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The 300 H.P. Benz Aircraft Engine
This report provides a description of the Benz 300 H.P. aircraft engine containing 12 cylinders placed at a 60° angle. It includes a detailed description of the development of the constructional points, particularly the cylinders, pistons, and connecting rods, as well as the engine fitting, lubrication, oil pumps, bearings, oil tank, fuel pump, carburetors, and cooling system. There are seven pages of illustrative figures at the end of the report.
The 1000 HP Traffic Airplane of the Zeppelin Works in Staaken
Report details the characteristics and advantages of the swift traffic airplane constructed by Zeppelin Works at Staaken. The maximum speed, weight, construction, layout, and landing capabilities of the plane are included.
The 1926 German Seaplane Contest
The report discusses the problem of rating the various seaplane designs from the 1926 seaplane contest. The whole process of rating consists in measuring the climbing speed, flying weight and carrying capacity of a seaplane and then using these data as the basis of a construction problem.
The A.B.C. "Robin" (British): A Single-Seat Cabin Monoplane
Report discussing the A.B.C. Motors Robin, a single-seat monoplane that was built for pilot comfort, speed, and fuel efficiency. Information about the structural design, dimensions, weight, performance, and rough blueprints is included.
The A. B. Flygindustri "K 37" (Swedish Junkers): A Low-Wing All-Metal Military Airplane
Report discusses the characteristics of the K 37 all-metal long-wing monoplane and its use for long-distance scouting, as a day bomber, and as a heavy fighting airplane. Its engines, climbing capacity, action radius, bombing installation, fuselage, controls, and landing gear are explored in depth.
N.A.C.A. control position recorder
Report discussing a new instrument is described which is capable of simultaneously recording the position of the three controls of an airplane. The records are taken photographically on a standard N.A.C.A. film drum and the instrument can be quickly installed in any airplane.
N.A.C.A. Flight-Path Angle and Air-Speed Recorder
"A new trailing bomb-type instrument for photographically recording the flight-path angle and air speed of aircraft in unaccelerated flight is described. The instrument consists essentially of an inclinometer, air-speed meter and a film-drum case. The inclinometer carries an oil-damped pendulum which records optically the flight-path angle upon a rotating motor-driven film drum. The air-speed meter consists of a taut metal diaphragm of high natural frequency which is acted upon by the pressure difference of a Prandtl type Pitot-static tube" (p. 1).
N.A.C.A. Langley field wind tunnel apparatus: The tilting manometer
A description is given of a tilting manometer designed to meet the requirements of a manometer for use in the wind tunnel at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory. This gauge was designed to meet the requirements of a manometer in use in connection with a static pressure plate to indicate the wind speed in the tunnel. The requirements are noted. The sensitivity of the gauge must be made inversely proportional to the pressure to be measured. The gauge must be accurately and quickly set for any desired pressure.
N.A.C.A. Recording Air Speed Meter
A new type of air speed meter is described which was designed by the technical staff of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. The instrument consists essentially of a tight metal diaphragm of high natural period which is acted upon by the pressure difference of a pitot-static head. The resulting deflection of this diaphragm is recorded optically on a moving film.
The A.N.E.C. IV "Missel Thrush" light airplane
A product of the Air Navigation Engineering Co., the Missel Thrush is a light airplane suitable for private ownership. It is a two seat tractor fuselage biplane with single I interplane struts designed by J. Bewsher.
Abacus for the Reduction of English Measures to the Metric System and Vice Versa
This report presents a description of an abacus with three scales: one for English measures, one for metric measures, and one with the "points of reduction", as well as construction details. There is also a detailed description on how to use the abacus.
Abacus Giving the Variation of the Mean Pressure of an Aviation Engine as a Function of its Speed of Rotation
Comparing the results of the calculations for computing the mean pressure of an aviation engine for any number of revolutions, with those of experiment, the writer, by numerous examples, shows the perfect agreement between them. This report will show that, by means of a special abacus, an engineer can instantly plot the characteristics of an engine.
Absolute Coefficients and the Graphical Representation of Aerofoil Characteristics
It is argued that there should be an agreement as to what conventions to use in determining absolute coefficients used in aeronautics and in how to plot those coefficients. Of particular importance are the absolute coefficients of lift and drag. The author argues for the use of the German method over the kind in common use in the United States and England, and for the Continental over the usual American and British method of graphically representing the characteristics of an airfoil.
Absolute Dimensions of Karman Vortex Motion
Note presenting an investigation of the Karman vortex street, which is a flow arrangement occurring behind a plate. The equations governing the flow and some of the hypotheses behind it are provided.
Absorbing landing shocks
Report discussing tires, steel springs, hydraulic shock absorbers, and axle travel are all examined in relation to absorbing landing shocks.
