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The 7 by 10 Foot Wind Tunnel of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (open access)

The 7 by 10 Foot Wind Tunnel of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics

This report presents a description of the 7 by 10 foot wind tunnel and associated apparatus of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Included also are calibration test results and characteristic test data of both static force tests and autorotation tests made in the tunnel.
Date: October 22, 1931
Creator: Harris, Thomas A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Aerodynamic Analysis of the Autogiro Rotor With a Comparison Between Calculated and Experimental Results (open access)

An Aerodynamic Analysis of the Autogiro Rotor With a Comparison Between Calculated and Experimental Results

This report presents an extension of the autogiro theory of Glauert and Lock in which the influence of a pitch varying with the blade radius is evaluated and methods of approximating the effect of blade tip losses and the influence of reversed velocities on the retreating blades are developed. A comparison of calculated and experimental results showed that most of the rotor characteristics could be calculated with reasonable accuracy, and that the type of induced flow assumed has a secondary effect upon the net rotor forces, although the flapping motion is influenced appreciably. An approximate evaluation of the effect of parasite drag on the rotor blades established the importance of including this factor in the analysis.
Date: January 17, 1934
Creator: Wheatley, John B.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aerodynamic characteristics of a large number of airfoils tested in the variable-density wind tunnel (open access)

Aerodynamic characteristics of a large number of airfoils tested in the variable-density wind tunnel

From Summary: "The aerodynamic characteristics of a large number of miscellaneous airfoils tested in the variable-density tunnel have been reduced to a comparable form and are published in this report for convenient reference. Plots of the standard characteristics are given in tabular form. Included is a tabulation of important characteristics for the related airfoils reported in NACA report 460. This report, in conjunction with NACA report 610, makes available in comparable and convenient form the aerodynamic data for airfoils tested in the variable-density tunnel since January 1, 1931."
Date: 1938
Creator: Pinkerton, Robert M. & Greenberg, Harry
System: The UNT Digital Library
The aerodynamic characteristics of a slotted Clark y wing as affected by the auxiliary airfoil position (open access)

The aerodynamic characteristics of a slotted Clark y wing as affected by the auxiliary airfoil position

From Summary: "Aerodynamic force tests on a slotted Clark Y wing were conducted in a vertical wind tunnel to determine the best position for a given auxiliary airfoil with respect to the main wing. A systematic series of 100 changes in location of the auxiliary airfoil were made to cover all the probable useful ranges of slot gap, slot width, and slot depth. The results of the investigation may be applied to the design of automatic or controlled slots on wings with geometric characteristics similar to the wing tested. The best positions of the auxiliary airfoil were covered by the range of the tests, and the position for desired aerodynamic characteristics may easily be obtained from charts prepared especially for the purpose."
Date: 1932~
Creator: Wenzinger, Carl J. & Shortal, Joseph A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aerodynamic characteristics of a wing with Fowler flaps including flap loads, downwash, and calculated effect on take-off (open access)

Aerodynamic characteristics of a wing with Fowler flaps including flap loads, downwash, and calculated effect on take-off

From Summary: "This report presents the results of wind tunnel tests of a wing in combination with each of three sizes of Fowler flap. The purpose of the investigation was to determine the aerodynamic characteristics as affected by flap chord and position, the air loads on the flaps, and the effect of flaps on the downwash."
Date: 1935
Creator: Platt, Robert C.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aerodynamic Characteristics of Airfoils 6: Continuation of Reports Nos. 93, 124, 182, 244, and 286 (open access)

Aerodynamic Characteristics of Airfoils 6: Continuation of Reports Nos. 93, 124, 182, 244, and 286

"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 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" (p. 213).
Date: 1930~
Creator: unknown
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aerodynamic characteristics of circular-arc airfoils at high speeds (open access)

