Sometimes an aircraft or spacecraft is ferried on top of a carrier aircraft. Do these "piggy back riders" have their flight surfaces controlled (possibly remotely) during the flight? If not, how are they trimmed?
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I suspect the only reason why that works is that the Space Shuttle flies and steers like a brick. It's normal turn radius is 22 nm. I expect severe control problems if you tried to carry a 737 on top of something. – user71659 Nov 01 '17 at 23:35
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Has this ever been done on something other than the space shuttle? – Ben Nov 02 '17 at 02:05
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3@Ben Although not ferrying, the Air Force used to air-launch all the time testing things like the Bell X-1/X-2. Most aircraft though are usually under-slung instead of piggy-backed mostly because they are meant to be launched in flight. I haven't heard of one being ferried though, Airbus and Boeing have aircraft specifically to haul parts of airliners internally. – Ron Beyer Nov 02 '17 at 03:09
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Some information in Could the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft do a transatlantic flight with a Space Shuttle orbiter on its back? – mins Nov 02 '17 at 09:29
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@RonBeyer - as I recall, the shuttle was air-launched as well for glide testing. A sort-of "throw" maneuver where the shuttle was released at the top of a climb and the 747 made a steepish dive to get out of the way. – FreeMan Nov 03 '17 at 13:29
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In case of the Short Mayo Composite, controls of the payload aircraft were locked in neutral position until separation from the carrying aircraft in the air.
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Thank you, this is very interesting. The related wikipedia article even mentions the Space Shuttle ferrying. – dotancohen Nov 05 '17 at 10:34