From Summary: "Wind-tunnel tests of a full-scale two-blade NACA 10-(10)(08)-03 (high camber) propeller have been made for a range of blade angles from 20 degrees to 55 degrees at airspeeds up to 500 miles per hour. The results of these tests have been compared with results from previous tests of the NACA 10-(3) (08)-03 (low camber) and NACA 10-(5)(08)-03 (medium camber) propellers to evaluate the effects of blade-section camber on propeller aerodynamic characteristics."

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).

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.

Report presents the design of radiators, spark plugs and test equipment used to test the performance of aeronautic engines at high altitudes.

From Summary: "The report includes a description of the commonly used types and some others, the underlying principle utilized in the design, and some design data. The inherent errors of the instrument, the methods of making laboratory tests, descriptions of the test apparatus, and data in considerable detail in the performance of commonly used instruments are presented. Standard instruments and, in cases where it appears to be of interest, those used as secondary standards are described."

From Introduction: "The primary purpose of the investigation described in the present described in the present report is to formulate a method which is of value for qualitative calculations of base pressure both on airfoils and bodies."

From Summary: "In order to provide a basis for judging the relative importance of wing failure by fatigue and by single intense gusts, an analysis of wing life for normal cruising flight was made based on data on the frequency of atmospheric gusts. The independent variables considered in the analysis included stress-concentration factor, stress-load relation, wing loading, design and cruising speeds, design gust velocity, and airplane size. Several methods for estimating fatigue life from gust frequencies are discussed."

From Summary: "An approximate analysis of the nonlinear effects of initial twist and large deflections on the torsional stiffness of a cantilever plate subjected to a nonuniform temperature distribution is presented. The Von Karman large-deflection equations are satisfied through the use of a variational principle. The results show that initial twist and applied moments can have significant effects on the changes in stiffness produced by nonuniform heating, particularly in the region of the buckling temperature difference. Results calculated by this approximate analysis are in satisfactory agreement with measured torsional deformations and changes in natural frequency."

"A wind-tunnel investigation was made to determine the effects on the aerodynamic characteristics of a 35 degree swept-wing airplane of applying area-suction boundary-layer control to the trailing-edge flaps. Flight tests of a similar airplane were then conducted to determine the effect of boundary-layer control in the handling qualities and operation of the airplane, particularly during landing. The wind-tunnel and flight tests indicated that area suction applied to the trailing-edge flaps produced significant increases in flap lift increment" (p. 1).

"The solution of Von Karman's fundamental equations for large deflections of plates is presented for the case of a simply supported rectangular plate under combined edge compression and lateral loading. Numerical solutions are given for square plates and for rectangular plates with a width-span ratio of 3:1. The effective widths under edge compression are compared with effective widths according to Von Karman, Bengston, Marguerre, and Cox and with experimental results by Ramberg, Mcpherson, and Levy" (p. 1).

A numerical method was developed for calculating thermal stresses in irregular cylinders cooled by one or more internal passages. The use of relaxation methods and elementary methods of finite differences was found to give approximations to the correct values when compared with previously known solutions for concentric circular cylinders possessing symmetrical and asymmetrical temperature distributions.

Spanwise lift distributions have been calculated for nineteen unswept wings with various aspect ratios and taper ratios and with a variety of angle-of-attack or twist distributions, including flap and aileron deflections, by means of the Weissinger method with eight control points on the semispan. Also calculated were aerodynamic influence coefficients which pertain to a certain definite set of stations along the span, and several methods are presented for calculating aerodynamic influence functions and coefficients for stations other than those stipulated. The information presented in this report can be used in the analysis of untwisted wings or wings with known twist distributions, as well as in aeroelastic calculations involving initially unknown twist distributions.

This report presents the results of a series of wind tunnel tests showing the force, moment, and autorotational characteristics of Clark Y airfoils having aspect ratios varying from 0.5 to 3. An airfoil of rectangular plan form was tested with rectangular tips, flared tips, and semicircular tips. Tests were also made on one airfoil of circular plan form and two airfoils of elliptical plan form. The tests revealed a marked delay of the stall and a decided increase in values of maximum lift coefficient and maximum resultant force coefficient for aspect ratios of the order of 1 as compared with values for aspect ratios of 2 and 3.

"An investigation conducted to determine the factors which control the combustion in a high-speed compression-ignition engine is presented. Indicator cards were taken with the Farnboro indicator and analyzed according to the tangent method devised by Schweitzer. The analysis show that in a quiescent combustion chamber increasing the time lag of auto-ignition increases the maximum rate of combustion. Increasing the maximum rate of combustion increases the tendency for detonation to occur" (p. 63).

