Biweekly, comprehensive compilation of decisions, reports, public notices, and other documents of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

Report presenting an analysis and simple method to help solve the problem of assisting the take-off of an airplane by means of auxiliary jet propulsion by determining the jet thrust and weight of jet fuel required to provide a desired reduction in take-off distance or increase in pay load or fuel load for a fixed take-off distance. The use of previous experimental work to verify the analysis is also provided.

Report presenting testing in the 8-foot high-speed wind tunnel to determine the effect on external drag and pressure distribution of air inlet openings on the stagnation point of a streamline body. The results showed that external drag of the body with suitably designed nose-inlet and tail-outlet openings over a wide range of rates of internal air flow was no higher than the drag of the streamline body. Specific results for the streamline body, nose-inlet openings, outlet openings, and inlet-outlet combinations are provided.

Report presenting an investigation of a long column continuous over three supports to determine its critical load when the center support was given varying amounts of initial displacement. During each test, the middle support was hinged so as to be free to move parallel to the column axis during buckling. The critical loads predicted from load-deflection readings were different for the upper and lower spans.

"Flight tests were conducted on the XP-41 airplane, equipped with a Pratt & Whitney R1830-19, 14-cylinder, air-cooled engine, to determine the increase in flight speed obtainable by the use of individual exhaust stacks directly rearwardly to obtain exhaust-gas thrust. Speed increases up to 13 miles per hour at 20,000 feet altitude were obtained using stacks having an exit area of 3.42 square inches for each cylinder. A slight increase in engine power and decrease in cylinder temperature at a given manifold pressure were obtained with the individual stacks as compared with a collector-ring installation" (p. 1).

Report presenting methods and charts for estimating the critical compressibility speeds of a large number of airfoils and streamline bodies. The systematic effects of thickness, thickness distribution, camber, camber location, leading-edge radius, and lift coefficient are considered. The results indicate that with a given lift coefficient, the thickness of the airfoil or of the body is the primary factor controlling its critical speed.

Report issued by the Bureau of Mines discussing the safety and ventilation hazards presented during the construction of the Wawona tunnel in Yosemite National Park. Safety precautions and procedures used during the construction are presented. This report includes tables, illustrations, and photographs.

Report issued by the Bureau of Mines discussing the safety and explosion hazards present in storage-battery rooms. Descriptions of storage-battery rooms and methods of ventilation are presented. This report includes tables, illustrations, and photographs.

Report issued by the Bureau of Mines discussing the correlation index used for analyses of crude oils. The correlation index is presented and described in detail. This report includes tables, and illustrations.

From Introduction: "The present report presents the results of such an analysis as regards the longitudinal-stability and control characteristics of the various airplanes tested."

The operation of the propeller is analyzed by the use of the distribution of forces along the radius, combined with theoretical equations. The data were obtained in the NACA 20-foot wind tunnel on a 4-foot-diameter, two-blade propeller, operating in front of four body shapes, ranging from a small shaft to support the propeller to conventional NACA cowling. A method of estimating the axial and the rotational energy in the wake as a fractional part of the propeller power is given. A knowledge of the total thrust and torque is necessary for the estimation.

Report presents the results of an investigation made of the essentials to the stability of an airplane with free control surfaces.

"The preignition characteristics of a number of fuels have been studied under conditions similar to those encountered in an engine. These conditions were simulated by suddenly compressing a fuel-air mixture in contact with an electrically heated hot spot in the cylinder head of the NACA combustion apparatus. Schlieren photographs and indicator cards were taken of the burning, and the hot-spot temperatures necessary to cause ignition under various conditions were determined" (p. 121).

The reported tests are a continuation of an NACA investigation being made in the free-spinning wind tunnel to determine the effects of independent variations in load distribution, wing and tail arrangement, and control disposition on the spin characteristics of airplanes. The standard series of tests was repeated to determine the effect of airplane relative density. Tests were made at values of the relative-density parameter of 6.8, 8.4 (basic), and 12.0; and the results were analyzed. The tested variations in the relative-density parameter may be considered either as variations in the wing loading of an airplane spun at a given altitude, with the radii of gyration kept constant, or as a variation of the altitude at which the spin takes place for a given airplane. The lower values of the relative-density parameter correspond to the lower wing loadings or to the lower altitudes of the spin.

