ACADEMY PLASTIC HOBBY MODEL KIT 1/288 SPACE SHUTTLE & JUMBO 747

Althought the Space Shuttle can travel faster and farther than any other aircraft yet flying, unless it is on a space voyage, it must depend on other means of tansportation just to get from one side of the country to the other. Since it must use such large external boosters to place it into the air, it is not feasible to launch the shuttle for less than orbital flight. To provide for "local' hops. NASA obtained a giant Boeing 747 airliner from American Airlines, and altered it to carry the shuttle In a special cradle mounted to the fuselage. In addition, a pair of vertical stabilizers was Installed to Increase the stability of the 747 during the captive flights, and to provide the necessary vertical surface for safe flight in the event the shuttle collided with the 747's large tail fin.
  The 747 was specifically modified for the initial fIight testing of the spaceship. To determine the flight characteristics of the shuttle, it was mounted in the airliner and carried to altitude. During captive flights, in which the shuttle remained attached to the 747, the oontrols and other systems were tested as the pair cruised over Edwards Air Force Base. Eventually, the shuttle was carried aircraft and released as the 747 went Into a shallow dive, and the spacecraft was flown back to Edwards on its own. the final proof of its aerodynamic ability.
 The shuttle, which is about the size and weight of a medium jet airliner, Is secured to the cradle after being lifted by a hoist To reduced the drag caused by the exposed rocket engines, a streamlined shroud is attached to the rear of the shuttle. Although it cannot provide any of its own power for the flight, the lifting charocteristics of the shuttle design utilized. The pilots report that the flight characteristics of the 747, even with such a large object attached to its back, are basically the same as in normal configuration.

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