Abstracts from the German Technical Press: Rates for Flights Organized by the State
Report presenting tariffs that are written for all aircraft manufacturing companies to follow regarding aircraft orders.
Abstracts of Current Decisions on Mines and Mining: May to August, 1919
Bulletin issued by the U.S. Bureau of Mines: "This publication is devoted exclusively to a review and abstracts of decisions based on the laws governing the rights and duties of mine owners, operators, miners, and persons trafficking in all kinds of mining properties. It includes abstracts of current decisions of all the Federal and State courts of last resort on questions relating to the mining industries" (Bulletin 61, p. 9).
Accelerations in Flight
Report discussung work on accelerometry was done at McCook Field for the purpose of continuing the work done by other investigators and obtaining the accelerations which occur when a high-speed pursuit airplane is subjected to the more common maneuvers. The accelerations obtained in suddenly pulling out of a dive with well-balanced elevators are shown to be within 3 or 4 per cent of the theoretically possible accelerations. The maximum acceleration which a pilot can withstand depends upon the length of time the acceleration is continued. It is shown that he experiences no difficulty under the instantaneous accelerations as high as 7.8 G., but when under accelerations in excess of 4.5 G., continued for several seconds, he quickly loses his faculties.
Accelerations in flight
This report deals with the accelerations obtained in flight on various airplanes at Langley Field for the purpose of obtaining the magnitude of the load factors in flight and to procure information on the behavior of an airplane in various maneuvers. The instrument used in these tests was a recording accelerometer of a new type designed by the technical staff of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. The instrument consists of a flat steel spring supported rigidly at one end so that the free end may be deflected by its own weight from its neutral position by any acceleration acting at right angles to the plane of the spring. This deflection is measured by a very light tilting mirror caused to rotate by the deflection of the spring, which reflected the beam of light onto a moving film. The motion of the spring is damped by a thin aluminum vane which rotates with the spring between the poles of an electric magnet. Records were taken on landings and takeoffs, in loops, spins, spirals, and rolls.
Accelerometer design
In connection with the development of an accelerometer for measuring the loads on airplanes in free flight a study of the theory of such instruments has been made, and the results of this study are summarized in this report. A portion of the analysis deals particularly with the sources of error and with the limitations placed on the location of the instrument in the airplane. The discussion of the dynamics of the accelerometer includes a study of its theoretical motions and of the way in which they are affected by the natural period of vibration and by the damping, together with a report of some experiments on the effect of forced vibrations on the record.
Accident-Severity Rates For Certain Metal Mines
Report issued by the U.S. Bureau of Mines on the severity of accidents in the metal-mine industry. 34 metal-mines documented the number and severity of all accidents over the course if one calendar year. This report includes tables.
Acid Processes for the Extraction of Alumina
Report presenting the Bureau of Mines' investigation into acid processes of extracting alumina. The paper discusses the sulphuric acid processes and other work with hydrochloric and nitric acids so that the comparative advantages can be appreciated.
Adaptation of aeronautical engines to high altitude flying
Report discussing Issues and techniques relative to the adaptation of aircraft engines to high altitude flight. Covered here are the limits of engine output, modifications and characteristics of high altitude engines, the influence of air density on the proportions of fuel mixtures, methods of varying the proportions of fuel mixtures, the automatic prevention of fuel waste, and the design and application of air pressure regulators to high altitude flying. Summary: 1. Limits of engine output. 2. High altitude engines. 3. Influence of air density on proportions of mixture. 4. Methods of varying proportions of mixture. 5. Automatic prevention of fuel waste. 6. Design and application of air pressure regulators to high altitude flying.
Aerial Convention of October 13, 1919
The aerial convention delegates are listed as well as the set of rules that were developed during the session.
Aerial navigation by dead reckoning
Report discussing the problem to be solved, as presented to the pilot or observer of an aircraft, is as follows: The aircraft starting from A must land at B, the only data being the speed of the airplane, the altitude and the orientation D of the course. The above data would be amply sufficient, were it not for the fact that the airplane is constantly subjected to a wind of variable direction and strength.
Aerial navigation : on the problem of guiding aircraft in a fog or by night when there is no visibility
Report discussing the use of magnetic fields and wire to navigate aircraft in conditions of poor visibility is presented. This field may be considered to be derived from a double lemniscate, considered in the particular case where the origin is a double point formed from the magnetic field of the slack wire, from the field produced by the return currents and from the field due to the currents induced in the conducting mass. These fields are dephased in two ways, one in the direction of the wire, the other in a direction perpendicular to it.
Aerial photography : obtaining a true perspective
Report discussing a demonstration was given within the last few days at the British Museum by Mr. J. W. Gordon, author of "Generalized Linear Perspective" (Constable and Co.), a work describing a newly-worked-out system by which photographs can be made available for the purpose of exactly recording the dimensions of the objects photographed even when the objects themselves are presented foreshortened in the photograph.