"The influence of automatic operation of the aileron and rudder controls on the lateral stability of an airplane is discussed. The control deflections are assumed to be proportional to the deviations and to the rates of deviation of the airplane from steady-flight conditions. The effects of changes in the types of deviation governing control application are considered. For one simple method of control in which the aileron deflection is proportional to the angle of bank and the rudder deflection is proportional to the angle of yaw, the effect of lag in control application is studied and regions of stability with and without lag are given" (p. 273).

Report presents the results of an investigation made to determine the influence of various factors on the take-off performance of a hypothetical large flying boat by means of take-off calculations. The factors varied in the calculations were size of hull (load coefficient), wing setting, trim, deflection of flap, wing loading, aspect ratio, and parasite drag. The take-off times and distances were calculated to the stalling speeds and the performance above these speeds was separately studied to determine piloting technique for optimum take-off.

Combustion in a spark-ignition engine was investigated by means of the NACA high-speed motion-picture cameras. This camera is operated at a speed of 40,000 photographs a second and therefore makes possible the study of changes that take place in the intervals as short as 0.000025 second. When the motion pictures are projected at the normal speed of 16 frames a second, any rate of movement shown is slowed down 2500 times. Photographs are presented of normal combustion, of combustion from preignitions, and of knock both with and without preignition. The photographs of combustion show that knock may be preceded by a period of exothermic reaction in the end zone that persists for a time interval of as much as 0.0006 second. The knock takes place in 0.00005 second or less.

Report presents the results of a wind-tunnel investigation of the effect of wing-fuselage interference on lateral-stability characteristics made in the NACA 7 by 10-foot wind tunnel on four fuselages and two fins, representing high-wing, low-wing, and midwing monoplanes. The fuselages are of circular and elliptical cross section. The wings have rounded tips and, in plan form, one is rectangular and the three are tapered 3:1 with various amounts of sweep. The rate of change in the coefficients of rolling moment, yawing moment, and lateral force with angle of yaw is given in a form to show the increment caused by wing-fuselage interference for the model with no fin and the effect of wing-fuselage interference on fin effectiveness. Results for the fuselage-fin combination and the wing tested alone are also given.

An aid in airplane design, charts have been prepared to show the effects of wing taper, thickness ratio, and Reynolds number on the spanwise location of the initial stalling point. Means of improving poor stalling characteristics resulting from certain combinations of the variables have also been considered; additional figures illustrate the influence of camber increase to the wing tips, washout, central sharp leading edges, and wing-tip slots on the stalling characteristics. Data are included from which the drag increases resulting from the use of these means can be computed. The application of the data to a specific problem is illustrated by an example.

A general discussion is given of the relationships between stress, strain, and permanent set. From stress-set curves are derived proof stresses based on five different percentages of permanent set. The influence of prior plastic extension on these values is illustrated and discussed. A discussion is given of the influence of work-hardening, rest interval, and internal stress on the form of the proof stress-extension curve.

This report presents the results of an investigation on the incompletely developed diagonal-tension field. Actual diagonal-tension beams work in an intermediate stage between pure shear and pure diagonal tension; the theory developed by Wagner for diagonal tension is not directly applicable.

Report presents the results of an extensive investigation made in the NACA 7 by 10-foot wind tunnel of spoiler, deflector, and slot types of lateral-control device on wings with full-span split and slotted flaps. The static rolling and yawing moments were determined for all the devices tested, and the static hinge moments and the time response were determined for a few devices of each type.

Report presents the results of an investigation made to find the effect of ground on the aerodynamic characteristics of a Franklin PS-2 glider. The lift, the drag, and the angle of attack of the glider in towed flight were determined at several heights from 0.14 to 1.19 span lengths and at various speeds for each height. Two wing arrangements were tested: the plain wing, and the wing with a nearly full-span 30-percent-chord split flap deflected 45 degrees. The experimental results for the plain wing were in good agreement with theoretical values calculated by the method of Wieselsberger for both the angle of attack and the drag coefficient at a height of 0.21 span length; Tani's refinements of the theory had a practically negligible effect on the computed values in this case.

Report includes the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics letter of submittal to the President, summaries of the committee's activities and research accomplished, bibliographies, and financial report.