Aerodynamic characteristics of circular-arc airfoils at high speeds

From Summary: "The aerodynamic characteristics of eight circular-arc airfoils at speeds of 0.5, 0.8, 0.95, and 1.08 times the speed of sound have been determined in an open-jet air stream 2 inches in diameter, using models of 1-inch chord. The lower surface of each airfoil was plane; the upper surface was cylindrical. As compared with the measurements described in NACA-TR-319, the circular-arc airfoils at speeds of 0.95 and 1.08 times the speed of sound are more efficient than airfoils of the R. A. F. or Clark Y families. At a speed of 0.5 times the speed of sound, the thick circular-arc sections are extremely inefficient, but thin sections compare favorably with those of the R. A. F. family. A moderate round of the sharp edges changes the characteristics very little and is in many instances beneficial. The results indicate that the section of the blades of propellers intended for use at high tip-speeds should be of the circular-arc form for the outer part of the blade and should be changed gradually to the R. A. F. or Clark Y form as the hub is approached."
Date: 1932~
Creator: Briggs, L. J. & Dryden, H. L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The aerodynamic characteristics of eight very thick airfoils from tests in the variable density wind tunnel (open access)

The aerodynamic characteristics of eight very thick airfoils from tests in the variable density wind tunnel

Report presents the results of wind tunnel tests on a group of eight very thick airfoils having sections of the same thickness as those used near the roots of tapered airfoils. The tests were made to study certain discontinuities in the characteristic curves that have been obtained from previous tests of these airfoils, and to compare the characteristics of the different sections at values of the Reynolds number comparable with those attained in flight. The discontinuities were found to disappear as the Reynolds number was increased. The results obtained from the large-scale airfoil, a symmetrical airfoil having a thickness ratio of 21 per cent, has the best general characteristics.
Date: 1932~
Creator: Jacobs, Eastman N.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The aerodynamic characteristics of four full-scale propellers having different plan forms (open access)

The aerodynamic characteristics of four full-scale propellers having different plan forms

From Introduction: "Its main purpose is to present propeller data for four full-scale propellers of Navy design, three of which have somewhat unusual plan forms and the other one has a normal (usual present-day type) plan form. These data may give some clue as to what may be expected from fundamental changes in blade plan form."
Date: 1938~
Creator: Hartman, Edwin P. & Biermann, David
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Aerodynamic Characteristics of Full-Scale Propellers Having 2, 3, and 4 Blades of Clark Y and R.A.F. 6 Airfoil Sections (open access)

The Aerodynamic Characteristics of Full-Scale Propellers Having 2, 3, and 4 Blades of Clark Y and R.A.F. 6 Airfoil Sections

"Aerodynamic tests were made of seven full-scale 10-foot-diameter propellers of recent design comprising three groups. The first group was composed of three propellers having Clark Y airfoil sections and the second group was composed of three propellers having R.A.F. 6 airfoil sections, the propellers of each group having 2, 3, and 4 blades. The third group was composed of two propellers, the 2-blade propeller taken from the second group and another propeller having the same airfoil section and number of blades but with the width and thickness 50 percent greater" (p. 1).
Date: 1938
Creator: Hartman, Edwin P. & Biermann, David
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aerodynamic Characteristics of NACA 23012 and 23021 Airfoils With 20-Percent-Chord External-Airfoil Flaps of NACA 23012 Section (open access)

Aerodynamic Characteristics of NACA 23012 and 23021 Airfoils With 20-Percent-Chord External-Airfoil Flaps of NACA 23012 Section

Report presents the results of an investigation of the general aerodynamic characteristics of the NACA 23012 and 23021 airfoils, each equipped with a 0.20c external flap of NACA 23012 section. The tests were made in the NACA 7 by 10-foot and variable-density wind tunnels and covered a range of Reynolds numbers that included values corresponding to those for landing conditions of a wide range of airplanes. Besides a determination of the variation of lift and drag characteristics with position of the flap relative to the main airfoil, complete aerodynamic characteristics of the airfoil-flap combination with a flap hinge axis selected to give small hinge moments were measured in the two tunnels.
Date: 1937~
Creator: Platt, Robert C. & Abbott, Ira H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The aerodynamic characteristics of six full-scale propellers having different airfoil sections (open access)

