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Aerodynamic theory and tests of strut forms 2

Description: 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 e… more
Date: May 1929
Creator: Smith, R. H.
open access

The Design of Plywood Webs for Airplane Wing Beams

Description: This report deals with the design of plywood webs for wooden box beams to obtain maximum strength per unit weight. A method of arriving at the most efficient and economical web thickness, and hence the most suitable unit shear stress, is presented and working stresses in shear for various types of webs and species of plywood are given. The questions of diaphragm spacing and required glue area between the webs and flange are also discussed.
Date: November 27, 1929
Creator: Trayer, George W.
open access

The effect of a flap and ailerons on the N.A.C.A. M-6 airfoil section

Description: "This report contains the results obtained at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory on an N. A. C. A. M-6 airfoil, fitted with a flap and ailerons, and tested in the variable density wind tunnel at a density of 20 atmospheres. Airfoil characteristics are given for the model up to 48 degree angle of attack with the flap set at various angles, and also with the ailerons set at similar angles. The approximate lift distribution and the center of pressure variation along the span are determin… more
Date: 1929
Creator: Higgins, George J. & Jacobs, Eastman N.
open access

The effect of cowling on cylinder temperatures and performance of a Wright J-5 engine

Description: This report presents the results of tests conducted to determine the effect of different amounts and kinds of cowling on the performance and cylinder temperatures of a standard Wright J-5 engine. These tests were conducted in conjunction with drag and propeller tests in which the same cowlings were used. Four different cowlings were investigated varying from the one extreme of no cowling on the engine to the other extreme of the engine completely cowled and the cooling air flowing inside the co… more
Date: May 2, 1929
Creator: Schey, Oscar W. & Biermann, Arnold E.
open access

The Effect of Reduction Gearing on Propeller-Body Interference as Shown by Full-Scale Wind-Tunnel Tests

Description: This report presents the results of full-scale tests made on a 10-foot 5-inch propeller on a geared J-5 engine and also on a similar 8-foot 11-inch propeller on a direct-drive J-5 engine. Each propeller was tested at two different pitch settings, and with a large and a small fuselage. The investigation was made in such a manner that the propeller-body interference factors were isolated, and it was found that, considering this interference only, the geared propellers had an appreciable advantage… more
Date: March 20, 1929
Creator: Weick, Fred E.
open access

The Effect of Supercharger Capacity on Engine and Airplane Performance

Description: This report presents the results of an investigation to determine the effect of different supercharger capacities on the performance of an airplane and its engine . The tests were conducted on a DH4-M2 airplane powered with a Liberty 12 engine. In this investigation four supercharger capacities, obtained by driving a roots type supercharger at 1.615, 1.957, 2.4, and 3 time engine speed, were used to maintain sea-level pressure at the carburetor to altitudes of 7,000, 11,500, 17,000, and 22,000 … more
Date: March 13, 1929
Creator: Schey, O. W. & Gove, W. D.
open access

Effect of turbulence in wind-tunnel measurements

Description: This paper gives some quantitative measurements of wind tunnel turbulence and its effect on the air resistance of spheres and airship models, measurements made possible by the hot wire anemometer and associated apparatus in its original form was described in Technical Report no. 320 and some modifications are presented in an appendix to the present paper. One important result of the investigation is a curve by means of which measurements of the air resistance of spheres can be interpreted to gi… more
Date: August 20, 1929
Creator: Dryden, H. L. & Kuethe, A. M.
open access

Effect of variation of chord and span of ailerons on rolling and yawing moments at several angles of pitch

Description: This report presents the results of an extension to higher angles of attack of the investigation of the rolling and yawing moments due to ailerons of various chords and spans on two airfoils having the Clark Y and U. S. A. 27 wings. The measurements were made at various angles of pitch but at zero angle of roll and yaw, the wing chord being set at an angle of +4 degrees to the fuselage axis. In the case of the Clark Y airfoil the measurements have been extended to a pitch angle of 40 degrees, u… more
Date: October 7, 1929
Creator: Heald, R. H.; Strother, D. H. & Monish, B. H.
open access

