"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).

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.

From Introduction: "An apparatus that gives a quick and an accurate measurement of the rate of discharge has been has been designed by the NACA and is described in this report."

"The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics is undertaking an investigation of the flying qualities of airplanes. The work consists in the determination of the significant qualities susceptible of measurement, the development of the instruments required to make the measurements, and the accumulation of data on the flying qualities of existing airplanes, which data are to serve as a basis for quantitative specifications for the flying qualities of future designs" (p. 449).

Theoretical derived expressions for the flapping, the thrust, the torque, and the profile drag-lift ratio of nonfeathering rotor with hinged, rectangular, linearly twisted blades are given as simple functions of the inflow velocity and the blade pitch. Representative values of the coefficients of each of the terms in these expressions are tabulated for a series of specified values of the tip-speed ratio. Analysis indicates that the tabulated values can be used to calculate, with reasonable accuracy, the characteristics of any rotor of conventional design.

The results of tests of 22 triangular wings, representing two leading-edge shapes for each of 11 apex angles, at Mach numbers 1.62, 1.92, and 1.40 are presented and compared with theory. All wings have a common thickness ratio of 8 percent and a common maximum-thickness point at 18 percent chord. Lift, drag, and pitching moment are given for all wings at each Mach number. The relation of transition in the boundary layer, shocks on the wing surfaces, and characteristics of the pressure distributions is discussed for several wings.

Report discusses the results of an analysis of available data to determine what measured characteristics are significant in defining satisfactory flying qualities, what characteristics are reasonable to require of an airplane, and what influence the various design features have on the observed flying qualities.

"Charts showing the variation in dynamic stability with the rudder hinge-moment characteristics are presented. A stabilizing rudder floating tendency combined with a high degree of aerodynamic balance is shown to lead to oscillations of increasing amplitude. This dynamic instability is increased by viscous-friction in the rudder control system" (p. 147).

A chart is presented for the values of the coefficient in the formula for the critical compressive stress at which buckling may be expected to occur in outstanding flanges. These flanges are flat rectangular plates supported along the loaded edges, supported and elastically restrained along one unloaded edge, and free along the other unloaded edge. The mathematical derivations of the formulas required for construction of the chart are given.

A chart is presented for the values of the coefficient in the formula for the critical compressive stress at which buckling may be expected to occur in flat rectangular plates supported along all edges and, in addition, elastically restrained against rotation along the unloaded edges. The mathematical derivations of the formulas required in the construction of the chart are given.

From Summary: "A sturdy stiffener is defined as a stiffener of such proportions that it does not suffer cross-sectional distortion when moments are applied to some part of the cross section. When such a stiffener is attached to one edge of a plate, it will resist rotation of that edge of the plate by means of its torsional properties. A formula is given for the restraint coefficient provided the plate by such a stiffener. This coefficient is required for the calculation of the critical compressive stress of the plate."

The bending stresses in the covers of box beams or wide-flange beams differ appreciably from the stresses predicted by the ordinary bending theory on account of shear deformation of the flanges. The problem of predicting these differences has become known as the shear-lag problem. The first part of this paper deals with methods of shear-lag analysis suitable for practical use. The second part of the paper describes strain-gage tests made by the NACA to verify the theory. Three tests published by other investigators are also analyzed by the proposed method. The third part of the paper gives numerical examples illustrating the methods of analysis. An appendix gives comparisons with other methods, particularly with the method of Ebner and Koller.

From Summary: "An analysis is presented of the effect of torsional flexibility on the rolling characteristics at supersonic speeds of tapered unswept wings with partial-span constant-percent-chord ailerons extending inboard from the wing tip. The geometric variables considered are aspect ratio, taper ratio, aileron span, and aileron chord. The shape of the wing-torsional-stiffness curve is assumed and the twisting moment is considered to result solely from the pressure distribution caused by aileron deflection, so that the necessity of using a successive-approximation method is avoided."

A theoretical analysis is presented for obtaining, by use of Theodorsen's propeller theory, the load distribution along a propeller radius to give the optimum propeller efficiency for any design condition. The efficiencies realized by designing for the optimum load distribution are given in graphs, and the optimum efficiency for any design condition may be read directly from the graph without any laborious calculations. Examples are included to illustrate the method of obtaining the optimum load distributions for both single-rotating and dual-rotating propellers.

