This photo shows NASA's PIK-20E motor-glider sailplane during a research flight from the Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (later, the Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, in 1991. The PIK-20E was a sailplane flown at NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (now Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California) beginning in 1981. The vehicle, bearing NASA tail number 803, was used as a research vehicle on projects calling for high lift-over-drag and low-speed performance. Later NASA used the PIK-20E to study the flow of fluids over the aircraft's surface at various speeds and angles of attack as part of a study of airflow efficiency over lifting surfaces. The single-seat aircraft was used to begin developing procedures for collecting sailplane glide performance data in a program carried out by Ames-Dryden. It was also used to study high-lift aerodynamics and laminar flow on high-lift airfoils. Built by Eiri-Avion in Finland, the PIK-20E is a sailplane with a two-cylinder 43-horsepower, retractable engine. It is made of carbon fiber with sandwich construction. In this unique configuration, it takes off and climbs to altitude on its own. After reaching the desired altitude, the engine is shut down and folded back into the fuselage and the aircraft is then operated as a conventional sailplane. Construction of the PIK-20E series was rather unusual. The factory used high-temperature epoxies cured in an autoclave, making the structure resistant to deformation with age. Unlike today's normal practice of laying glass over gelcoat in a mold, the PIK-20E was built without gelcoat. The finish is the result of smooth glass lay-up, a small amount of filler, and an acrylic enamel paint. The sailplane was 21.4 feet long and had a wingspan of 49.2 feet. It featured a wooden, fixed-pitch propeller, a roomy cockpit, wingtip wheels, and a steerable tailwheel.
