Drop test
The F6F was ultimately dropped from a height of twenty feet (6.1 m), demonstrating it could absorb twice the force of a carrier landing.
A special pylon, designed to carry and release the X-15, was installed under the right wing between the fuselage and inboard engine.
These successes convinced those in charge of the Space Shuttle program to commit to an unpowered landing design, which would save weight and increase the orbiter's payload capacity.
This arrangement was potentially dangerous because it placed Enterprise in free flight directly in front of the SCA's tail fin immediately after release.
As a result, the "drop" was conducted by using a series of carefully planned maneuvers to minimize the risk of aircraft collision.
Immediately after release, the Enterprise would climb to the right while the SCA performed a shallow dive to the left, allowing for quick vertical and horizontal separation between the two aircraft.
[18] In mid-2013, Sierra Nevada Corporation plans to conduct drop tests of its Dream Chaser prototype commercial spaceplane.
[19][20] The Dream Chaser successfully completed the free-flight and passed the drop test on November 11 over the Mojave Desert.
In 1963, North American Aviation built BP-19A, an uncrewed boilerplate Apollo command module for use in drop testing.
The tests simulated water landings at speeds varying from 7 to 50 mph (11 to 80 km/h) by changing the height of the drop gantry above the basin.
The capsule's parachutes successfully deployed between 15,000 to 20,000 feet (4,600 to 6,100 m), slowing the spacecraft to a landing on ground in the Arizona desert.
[27] In September 2011, Boeing conducted a series of drop tests, carried out in the Mojave Desert of southeast California, to validate the design of the CST-100 capsule's parachute and airbag cushioning landing systems.
The airbags are located underneath the heat shield of the CST-100, which is designed to be separated from the capsule while under parachute descent at about 5,000 feet (1,500 m) altitude.
The tests were carried out at ground speeds between 10 and 30 miles per hour (16 and 48 km/h) in order to simulate cross wind conditions at the time of landing.