Forces on elliptic cylinders in uniform air stream

Description: From Summary: "This report presents the results of wind tunnel tests on four elliptic cylinders with various fineness ratios, conducted in the Navy Aerodynamic Laboratory, Washington. The object of the tests was to investigate the characteristics of sections suitable for streamline wire which normally has an elliptic section with a fineness ratio of 4.0; also to learn whether a reduction in fineness ratio would result in improvement; also to determine the pressure distribution on the model of f… more
Date: 1929
Creator: Zahm, A. F.; Smith, R. H. & Louden, F. A.
open access

Full-scale turning characteristics of the U.S.S. Los Angeles

Description: This paper present a description of the method employed and results obtained in full-scale turning trials on the rigid airship U. S. S. "Los Angeles". The results of this investigation are not sufficiently comprehensive to permit definite conclusions as to the variation of turning characteristics with changes in speed and rudder angle. They indicate however, that the turning radius compares favorably with that for other large airships, that the radius is independent of the speed, that the posit… more
Date: April 17, 1929
Creator: Thompson, F. L.
open access

Full-scale wind-tunnel tests of a propeller with the diameter changed by cutting off the blade tips

Description: Tests were conducted in order to determine how the characteristics of a propeller are affected by cutting off the tips. The diameter of a standard 10-foot metal propeller was changed successively to 9 feet 6 inches, 9 feet 0 inches, 8 feet 6 inches, and 8 feet 0 inches. Each propeller thus formed was tested at four pitch settings using an open cockpit fuselage and a D-12 engine. A small loss in propulsive efficiency is indicated. Examples are given showing the application of the results to prac… more
Date: December 10, 1929
Creator: Wood, Donald H.
open access

Full-Scale Wind-Tunnel Tests on Several Metal Propellers Having Different Blade Forms

Description: "This report gives the full-scale aerodynamic characteristics of five different aluminum alloy propellers having four different blade forms. They were tested on an open cockpit fuselage with a radial air-cooled engine having conventional cowling. The results show that (1) the differences in propulsive efficiency due to the differences in blade form were small; (2) the form with the thinnest airfoil sections had the highest efficiency; (3) it is advantageous as regards propulsive efficiency for … more
Date: March 18, 1929
Creator: Weick, Fred E.
open access

Full-Scale Wind-Tunnel Tests With a Series of Propellers of Different Diameters on a Single Fuselage

Description: "Aerodynamic tests were made with four geometrically similar metal propellers of different diameters, on a Wright "Whirlwind" J-5 engine in an open cockpit fuselage. The results show little difference in the characteristics of the various propellers, the only one of any importance being an increase of efficiency of the order of 1 per cent for a 5 per cent increase of diameter, within the range of the tests" (p. 107).
Date: March 12, 1929
Creator: Weick, Fred E.
open access

The Gaseous Explosive Reaction at Constant Pressure: The Reaction Order and Reaction Rate

Description: The data given in this report covers the explosive limits of hydrocarbon fuels. Incidental to the purpose of the investigation here reported, the explosive limits will be found to be expressed for the condition of constant pressure, in the fundamental terms of concentrations (partial pressures) of fuel and oxygen.
Date: May 9, 1929
Creator: Stevens, F. W.
open access

Large-scale aerodynamic characteristics of airfoils as tested in the variable density wind tunnel

Description: From Summary: "In order to give the large-scale characteristics of a variety of airfoils in a form which will be of maximum value, both for airplane design and for the study of airfoil characteristics, a collection has been made of the results of airfoil tests made at full-scale values of the Reynolds number in the variable density wind tunnel of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. They have been corrected for tunnel wall interference and are presented not only in the conventional … more
Date: October 21, 1929
Creator: Jacobs, Eastman N. & Anderson, Raymond F.
open access

