Report discussung work on accelerometry was done at McCook Field for the purpose of continuing the work done by other investigators and obtaining the accelerations which occur when a high-speed pursuit airplane is subjected to the more common maneuvers. The accelerations obtained in suddenly pulling out of a dive with well-balanced elevators are shown to be within 3 or 4 per cent of the theoretically possible accelerations. The maximum acceleration which a pilot can withstand depends upon the length of time the acceleration is continued. It is shown that he experiences no difficulty under the instantaneous accelerations as high as 7.8 G., but when under accelerations in excess of 4.5 G., continued for several seconds, he quickly loses his faculties.

This report deals with the accelerations obtained in flight on various airplanes at Langley Field for the purpose of obtaining the magnitude of the load factors in flight and to procure information on the behavior of an airplane in various maneuvers. The instrument used in these tests was a recording accelerometer of a new type designed by the technical staff of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. The instrument consists of a flat steel spring supported rigidly at one end so that the free end may be deflected by its own weight from its neutral position by any acceleration acting at right angles to the plane of the spring. This deflection is measured by a very light tilting mirror caused to rotate by the deflection of the spring, which reflected the beam of light onto a moving film. The motion of the spring is damped by a thin aluminum vane which rotates with the spring between the poles of an electric magnet. Records were taken on landings and takeoffs, in loops, spins, spirals, and rolls.

In connection with the development of an accelerometer for measuring the loads on airplanes in free flight a study of the theory of such instruments has been made, and the results of this study are summarized in this report. A portion of the analysis deals particularly with the sources of error and with the limitations placed on the location of the instrument in the airplane. The discussion of the dynamics of the accelerometer includes a study of its theoretical motions and of the way in which they are affected by the natural period of vibration and by the damping, together with a report of some experiments on the effect of forced vibrations on the record.

The object of this report is to bring together the investigations of the various aerodynamic laboratories in this country and Europe upon the subject of aerofoils suitable for use as lifting or control surfaces on aircraft. The data have been so arranged as to be of most use to designing engineers and for the purposes of general reference. The absolute system of coefficients has been used, since it is thought by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics that this system is the one most suited for international use, and yet is one for which a desired transformation can be easily made. For this purpose a set of transformation constants is included in this report.

"This collection of data on aerofoils has been made from the published reports of a number of the leading aerodynamic laboratories of this country and Europe. The information which was originally expressed according to the different customs of the several laboratories is here presented in a uniform series of charts and tables suitable for the use of designing engineers and for purposes of general reference. The absolute system of coefficients has been used, since it is thought by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics that this system is the one most suited for international use, and yet is one for which a desired transformation can be easily made" (p. 423).

"This collection of data on airfoils has been made from the published reports of a number of the leading aerodynamic laboratories of this country and Europe. The information which was originally expressed according to the different customs of the several laboratories is here presented in a uniform series of charts and tables suitable for the use of designing engineers and for purposes of general reference. The absolute system of coefficients has been used, since it is thought by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics that this is the one most suited for international use and yet is one for which a desired transformation can be easily made" (p. 397).

This collection of data on airfoils has been made from the published reports of a number of the leading Aerodynamic Laboratories of this country and Europe. The information which was originally expressed according to the different customs of the several laboratories is here presented in a uniform series of charts and tables suitable for the use of designing engineers and for purposes of general reference. The authority for the results here presented is given as the name of the laboratory at which the experiments were conducted, with the size of the model, wind velocity, and year of test.

"This collection of data on airfoils has been made from published reports of a number of the leading aerodynamic laboratories of this country and Europe. The information which was originally expressed according to the different customs of the several laboratories is here presented in a uniform series of charts and tables suitable for the use of designing engineers and for purposes of general reference. The authority for the results here presented is given as the name of the laboratory at which the experiments were conducted, with the size of the model, wind velocity, and year of tests" (p. 139).

From Summary: "This report deals with an experimental investigation of the aerodynamical characteristics of airfoils at high speeds. Lift, drag, and center of pressure measurements were made on six airfoils of the type used by the air service in propeller design, at speeds ranging from 550 to 1,000 feet per second. The results show a definite limit to the speed at which airfoils may efficiently be used to produce lift, the lift coefficient decreasing and the drag coefficient increasing as the speed approaches the speed of sound. The change in lift coefficient is large for thick airfoil sections (camber ratio 0.14 to 0.20) and for high angles of attack. The change is not marked for thin sections (camber ratio 0.10) at low angles of attack, for the speed range employed. At high speeds the center of pressure moves back toward the trailing edge of the airfoil as the speed increases. The results indicate that the use of tip speeds approaching the speed of sound for propellers of customary design involves a serious loss in efficiency."

This report contains the aerodynamic properties of the wing sections U.S.A. 5, U.S.A. 27, U.S.A. 35 A, U.S.A. 35 B, Clark Y, R.A.F. 15, and Gottingen 387, as determined at various Reynolds numbers up to an approximately full scale value in the variable density wind tunnel of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. It is shown that the characteristics of the wings investigated are affected greatly and in a somewhat erratic manner by variation of the Reynolds number. In general there is a small increase in maximum lift and an appreciable decrease in drag at all lifts.