Aerial Transportation
Report discussing the origin of air traffic dates from the war. The important development of aeronautic industries and the progress made in recent years, under the impelling force of circumstances, rendered it possible, after the close of hostilities, to consider the practical utilization of this new means of economic expansion.
Aero Dopes and Varnishes
Report discussing before proceeding to discuss the preparation of dope solutions, it will be necessary to consider some of the essential properties which should be possessed of a dope film, deposited in and on the surface of an aero fabric. The first is that it should tighten the material and second it should withstand weathering.
Aerodynamic Characteristics of Aerofoils
The object of this report is to bring together the investigations of the various aerodynamic laboratories in this country and Europe upon the subject of aerofoils suitable for use as lifting or control surfaces on aircraft. The data have been so arranged as to be of most use to designing engineers and for the purposes of general reference. The absolute system of coefficients has been used, since it is thought by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics that this system is the one most suited for international use, and yet is one for which a desired transformation can be easily made. For this purpose a set of transformation constants is included in this report.
Aerodynamic Characteristics of Aerofoils 2: Continuation of Report No. 93
"This collection of data on aerofoils has been made from the published reports of a number of the leading aerodynamic laboratories of this country and Europe. The information which was originally expressed according to the different customs of the several laboratories is here presented in a uniform series of charts and tables suitable for the use of designing engineers and for purposes of general reference. The absolute system of coefficients has been used, since it is thought by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics that this system is the one most suited for international use, and yet is one for which a desired transformation can be easily made" (p. 423).
Aerodynamic Characteristics of Aircraft With Reference to Their Use
Report discussing economic and design characteristics are examined in the design of airplanes and airships.
Aerodynamic Characteristics of Airfoils 3: Continuation of Reports Nos. 93 and 124
"This collection of data on airfoils has been made from the published reports of a number of the leading aerodynamic laboratories of this country and Europe. The information which was originally expressed according to the different customs of the several laboratories is here presented in a uniform series of charts and tables suitable for the use of designing engineers and for purposes of general reference. The absolute system of coefficients has been used, since it is thought by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics that this is the one most suited for international use and yet is one for which a desired transformation can be easily made" (p. 397).
Aerodynamic Characteristics of Airfoils 4: Continuation of Reports Nos. 93, 124, and 182
This collection of data on airfoils has been made from the published reports of a number of the leading Aerodynamic Laboratories of this country and Europe. The information which was originally expressed according to the different customs of the several laboratories is here presented in a uniform series of charts and tables suitable for the use of designing engineers and for purposes of general reference. The authority for the results here presented is given as the name of the laboratory at which the experiments were conducted, with the size of the model, wind velocity, and year of test.
Aerodynamic Characteristics of Airfoils 5: Continuation of Reports Nos. 93, 124, 182, and 244
"This collection of data on airfoils has been made from published reports of a number of the leading aerodynamic laboratories of this country and Europe. The information which was originally expressed according to the different customs of the several laboratories is here presented in a uniform series of charts and tables suitable for the use of designing engineers and for purposes of general reference. The authority for the results here presented is given as the name of the laboratory at which the experiments were conducted, with the size of the model, wind velocity, and year of tests" (p. 139).
Aerodynamic characteristics of airfoils at high speeds
From Summary: "This report deals with an experimental investigation of the aerodynamical characteristics of airfoils at high speeds. Lift, drag, and center of pressure measurements were made on six airfoils of the type used by the air service in propeller design, at speeds ranging from 550 to 1,000 feet per second. The results show a definite limit to the speed at which airfoils may efficiently be used to produce lift, the lift coefficient decreasing and the drag coefficient increasing as the speed approaches the speed of sound. The change in lift coefficient is large for thick airfoil sections (camber ratio 0.14 to 0.20) and for high angles of attack. The change is not marked for thin sections (camber ratio 0.10) at low angles of attack, for the speed range employed. At high speeds the center of pressure moves back toward the trailing edge of the airfoil as the speed increases. The results indicate that the use of tip speeds approaching the speed of sound for propellers of customary design involves a serious loss in efficiency."
The aerodynamic characteristics of seven frequently used wing sections at full Reynolds number
This report contains the aerodynamic properties of the wing sections U.S.A. 5, U.S.A. 27, U.S.A. 35 A, U.S.A. 35 B, Clark Y, R.A.F. 15, and Gottingen 387, as determined at various Reynolds numbers up to an approximately full scale value in the variable density wind tunnel of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. It is shown that the characteristics of the wings investigated are affected greatly and in a somewhat erratic manner by variation of the Reynolds number. In general there is a small increase in maximum lift and an appreciable decrease in drag at all lifts.
Aerodynamic Characteristics of Thin Empirical Profiles and Their Application to the Tail Surfaces and Ailerons of Airplanes
From Introduction: "The increasing use of airplane wings equipped with ailerons and the importance of knowing the aerodynamic characteristics of tail units (empennages) provided with movable parts (rudders and elevators) impart some interest to the so-called "empirical profiles." For this purpose we thought best to employ the method proposed by Munk for the approximate theoretical study of thin, slightly curved profiles, assimilable, from an aerodynamic view-point, to their mean camber line."
Aerodynamic Computation of Gliders
From Introduction: "In the following discussion, a knowledge of the theoretical principles of airplane construction is assumed, as presented in detail by Vogt and Lippisch in Nos. 7 and 10-19 of the 1919 volume of this publication. A few quantities will however be otherwise designated, in accordance with the Gottingen symbols."
The Aerodynamic Forces on Airship Hulls
"This report describes the new method for making computations in connection with the study of rigid airship, which was used in the investigation of the navy's ZR-1 by the special subcommittee of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics appointed for this purpose. It presents the general theory of the air forces on airship hulls of the type mentioned, and an attempt has been made to develop the results from the very fundamentals of mechanics without reference to some of the modern highly developed conceptions, which may not yet be thoroughly known to readers uninitiated into modern aerodynamics, and which may, perhaps, for all time remain restricted to a small number of specialists" (p. 5).
Aerodynamic Laboratory at Cuatro Vientos
This report presents a listing of the many experiments in aerodynamics taking place at Cuatro Vientos. Some of the studies include: testing spheres, in order to determine coefficients; mechanical and chemical tests of materials; and various tests of propeller strength and flexibility.
Aerodynamic laboratory at Cuatro Vientos
This report presents a description of the design of the Cuatro Vientes wind tunnel.
The Aerodynamic Laboratory of the Belgian "Service Technique De L'Aeronautique"
This report provides a description of the wind tunnel housing and motors at the Belgian Service Technique de L'Aeronautique.
The aerodynamic plane table
This report gives the description and the use of a specially designed aerodynamic plane table.
The aerodynamic properties of thick aerofoils suitable for internal bracing
From Introduction: "The object of this investigation was to determine the characteristics of various types of wings having sufficient depth to entirely inclose the wing bracing, and also to provide data for the further design of such sections. Results of the investigation of the following subjects are given: (1) effect of changing the upper and lower camber of thick aerofoils of uniform section; (2) effect of thickening the center and thinning the tips of a thin aerofoil; (3) effect of adding a convex lower surface to a tapered section; (4) effect of changing the mean thickness with constant center and tip sections; and (5) effect of varying the chord along the span."
The Aerodynamic Properties of Thick Airfoils 2
"This investigation is an extension of NACA report no. 75 for the purpose of studying the effect of various modifications in a given wing section, including changes in thickness, height of lower camber, taper in thickness, and taper in plan form with special reference to the development of thick, efficient airfoils. The method consisted in testing the wings in the NACA 5-foot wind tunnel at speeds up to 50 meters (164 feet) per second while they were being supported on a new type of wire balance. Some of the airfoils developed showed results of great promise" (p. 521).
Aerodynamic theory and test of strut forms. Part I
This report presents the first part of a two part study made under this title. In this part the symmetrical inviscid flow about an empirical strut of high service merit is found by both the Rankine and the Joukowsky methods. The results can be made to agree as closely as wished. Theoretical stream surfaces as well as surfaces of constant speed and pressure in the fluid about the strut are found. The surface pressure computed from the two theories agrees well with the measured pressure on the fore part of the model but not so well on the after part. From the theoretical flow speed the surface friction is computed by an empirical formula. The drag integrated from the friction and measured pressure closely equals the whole measured drag. As the pressure drag and the whole drag are accurately determined, the friction formula also appears trustworthy for such fair shapes. (author).
Aerodynamic theory and tests of strut forms 2
This report presents the second of two studies under the same title. In this part five theoretical struts are developed from distributed sources and sinks and constructed for pressure and resistance tests in a wind tunnel. The surface pressures for symmetrical inviscid flow are computed for each strut from theory and compared with those found by experiment. The theoretical and experimental pressures are found to agree quantitatively near the bow, only qualitatively over the suction range, the experimental suctions being uniformly a little low, and not at all near the stern.
The Aerodynamical Laboratory of the Vienna Technical High School
Report presenting a description of the aerodynamics laboratory of the Vienna Technical High School. The main focus of this report is detailing some of the accomplishments that the laboratory has made.
Aerodynamics and Ballistics
Ballistics is a science hundreds of years old and this report is an attempt to show how these older principles can be used in the newer science of aerodynamics.
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