The measurement of fluctuations of air speed by the hot-wire anemometer

Description: "The hot-wire anemometer suggests itself as a promising method for measuring the fluctuating air velocities found in turbulent flow. The only obstacle is the presence of a lag due to the limited energy input which makes even a fairly small wire incapable of following rapid fluctuations with accuracy. This paper gives the theory of the lag and describes an experimental arrangement for compensating for the lag for frequencies up to 100 or more per second when the amplitude of the fluctuation is n… more
Date: January 8, 1929
Creator: Dryden, H. L. & Kuethe, A. M.
open access

Reduction of observed airplane performance to standard conditions

Description: This report shows how the actual performance of an airplane varies with air temperature when the pressure is held constant. This leads to comparatively simple methods of reducing observed data to standard conditions. The new methods which may be considered exact for all practical purposes, have been used by the Navy Department for about a year, with very satisfactory results. The report also contains a brief historical review of the important papers which have been published on the subject of p… more
Date: January 1929
Creator: Diehl, Walter S.
open access

A Study of Wing Flutter

Description: "Part I describes vibration tests, in a wind tunnel, of simple airfoils and of the tail plane of an M0-1 airplane model; it also describes the air flow about this model. From these tests are drawn inferences as to the cause and cure of aerodynamic wing vibrations. Part II derives stability criteria for wing vibrations in pitch and roll, and gives design rules to obviate instability. Part III shows how to design spars to flex equally under a given wing loading and thereby economically minimize t… more
Date: 1929
Creator: Zahm, A. F. & Bear, R. M.
open access

Tests of large airfoils in the propeller research tunnel, including two with corrugated surfaces

Description: This report gives the results of the tests of seven 2 by 12 foot airfoils (Clark Y, smooth and corrugated, Gottingen 398, N.A.C.A. M-6, and N.A.C.A. 84). The tests were made in the propeller research tunnel of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics at Reynolds numbers up to 2,000,000. The Clark Y airfoil was tested with three degrees of surface smoothness. Corrugating the surface causes a flattening of the lift curve at the burble point and an increase in drag at small flying angles.
Date: May 24, 1929
Creator: Wood, Donald H.
open access

The twenty-foot propeller research tunnel of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics

Description: This report describes in detail the new propeller research tunnel of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics at Langley Field, Va. This tunnel has an open jet air stream 20 feet in diameter in which velocities up to 110 M. P. H. Are obtained. Although the tunnel was built primarily to make possible accurate full-scale tests on aircraft propellers, it may also be used for making aerodynamic tests on full-size fuselages, landing gears, tail surfaces, and other aircraft parts, and on model… more
Date: January 1929
Creator: Weick, Fred E. & Wood, Donald H.
open access

Two practical methods for the calculation of the horizontal tail area necessary for a statically stable airplane

Description: From Summary: "This report is concerned with the problem of calculation of the horizontal tail area necessary to give a statically stable airplane. Two entirely different methods are developed, and reduced to simple formulas easily applied to any design combination. Detailed instructions are given for use of the formulas, and all calculations are illustrated by examples. The relative importance of the factors influencing stability is also shown."
Date: 1929
Creator: Diehl, Walter S.
open access

Water pressure distribution on a flying boat hull

Description: This is the third in a series of investigations of the water pressures on seaplane floats and hulls, and completes the present program. It consisted of determining the water pressures and accelerations on a Curtiss H-16 flying boat during landing and taxiing maneuvers in smooth and rough water.
Date: December 4, 1929
Creator: Thompson, F. L.
open access

Working Charts for the Selection of Aluminum Alloy Propellers of a Standard Form to Operate With Various Aircraft Engines and Bodies

Description: "Working charts are given for the convenient selection of aluminum alloy propellers of a standard form, to operate in connection with six different engine-fuselage combinations. The charts have been prepared from full-scale test data obtained in the 20-foot propeller research tunnel of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. An example is also given showing the use of the charts" (p. 3).
Date: March 25, 1929
Creator: Weick, Fred E.
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