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open access

The aerodynamic characteristics of three tapered airfoils tested in the variable density wind tunnel

Description: From Summary: "This report contains the lift, drag, and moment characteristics of tapered Clark Y, Gottingen 393, and USA 45 airfoils as obtained from tests made in the Variable Density Wind Tunnel of the NACA. The results are given at both low and high Reynolds Numbers to show scale effect and to provide data for use in airplane design."
Date: February 1931
Creator: Anderson, Raymond F.
open access

The Aerodynamic Wind Vane and the Inherent Stability of Airplanes

Description: Report discussing the design of the wind vane described rests on the following line of reasoning: An airplane, originally in equilibrium about its C.G. is assumed to be deflected from this position through an angle (delta)i, the variation (delta)i being so sudden that the path of the C.G. and the airplane speed do not change while it is taking place. The aerodynamic forces acting on the wings, tail surfaces, fuselage, etc., which, as a whole, exerted a zero moment (M(sub G) = 0) about the cente… more
Date: February 1931
Creator: Lapresle, A.
open access

The Behavior of Conventional Airplanes in Situations Thought to Lead to Most Crashes

Description: Simple flight tests were made on ten conventional airplanes for the purpose of determining their action in two situations, which are generally thought to precede and lead to a large proportion of airplane crashes. These situations are when in an attempt to stretch the glide in a forced landing, the airplane is stalled, and when while taking off, particularly if taking off steeply, the engine fails at a low altitude.
Date: February 1931
Creator: Weick, Fred E.
open access

The effect of valve timing upon the performance of a supercharged engine at altitude and an unsupercharged engine at sea level

Description: This investigation was conducted to determine the comparative effects of valve timing on the performance of an unsupercharged engine at sea level and a supercharged engine at altitude. The tests were conducted on the NACA universal test engine. The timing of the four valve events was varied over a wide range; the engine speeds were varied between 1,050 and 1,500 r.p.m.; the compression ratios were varied between 4.35:1 and 7.35:1. The conditions of exhaust pressure and carburetor pressure of a … more
Date: February 4, 1931
Creator: Schey, Oscar W. & Biermann, Arnold E.
open access

Flat Sheet Metal Girders With Very Thin Metal Web. Part 1: General Theories and Assumptions

Description: The object of this report was to develop the structural method of sheet metal girders and should for that reason be considered solely from this standpoint. The ensuing methods were based on the assumption of the infinitely low stiffness in bending of the metal web. This simplifies the basis of calculations to such an extent that many questions of great practical importance can be examined which otherwise cannot be included in any analysis of the bending stiffness of the buckled plate. This repo… more
Date: February 1931
Creator: Wagner, Herbert
open access

Flat Sheet Metal Girders With Very Thin Metal Web. Part 2: Sheet Metal Girders With Spars Resistant to Bending - Oblique Uprights - Stiffness

Description: "Noting that the stiffness of the girder increases very rapidly as Beta increases, the result can be summed up as follows: When the cross stress preponderates in one direction and when the web plate is to be given the dimensions commensurate to its stresses, it is advisable (regardless of any ensuing structural difficulties) to set the uprights at about Beta = 120 degrees, thereby lowering the weight of the plate wall 15 percent (in contrast to Beta = 90 degrees), and raising the stiffness 55 p… more
Date: February 1931
Creator: Wagner, Herbert
open access

Flat Sheet Metal Girders With Very Thin Metal Web. Part 3: Sheet Metal Girders With Spars Resistant to Bending - the Stress in Uprights - Diagonal Tension Fields

Description: This report continues the work presented in NACA-TM 605 and expands the scope to include the change in specific number of wrinkles from direction x to z, so that b and f become variable in direction z. Moreover, it seems likely that b and f increase from the edge toward the center if the sheet is infinitely thin.
Date: February 1931
Creator: Wagner, Herbert
open access

Interference effects and drag of struts on a monoplane wing

Description: "Tests were conducted in the Variable Density Wind Tunnel of the NACA to determine the importance of the interference effects and drag of struts on a monoplane. Inclined struts were placed upon a Gottingen 387 airfoil in the lower surface positions and in two upper surface positions. Tests were made at values of Reynolds Number comparable with those obtained in flight. It was found that the interference drag of struts may be as great as the drag of the struts alone" (p. 1).
Date: February 1931
Creator: Ward, Kenneth E.
open access

Investigation of the Diaphragm-Type Pressure Cell

Description: "This report relates to various improvements in the process of manufacture of the NACA standard pressure cell. Like most pressure recording devices employing thin diaphragms, they would in general show considerable change in calibration with temperature and also some change of calibration with time or aging effect. The required diaphragm thickness and the desirable rate of mechanical magnification have been determined on the basis of several hundred tests" (p. 507).
Date: February 3, 1931
Creator: Theodorsen, Theodore
open access

Tests in the Variable Density Wind Tunnel to Investigate the Effects of Scale and Turbulence on Airfoil Characteristics

Description: "The effect of scale and turbulence on the lift and drag of five airfoils the NACA 0006, the NACA 0021, the Clark Y and the USA 35-A, and the USN PS6, have been investigated in the Variable Density Wind Tunnel of the NACA. Tests were made over a wide scale range for only two different conditions of turbulence. Because of the limited scope of the tests, no general conclusions have been drawn, but it is indicated that increasing either turbulence or scale eliminates the discontinuities in the lif… more
Date: February 1931
Creator: Stack, John
open access

Torsion in box wings

Description: From Summary: "Logical analysis of a box wing necessitates the allowance for the contribution of the drag spars to the torsional strength of the structure. A rigorous analysis is available in the use of the Method of Least Work. The best logical method of analysis is that applying Prandtl's Membrane Analogy. The results so obtained vary by a negligible amount from those obtained by the rigorous method."
Date: February 1931
Creator: Wheatley, John B.
open access

The Use of Elektron Metal in Airplane Construction

Description: Memorandum presenting an evaluation of elektron, which is the lightest of the light metals and is of particular interest for aircraft construction. Some of its chemical properties, particular alloys and wrought materials that can be made using elektron, and some of the potential ways in which the material might be used are provided.
Date: February 1931
Creator: de Ridder, E. I.
open access

The vertical wind tunnel of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics

Description: "The vertical open-throat wind tunnel of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics is described in this report. The tunnel was built mainly for studying the spinning characteristics of airplane models, but may be used as well for the usual types of wind-tunnel tests. A special spinning balance is being developed to measure the desired forces and moments with the model simulating the spin of an airplane. Satisfactory air flow has been attained with a velocity that is uniform over the jet t… more
Date: February 9, 1931
Creator: Wenzinger, Carl J. & Harris, Thomas A.
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