input from the astronaut piloting the
aircraft is routed through the ADAS. The computer implements those instructions
in a way consistent with Shuttle flight.

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate