For a given wing and supersonic Mach number, the problem of shaping an adjoining fuselage so that the combination will have a low wave drag is considered. Only fuselages that can be simulated by singularities (multipoles) distributed along the body axis are studied. However, the optimum variations of such singularities are completely specified in terms of the given wing geometry. An application is made to an elliptic wing having a biconvex section, a thickness-chord ratio equal to 0.05 at the root, and an aspect ratio equal to 3. A comparison of the theoretical results with a wind-tunnel experiment is also presented.

Report presents the results of an investigation conducted to determine the effects of heat transfer on boundary-layer transition on a parabolic body of revolution (NACA rm-10 without fins) at Mach number of 1.61 and over a Reynolds number range from 2.5 x 10(6) to 35 x 10(6). The maximum cooling of the model used in these tests corresponded to a temperature ratio (ratio of model-surface temperature to free-stream temperature) of 1.12, a value somewhat higher than the theoretical value required for infinite boundary-layer stability at this Mach number. The maximum heating corresponded to a temperature ratio of about 1.85. Included in the investigation was a study of the effects of surface irregularities and disturbances generated in the airstream on the ability of heat transfer to influence boundary-layer transition.

A preliminary study of pitching-moment data on tapered wings indicated that excellent agreement with test data was obtained by locating the quarter-chord point of the average chord on the average quarter-chord point of the semispan. The study was therefore extended to include most of the available data on tapered-wing models tested by the NACA.

This paper presents a continuation of the work published in Technical Report no. 496. The results of that paper have been extended to include the effect of aerodynamic balance and the effect of a tab added to the aileron. The aerodynamic coefficients are presented in a form convenient for application to the flutter problem.

"A graphical method is described for finding the shape (camber and twist) of an airfoil having an arbitrary distribution of lift. The method consists in replacing the lifting surface and its wake with an equivalent arrangement of vortices and in finding the associated vertical velocities. By division of the vortex pattern into circular strips concentric about the downwash point instead of into the usual rectangular strips, the lifting surface is reduced for each downwash point to an equivalent loaded line for which the induced velocity is readily computed" (p. 543).

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.

"An analytical method is presented for calculating the hydrodynamic impact loads and motions experienced by seaplane floats and hulls with scalloped (fluted) bottoms. The analysis treats vertical impact at zero trim in addition to the more general problem of the step impact of a seaplane at positive trim where the flight path is oblique to the keel and to the water surface. Also considered are the transformations required to represent impacts into waves" (p. 109).

The significant findings of a theoretical study of column behavior in the plastic stress range are presented. When the behavior of a straight column is regarded as the limiting behavior of an imperfect column as the initial imperfection (lack of straightness) approaches zero, the departure from the straight configuration occurs at the tangent-modulus load. Without such a concept of the behavior of a straight column, one is led to the unrealistic conclusion that lateral deflection of the column can begin at any load between the tangent-modulus value and the Euler load, based on the original elastic modulus. A family of curves showing load against lateral deflection is presented for idealized h-section columns of various lengths and of various materials that have a systematic variation of their stress-strain curves.

"The formulas of subsonic and supersonic wing theory for source, doublet, and vortex distributions are reviewed and a systematic presentation is provided which relates these distributions to the pressure and to the vertical induced velocity in the plane of the wing. It is shown that care must be used in treating the singularities involved in the analysis and that the order of integration is not always reversible. Concepts suggested by the irreversibility of order of integration are shown to be useful in the inversion of singular integral equations when operational techniques are used. A number of examples are given to illustrate the methods presented, attention being directed to supersonic flight speed" (p. 1267).

"A lift-cancellation technique is presented for determining load distributions on thin wings at supersonic speeds. The loading on a wing having a prescribed plan form is expressed as the loading of a known related wing (such as a two-dimensional or triangular wing) minus the loading of an appropriate cancellation wing. The lift-cancellation technique can be used to find the loading on a large variety of wings. Applications to swept wings having curvilinear plan forms and to wings having reentrant side edges are indicated" (p. 65).

From Summary: "Data from ditching investigations conducted at the Langley Aeronautical Laboratory with dynamic scale models of various airplanes are presented in the form of tables. The effects of design parameters on the ditching characteristics of airplanes, based on scale-model investigations and on reports of full-scale ditchings, are discussed. Various ditching aids are also discussed as a means of improving ditching behavior."

An investigation was undertaken to determine the characteristics of several basic types of thrust-reverser. Models of three types, target, tailpipe cascade, and ring cascade, were tested with unheated air. The effects of design variables on reverse-thrust performance, reversed-flow boundaries, and thrust modulation characteristics were determined.

