Report discussing an investigation of the dynamic stability and control characteristics of a model of the Ryan X-13 jet VTOL airplane in hovering and transition flight. Flight control was smooth and easy without the gyroscopic effects of the engine represented, but adding a simulation of the gyroscopic effects caused the plane to become uncontrollable in hovering flight without artificial stabilization. The transition was found to be easy to perform with and without gyroscopic effects, but the model had a tendency to fly in roll and slideslipped attitudes.

Report presenting eight thin magnesium fins, seven with the leading edges swept back 17 degrees and one with the leading edge swept back 45 degrees, in the preflight high-temperature jet. The investigation was made to determine the effectiveness of various protective coverings designed to alleviate aerodynamic-heating effects and intended for application on the first stage of rocket-propelled multistage hypersonic models.

Report presenting an investigation to determine the roll effectiveness, hinge-moment characteristics, and aileron center-of-load locations on an outboard 40-percent-semispan flap-type aileron on a 30 degree sweptback wing with an aspect ratio of 3.0, a taper ratio of 0.2, and NACA 65A004 airfoil sections. Results regarding general aileron characteristics and other aerodynamic characteristics are also presented.

"An investigation of tantalum was made in still air and in high-velocity air to determine its resistance to oxidation at high temperatures. Experiments show that, except for a narrow range of temperature, unprotected tantalum is not suitable for airframe parts exposed to air at high stagnation temperatures, because above this temperature range tantalum oxidizes or burns rapidly" (p. 1).

Report presenting an investigation to determine the effects of vertical location of the wing and horizontal tail on the static lateral and directional stability at various combined angles of attack and sideslip for a supersonic airplane configuration at Mach numbers of 1.41 and 2.01. The configurations investigated included a high-wing, midwing, and low-wing arrangement in combination with horizontal-tail positions varying from a location of 0.208 wing semispan below to 0.556 semispan above the body center line.

Report presenting a laboratory-scale vapor-deposition coating facility used in the field of high-temperature coatings. The vapor-deposition coatings were produced by the hydrogen reduction of halides and not by vacuum plating methods. The coated model was found to reach equilibrium temperature of about 3100 degrees Fahrenheit and was undamaged after 470 seconds at equilibrium temperature, while an uncoated model was destroyed in less than 6 seconds.

Report presenting testing of three uninstrumented tapered magnesium fins with the leading edges swept back 17 degrees in an ethylene-heated high-temperature jet. The testing was carried out to investigate some effects of leading-edge diameter and leading-edge shape on the aerodynamic heating by noting the time for melting to begin on the fins. Results indicated that increasing the diameter of cylindrical leading edge increased the time required for melting to start.

Memorandum presenting testing of several materials including graphite, silicon carbide, and a number of polymer-glass-cloth laminated constructions at temperatures of 3,000 and 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit in a laboratory-scale ceramic-heated air jet. The tests were made to utilize four possible mechanisms for the alleviation of the aerodynamic-heating problem of hypersonic aircraft, which included radiative heat transfer, pyrolysis, fusion, and mass-transfer cooling by ablation.

"An investigation has been made in the Langley 8-foot transonic tunnels on the aerodynamic characteristics of a 0.15-scale model of the North American Aviation 255-inch fin-stabilized external store over a maximum Mach number range of 0.60 to 1.2 and on the effects of mounting lugs, of fin orientation, of fin aspect ratio, and of fixed-transition. The Reynolds number (based on a body length of 37.50 inches) varied from 9.8 x 10(exp 6) to 13.1 x 10(exp 6). The results indicate that the static margin of the finned store at low lift coefficients was only 9 percent of body length at subsonic Mach numbers and was reduced to zero at a Mach number of 1.0" (p. 1).