The aerodynamic characteristics of six full-scale propellers having different airfoil sections

From Summary: "Wind-tunnel tests are reported of six 3-blade 10-foot propellers operated in front of a liquid-cooled engine nacelle. The propellers were identical except for blade airfoil sections, which were: Clark y, R.A.F. 6, NACA 4400, NACA 2400-34, NACA 2rsub200, and NACA 6400. The range of blade angles investigated extended for 15 degrees to 40 degrees for all propellers except the Clark y, for which it extended to 45 degrees. The results showed that the range in maximum efficiency between the highest and lowest values was about 3 percent. The highest efficiencies were for the low-camber sections."
Date: 1939
Creator: Biermann, David & Hartman, Edwin P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aerodynamic Characteristics of Twenty-Four Airfoils at High Speeds (open access)

Aerodynamic Characteristics of Twenty-Four Airfoils at High Speeds

"If a propeller is mounted directly on the of a modern high-speed airplane engine, the outer airfoil sections of the propeller travel at speeds approaching the speed of sound. It is possible by the use of gearing and a somewhat larger propeller to reduce the speed of the propeller sections, but only at the expense of additional weight and some frictional loss of power. This report presents the results of this work" (p. 327).
Date: 1930~
Creator: Briggs, L. J. & Dryden, H. L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aerodynamic characteristics of wings with cambered external airfoil flaps, including lateral control, with a full-span flap (open access)

Aerodynamic characteristics of wings with cambered external airfoil flaps, including lateral control, with a full-span flap

From Summary: "The results of a wind-tunnel investigation of the NACA 23012, the NACA 23021, and the Clark Y airfoils, each equipped with a cambered external-airfoil flap, are presented in this report. The purpose of the research was to determine the relative merit of the various airfoils in combination with the cambered flap and to investigate the use of the flap as a combined lateral-control and high-lift device."
Date: 1935
Creator: Platt, Robert C.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The aerodynamic effects of wing cut-outs (open access)

The aerodynamic effects of wing cut-outs

From Introduction: "The information now available concerning wing cut-outs or applicable to the analysis of their effects is plentiful (references 1 to 7) but too disconnected and unorganized to be of the greatest possible usefulness. In connection with the interference program being conducted in the N.A.C.A. varible-density wind tunnel, an analysis was therefore made of existing material to determine the qualitative effects of the different features of wing cut-outs, and to obtain means of calculating wing characteristics as affected by them."
Date: 1934
Creator: Sherman, Albert
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Aerodynamic Forces and Moments Exerted on a Spinning Model of the NY-1 Airplane as Measured by the Spinning Balance (open access)

The Aerodynamic Forces and Moments Exerted on a Spinning Model of the NY-1 Airplane as Measured by the Spinning Balance

From Summary: "A preliminary investigation of the effects of changes in the elevator and rudder settings and of small changes in attitude upon the aerodynamic forces and moments exerted upon a spinning airplane was undertaken with the spinning balance in the 5-foot vertical tunnel of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. The tests were made on a 1/12-scale model of the "NY-1" airplane. Data by which to fix the attitude, the radius of spin, and the rotational and air velocities were taken from recorded spins of the full-scale airplane."
Date: February 7, 1933
Creator: Bamber, M. J. & Zimmerman, C. H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Air conditions close to the ground and the effect on airplane landings (open access)

Air conditions close to the ground and the effect on airplane landings

This report presents the results of an investigation undertaken to determine the feasibility of making glide landings in gusty air. Wind velocities were measured at several stations between the ground and a height of 51 feet, and flight tests were made to determine the actual influence of gusts on an airplane gliding close to the ground.
Date: April 3, 1934
Creator: Thompson, F. L.; Peck, W. C. & Beard, A. P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Air flow around finned cylinders (open access)