A finite-difference method previously presented for computing elastic stresses in rotating disks is extended to include the computation of the disk stresses when plastic flow and creep are considered. A finite-difference method is employed to eliminate numerical integration and to permit nontechnical personnel to make the calculations with a minimum of engineering supervision. Illustrative examples are included to facilitate explanation of the procedure by carrying out the computations on a typical gas-turbine disk through a complete running cycle. The results of the numerical examples presented indicate that plastic flow markedly alters the elastic-stress distribution.

Empirical design curves are presented for the critical stress of thin-wall cylinders loaded in axial compression. These curves are plotted in terms of the nondimensional parameters of small-deflection theory and are compared with theoretical curves derived for the buckling of cylinders with simply supported and clamped edges. An empirical equation is given for the buckling of cylinders having a length-radius ratio greater than about 0.75.

From Summary: "The combustion performance, and particularly the phenomenon of altitude operational limits, was studied by operating the annular combustor of a turbojet engine over a range of conditions of air flow, inlet pressure, inlet temperature, and fuel flow. Information was obtained on the combustion efficiencies, the effect on combustion of inlet variables, the altitude operational limits with two different fuels, the pressure losses in the combustor, the temperature and velocity profiles at the combustor outlet, the extent of afterburning, the fuel-injection characteristics, and the condition of the combustor basket."

From Introduction: "The difficulties experienced in cooling the exhaust-valve seats of the rear-row cylinders have been overcome to a considerable extent by improving the mixture distribution through application of the injection impeller (reference 1) and by augmenting the flow of cooling air to the critical baffles (reference 2). Flight tests of this airplane (reference 3) indicated that the temperatures of exhaust-valve seats on rear-row cylinders were markedly lowered by these modifications and that airplane range, altitude, and gross weight previously limited by these temperatures could be greatly increased."

From Summary: "Calculations were made to determine the influence of changes in temperature distribution and in elastic material properties on calculated elastic stresses for a typical gas-turbine disk. Severe temperature gradients caused thermal stresses of sufficient magnitude to reduce the operating safety of the disk. Small temperature gradients were found to be desirable because they produced thermal stresses that subtracted from the centrifugal stresses in the region of the rim."

"Dynamic yawing effects on vertical-tail loads are considered by a theory of flat yawing maneuvers. A comparison is shown between computed loads and the loads measured in flight on a fighter airplane. The dynamic effects were investigated on a large flying boat for both an abrupt rudder deflection and sinusoidal rudder deflection" (p. 91).

"This paper develops a new method for determining the buckling stresses of cylindrical shells under various loading conditions. In part I, the equation for the equilibrium of cylindrical shells introduced by Donnell in NACA report no. 479 to find the critical stresses of cylinders in torsion is applied to find critical stresses for cylinders with simply supported edges under other loading conditions. In part II, a modified form of Donnell's equation for the equilibrium of thin cylindrical shells is derived which is equivalent to Donnell's equation but has certain advantages in physical interpretation and in ease of solution, particularly in the case of shells having clamped edges" (p. 285).

Solutions of impact of a rigid prismatic float connected by a massless spring to a rigid upper mass are presented. The solutions are based on hydrodynamic theory which has been experimentally confirmed for a rigid structure. Equations are given for defining the spring constant and the ratio of the sprung mass to the lower mass so that the two-mass system provides representation of the fundamental mode of an airplane wing. The forces calculated are more accurate than the forces which would be predicted for a rigid airframe since the effect of the fundamental mode on the hydrodynamic force is taken into account. In a comparison of the theoretical data with data for a severe flight-test landing impact, the effect of the fundamental mode on the hydrodynamic force is considered and response data are compared with experimental data.

"An investigation has been made to explore the possibilities of axial-flow compressors operating with supersonic velocities into the blade rows. Preliminary calculations showed that very high pressure ratios across a stage, together with somewhat increased mass flows, were apparently possible with compressors which decelerated air through the speed of sound in their blading. The first phase of the investigation was the development of efficient supersonic diffusers to decelerate air through the speed of sound" (p. 473).

"An analysis and calculations on the stability of the free laminar boundary layer between parallel streams were made for an incompressible fluid using the Tollmien-Schlichting theory of small disturbances. Because the boundary conditions are at infinity, two solutions of the Orr-Sommerfeld stability equations need not be considered, and the remaining two solutions are exponential in character at the infinite boundaries. The calculations show that the flow is unstable except for very low Reynolds numbers" (p. 571).