Improved Hawk Rocket Test Sled

Improved Hawk Rocket Test Sled. Sled Number: FDN 7418. , This rocket sled was used at the Holloman Air Force Base High Speed Test Track from 1974 to 1977 in support of two different Army test programs., Improved Hawk Missile Sled Tests , In 1974, full-scale Hawk missile sled tests were performed to evaluate the Improved Hawk missile wing. These tests measured aero-elastic effects, wing panel loads, and elevon hinge moments. Twelve sled tests were performed at speeds of up to Mach 2 (approximately 1500 miles per hour). The first two tests validated structural integrity, followed by ten tests to collect the required data. Tests were conducted at various missile angles of attack and elevon angles. Data from these tests was used to ensure the Hawk missile could perform throughout its flight envelope., Army Rocket Plume Study , In 1976-1977, sixteen sled tests were conducted at the Holloman High Speed Test Track for Army Missile Research and Development Command at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. Tests were conducted at velocities ranging from 1,222 feet per second (833 miles per hour) to 1,858 feet per second (1,267 miles per hour) for the purpose of evaluating rocket motor plume physics in a highly dynamic environment. The data was used to understand the effect of plume physics on surface-to-air missile seekers., Rocket sleds have been used for a variety of research purposes over the years, both manned and unmanned. They helped in the development of aircraft ejection seats, and tested the limits of human endurance during rapid acceleration. Holloman has been a center of rocket sled research since 1950 and holds the land speed record. On April 29, 2003, a four-stage rocket sled hit hypersonic speeds of Mach 8.5 (6,416 miles per hour) and took just 6.04 seconds to blast the more than 3-mile length of the High Speed Test Track., Track Characteristics , . Length: , . 2 rails with an 84" gauge--50,788 feet in length , . A third rail forming a 26" gauge with one of the others-20,200 feet in length , . Continuously welded and rigorously aligned Velocities approaching 10,000 feet per second (Mach 9) , . Accelerations achieved up to 400 G's , . High Reynolds and Mach numbers , . Very high dynamic test pressures, flow, enthalpies, and heat rates , . Comprehensive electronic and photo data acquisition by means of on-board recording of electronic photo-optical data