Air flow around finned cylinders

Report presents the results of a study made to determine the air-flow characteristics around finned cylinders. Air-flow distribution is given for a smooth cylinder, for a finned cylinder having several fin spacings and fin widths, and for a cylinder with several types of baffle with various entrance and exit shapes. The results of these tests show: that flow characteristics around a cylinder are not so critical to changes in fin width as they are to fin spacing; that the entrance of the baffle has a marked influence on its efficiency; that properly designed baffles increase the air flow over the rear of the cylinder; and that these tests check those of heat-transfer tests in the choice of the best baffle.
Date: November 7, 1935
Creator: Brevoort, M. J. & Rollin, Vern G.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Air flow in a separating laminar boundary layer (open access)

Air flow in a separating laminar boundary layer

Report discussing the speed distribution in a laminar boundary layer on the surface of an elliptic cylinder, of major and minor axes 11.78 and 3.98 inches, respectively, has been determined by means of a hot-wire anemometer. The direction of the impinging air stream was parallel to the major axis. Special attention was given to the region of separation and to the exact location of the point of separation. An approximate method, developed by K. Pohlhausen for computing the speed distribution, the thickness of the layer, and the point of separation, is described in detail; and speed-distribution curves calculated by this method are presented for comparison with experiment.
Date: December 1, 1934
Creator: Schubauer, G. B.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Air flow in the boundary layer near a plate (open access)

Air flow in the boundary layer near a plate

From Summary: "The published data on the distribution of speed near a thin flat plate with sharp leading edge placed parallel to the flow (skin friction plate) are reviewed and the results of some additional measurements are described. The purpose of the experiments was to study the basic phenomena of boundary-layer flow under simple conditions."
Date: March 1936
Creator: Dryden, Hugh L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Air Flow in the Boundary Layer of an Elliptic Cylinder (open access)

Air Flow in the Boundary Layer of an Elliptic Cylinder

From Introduction: "The present investigation was carried out for the purpose of supplementing the earlier work with information on the boundary layer under such conditions of air speed and turbulence that transition occurs and the layer is partly laminar and partly turbulent. In the work reported in reference 1, the air speed was about 12 feet per second, and it was assumed that the boundary layer remained in the laminar condition until after separation because the separation point remained fixed and the pressure distribution about the cylinder was unaffected until an air speed of 15 feet per second was reached."
Date: August 6, 1938
Creator: Schubauer, G. B.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Air propellers in yaw (open access)

Air propellers in yaw

Report presents the results of tests conducted at Stanford University of a 3-foot model propeller at four pitch settings and at 0 degree, 10 degrees, 20 degrees, and 30 degrees yaw.
Date: 1937
Creator: Lesley, E. P.; Worley, George F. & Moy, Stanley
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aircraft Accidents: Method of Analysis (open access)

Aircraft Accidents: Method of Analysis

The revised report includes the chart for the analysis of aircraft accidents, combining consideration of the immediate causes, underlying causes, and results of accidents, as prepared by the special committee, with a number of the definitions clarified. A brief statement of the organization and work of the special committee and of the Committee on Aircraft Accidents; and statistical tables giving a comparison of the types of accidents and causes of accidents in the military services on the one hand and in civil aviation on the other, together with explanations of some of the important differences noted in these tables.
Date: January 28, 1930
Creator: Committee on Aircraft Accidents
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aircraft Accidents: Methods of Analysis (open access)

Aircraft Accidents: Methods of Analysis

This report is a revision of NACA-TR-357. It was prepared by the Committee on Aircraft Accidents. The purpose of this report is to provide a basis for the classification and comparison of aircraft accidents, both civil and military.
Date: June 22, 1936
Creator: Committee on Aircraft Accidents
System: The UNT Digital Library