From Summary: "Several methods of obtaining the time response of Linear systems to either a unit impulse or an arbitrary input from frequency-response data are described and compared. Comparisons indicate that all the methods give good accuracy when applied to a second-order system; the main difference is the required computing time. The methods generally classified as inverse Laplace transform methods were found to be most effective in determining the response to a unit impulse from frequency-response data of higher order systems. Some discussion and examples are given of the use of such methods as flight-data-analysis techniques in predicting loads and motions of a flexible aircraft on the basis of simple calculations when the aircraft frequency response is known."

From Summary: "Some factors relating to inadvertent speed and Mach number increases in transport operation are discussed with the object of indicating the manner in which they might vary with different qualities of the airplane and the minimum margins required to guard against reaching unsafe values. The speed increments and the margins required under several assumed conditions are investigated. The results indicate that, on a percentage basis, smaller margins should be required of high-speed airplanes than of low-speed airplanes to prevent overspeeding in inadvertent maneuvers."

From Summary: "The results of tests of a slender body of revolution designated the NACA rm-10 have been compiled from various NACA test facilities. Zero-lift drag data are presented for a Reynolds number range from about 1 x 10(6) to 40 x 10(6) from several wind tunnels and from about 12 x 10(6) to 140 x 10(6) from free-flight tests. The Mach numbers covered include 1.5 to 2.4 for the wind-tunnel data and 0.85 to 2.5 for the flight results. The wind tunnel models were tested with and without 60 degree sweptback stabilizing fins and the flight models were tested with stabilizing fins."

"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).

From Introduction: "This report is concerned with the presentation of planning data in a form that facilities direct application to the initial stage of design."

Report presents the results of tests of a 1/10-scale model of the XN2Y-1 airplane tested in the NACA 5-foot vertical wind tunnel in which the six components of forces and moments were measured. The model was tested in 17 attitudes in which the full-scale airplane had been observed to spin, in order to determine the effects of scale, tunnel, and interference. In addition, a series of tests was made to cover the range of angles of attack, angles of sideslip, rates of rotation, and control setting likely to be encountered by a spinning airplane. The data were used to estimate the probable attitudes in steady spins of an airplane in flight and of a model in the free-spinning tunnel. The estimated attitudes of steady spin were compared with attitudes measured in flight and in the spinning tunnel. The results indicate that corrections for certain scale and tunnel effects are necessary to estimate full-scale spinning attitudes from model results.

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.

From Summary: "In this report a formula is developed that enables the determination of the proper design load for the portion of the wing forward of the front spar. The formula is inherently rational in concept, as it takes into account the most important variables that affect the leading-edge load, although theoretical rigor has been sacrificed for simplicity and ease of application. Some empirical corrections, based on pressure distribution measurements on the PW-9 and M-3 airplanes have been introduced to provide properly for biplanes. Results from the formula check experimental values in a variety of cases with good accuracy in the critical loading conditions. The use of the method for design purposes is therefore felt to be justified and is recommended."

"This experimental investigation was conducted primarily for the purpose of obtaining a method of correcting to free air conditions the results of airfoil force tests in four open wind tunnel jets of different shapes. Tests were also made to determine whether the jet boundaries had any appreciable effect on the pitching moments of a complete airplane model. Satisfactory corrections for the effect of the boundaries of the various jets were obtained for all the airfoils tested, the span of the largest being 0.75 of the jet width" (p. 609).

"This report covers the results of an investigation carried on at the Bureau of Standards under a research authorization from, and with the financial assistance of, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. The choice of a damping liquid for aircraft instruments is difficult owing to the range of temperature at which aircraft operate. Temperature changes affect the viscosity tremendously. The investigation was undertaken with the object of finding liquids of various viscosities otherwise suitable which had a minimum change in viscosity with temperature" (p. 405).

Measurements are presented at Mach numbers from about 1.3 to 1.5 of reflection characteristics and the relative upstream influence of shock waves impinging on a flat surface with both laminar and turbulent boundary layers. The difference between impulse and step waves is discussed and their interaction with the boundary layer is compared. General considerations on the experimental production of shock waves from wedges and cones and examples of reflection of shock waves from supersonic shear layers are also presented.

"The transonic aerodynamic characteristics of wings of finite span are discussed from the point of view of a unified small perturbation theory for subsonic, transonic, and supersonic flows about thin wings. This approach avoids certain ambiguities which appear if one studies transonic flows by means of equations derived under the more restrictive assumption that the local velocities are everywhere close to sonic velocity. The relation between the two methods of analysis of transonic flow is examined, the similarity rules and known solutions of transonic flow theory are reviewed, and the asymptotic behavior of the lift, drag, and pitching-moment characteristics of wings of large and small aspect ratio is discussed" (p. 1055).