This paper presents a critical comparison made between experimental and theoretical results for the aerodynamic characteristics of wings at supersonic flight speeds. As a preliminary, a brief, nonmathematical review is given of the basic assumptions and general findings of supersonic wing theory in two and three dimensions. Published data from two-dimensional pressure-distribution tests are then used to illustrate the effects of fluid viscosity and to assess the accuracy of linear theory as compared with the more exact theories which are available in the two-dimensional case. Finally, an account is presented of an NACA study of the over-all force characteristics of three-dimensional wings at supersonic speed.

A comparison is made of the boundary-layer flow computed by the approximate method developed by K. Pohlhausen with the exact solutions which have been published for several special cases. A modification of Pohlhausen's method has been developed which extends the range of application at the expense of some decrease in the accuracy of the approximations.

This report presents performance results of air cooled and water-cooled engines. The results obtained were sufficiently promising to warrant further investigation with fuel injection and spark ignition, with the same arrangement of inlet ports and exhaust valves at the bottom of the cylinder and the exhaust gases discharged through two poppet valves in the cylinder head. The displacement of the engine was 118 cubic inches. Optimum performance was obtained with the inlet air directed into the cylinder at an angle of 20 degrees to the radial.

For the purpose of studying the transition from laminar to turbulent flow, boundary-layer measurements were made in the NACA full-scale wind tunnel on three symmetrical airfoils of NACA 0009, 0012, and 0018 sections. The effects of variations in lift coefficient, Reynolds number, and airfoil thickness on transition were investigated. Air speed in the boundary layer was measured by total-head tubes and by hot wires; a comparison of transition as indicated by the two techniques was obtained. The results indicate no unique value of Reynolds number for the transition, whether the Reynolds number is based upon the distance along the chord or upon the thickness of the boundary layer at the transition point. In general, the transition is not abrupt and occurs in a region that varies in length as a function of the test conditions.

The investigation described in this report was conducted for the purpose of comparing an oleo-rubber-disk and a rubber-cord landing gear, built for use on an F6C-4 airplane. The investigation consisted of drop tests under various loading conditions and flight tests on an F6C-4 airplane. In the drop tests the total work done on each gear and the work done on each of the shock-absorbing units were determined. For both drop tests and flight tests the maximum loads and accelerations were determined. The comparative results showed that the oleo gear was slightly superior in reducing the ordinary landing shocks, that it had a greater capacity for work, and that it was very superior in the reduction of the rebound. The results further showed that for drops comparable to very severe landings, the rubber-cord gear was potentially more effective as a shock-reducing mechanism. However, due to the construction of this chassis, which limited the maximum elongation of the cords, this gear was incapable of withstanding as severe tests as the oleo gear. The action of the oleo gear was greatly inferior to the action of an ideal gear. The maximum accelerations encountered during the flight tests for severe landings were 3.64g for …

This reports presents the results of measurements made of yawing moments produced by rudder displacement for seven rudders mounted on each of three fuselages at angles of pitch of 0 degree, 8 degrees, 12 degrees, 20 degrees, 30 degrees and 40 degrees. The dimensions of the rudders were selected to cover the range of areas and aspect ratios commonly used, while the ratios of rudder area to fin area and of rudder chord to fin chord were kept approximately constant. An important result of the measurements is to show that increased aspect ratio gives increased yawing moments for a given area, provided the maximum rudder displacement does not exceed 25 degrees. If large rudder displacements are used, the effect of aspect ratio is not so great.

An extended form of the Ackeret iteration method, applicable to arbitrary profiles, is utilized to calculate the compressible flow at high subsonic velocities past an elliptic cylinder. The angle of attack to the direction of the undisturbed stream is small and the circulation is fixed by the Kutta condition at the trailing end of the major axis. The expression for the lifting force on the elliptic cylinder is derived and shows a first-step improvement of the Prandtl-Glauert rule. It is further shown that the expression for the lifting force, although derived specifically for an elliptic cylinder, may be extended to arbitrary symmetrical profiles.

"Tests were made of eight full-scale propellers of different shape at various tip speeds up to about 1,000 feet per second. The range of blade-angle settings investigated was from 10 degrees to 30 degrees at the 0.75 radius. The results indicate that a loss in propulsive efficiency occurred at tip speeds from 0.5 to 0.7 the velocity of sound for the take-off and climbing conditions" (p. 517).

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 cowling through an opening in the nose and out through an annular opening at the rear of the engine. Each cowling was tested at air speeds of approximately 60, 80, and 100 miles per hour.

The object of this investigation was to determine the effect of increasing the carburetor pressures from 30 to 40 inches of mercury, at compression ratios from 3.5 to 7.5, on the power, on the maximum cylinder pressures, on the fuel consumption, and on the other performance characteristics of an engine. A roots-type aircraft-engine supercharger was used to maintain the desired carburetor pressure.