aim9xray said:
That would be F-14 #12/1X Buno 157991 - it was modified for high AOA testing (with the flip-up canards) following the retirement of A/C #2 Buno 157981 (due to a hydrazine APU fire). I do not believe that it performed asymmetric wing testing with NASA Dryden.
It was returned to the Navy around 1986-7 and served at Pax River as a proof-of-concept testbed for the thrust deflector paddles used on the NASA HARV F-18 and the X-31.
The canards were part of the emergency spin recovery system (along with a drag chute) to recover the aircraft during testing for the ARI, especially at high AoA.
In the case of the deflector paddles, the Navy got interested in the possible benefits of thrust vectoring specifically for the F-14. Working with NASA Langley, they were first tested in a simulator and then in Langley's 16-Foot Transonic Tunnel. The purpose was to define the geometry and thrust-vectoring effectiveness for further Navy testing. A full scale set of deflector vanes were then flight tested on an F-14 to verify the data so far and to demonstrate structural integrity over part of the Tomcat's flight envelope. Although the tests were successful, it was decided not to spend any more money to take the concept all the way to adoption on the F-14.
Subsequently, the data that had been obtained in the F-14 program was used as a basis for work on the X-31 and the NASA F-18 High-Angle-of-Attack Technology Program.
Here's a shot of the wind tunnel model at Langley, which shows the paddles to good effect.