"This report describes the new method for making computations in connection with the study of rigid airship, which was used in the investigation of the navy's ZR-1 by the special subcommittee of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics appointed for this purpose. It presents the general theory of the air forces on airship hulls of the type mentioned, and an attempt has been made to develop the results from the very fundamentals of mechanics without reference to some of the modern highly developed conceptions, which may not yet be thoroughly known to readers uninitiated into modern aerodynamics, and which may, perhaps, for all time remain restricted to a small number of specialists" (p. 5).

This report gives the description and the use of a specially designed aerodynamic plane table.

From Introduction: "The object of this investigation was to determine the characteristics of various types of wings having sufficient depth to entirely inclose the wing bracing, and also to provide data for the further design of such sections. Results of the investigation of the following subjects are given: (1) effect of changing the upper and lower camber of thick aerofoils of uniform section; (2) effect of thickening the center and thinning the tips of a thin aerofoil; (3) effect of adding a convex lower surface to a tapered section; (4) effect of changing the mean thickness with constant center and tip sections; and (5) effect of varying the chord along the span."

"This investigation is an extension of NACA report no. 75 for the purpose of studying the effect of various modifications in a given wing section, including changes in thickness, height of lower camber, taper in thickness, and taper in plan form with special reference to the development of thick, efficient airfoils. The method consisted in testing the wings in the NACA 5-foot wind tunnel at speeds up to 50 meters (164 feet) per second while they were being supported on a new type of wire balance. Some of the airfoils developed showed results of great promise" (p. 521).

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.

This report is intended as a technical introduction to the series of reports on aeronautic instruments. It presents a discussion of those subjects which are common to all instruments. First, a general classification is given, embracing all types of instruments used in aeronautics. Finally, a classification is given of the various problems confronted by the instrument expert and investigator. In this way the following groups of problems are brought up for consideration: problems of mechanical design, human factor, manufacturing problems, supply and selection of instruments, problems concerning the technique of testing, problems of installation, problems concerning the use of instruments, problems of maintenance, and physical research problems. This enumeration of problems which are common to instruments in general serves to indicate the different points of view which should be kept in mind in approaching the study of any particular instrument.

This report is Section two of a series of reports on aeronautic instruments (Technical Report nos. 125 to 132, inclusive). This section discusses briefly barometric altitude determinations, and describes in detail the principal types of altimeters and barographs used in aeronautics during the recent war. This is followed by a discussion of performance requirements for such instruments and an account of the methods of testing developed by the Bureau of Standards. The report concludes with a brief account of the results of recent investigations. For accurate measurements of altitude, reference must also be made to thermometer readings of atmospheric temperature, since the altitude is not fixed by atmospheric pressure alone. This matter is discussed in connection with barometric altitude determination.

Part 1 contains a discussion and description of the various types of air speed measuring instruments. The authors then give general specifications and performance requirements with the results of tests on air speed indicators at the Bureau of Standards. Part 2 reports methods and laboratory apparatus used at the Bureau of Standards to make static tests. Methods are also given of combining wind tunnel tests with static tests. Consideration is also given to free flight tests. Part 3 discusses the problem of finding suitable methods for the purpose of measuring the speed of aircraft relative to the ground.

Part one points out the adequacy of a consideration of the steady state gyroscopic motion as a basis for the discussion of displacements of the gyroscope mounted on an airplane, and develops a simple theory on this basis. Part two describes a new type of stabilizing gyro mounted on top of a spindle by means of a universal joint, the spindle being kept in a vertical position by supporting it as a pendulum of which the bob is the driving motor. Methods of tests and the difficulties in designing a satisfactory and reliable compass for aircraft use in considered in part three. Part four contains a brief general treatment of the important features of construction of aircraft compasses and description of the principal types used.

Part 1 gives a general discussion of the uses, principles, construction, and operation of airplane tachometers. Detailed description of all available instruments, both foreign and domestic, are given. Part 2 describes methods of tests and effect of various conditions encountered in airplane flight such as change of temperature, vibration, tilting, and reduced air pressure. Part 3 describes the principal types of distance reading thermometers for aircraft engines, including an explanation of the physical principles involved in the functioning of the instruments and proper filling of the bulbs. Performance requirements and testing methods are given and a discussion of the source of error and results of tests. Part 4 gives methods of tests and calibration, also requirements of gauges of this type for the pressure measurement of the air pressure in gasoline tanks and the engine oil pressure on airplanes. Part 5 describes two types of gasoline gauges, the float type and the pressure type.

This report outlines briefly the methods of aerial navigation which have been developed during the past few years, with a description of the different instruments used. Dead reckoning, the most universal method of aerial navigation, is first discussed. Then follows an outline of the principles of navigation by astronomical observation; a discussion of the practical use of natural horizons, such as sea, land, and cloud, in making extant observations; the use of artificial horizons, including the bubble, pendulum, and gyroscopic types. A description is given of the recent development of the radio direction finder and its application to navigation.

This report contains statements as to amount of oxygen required at different altitudes and the methods of storing oxygen. The two types of control apparatus - the compressed oxygen type and the liquid oxygen type - are described. Ten different instruments of the compressed type are described, as well as the foreign instruments of the liquid types. The performance and specifications and the results of laboratory tests on all representative types conclude this report.

This report is section VIII of a series of reports on aeronautic instruments. The preceding reports in this series have discussed in detail the various types of aeronautic instruments which have reached a state of practical development such that they have already found extensive use. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss briefly some of the more recent developments in the field of aeronautic instrument design and to suggest some of the outstanding problems awaiting solution.