Report discussing testing on a model of the proposed MX-1554A design to determine its stability and control characteristics in high speed flight. Information about the effect of speed brakes, tanks, and fences on the longitudinal characteristics is also provided.

Report presenting the results of pressure-distribution measurements obtained in flight over the free-blown canopy of a fighter-type airplane. The measurements were compared to those of the same canopy in wind-tunnel testing to determine the degree of correlation and effects of Mach number and distortion on the pressure distribution.

Report presenting the specific impulse, characteristic velocity, thrust coefficient, and heat rejection of liquid fluorine and a fuel consisting of a hydrazine-ammonia mixture for a range of fuel percentages in a 100-pound-thrust rocket engine designed for a combustion-chamber pressure of 300 pounds per square inch absolute. The fuel consisted of 59 percent hydrazine, 37 percent ammonia, and 4 percent water. The attainment of maximum performance with liquid fluorine as a rocket oxidant will require a critical study of injector design.

Report presenting an investigation of the effect of fuselage-mounted rocket boosters on a strut-mounted engine in the 8- by 6-foot supersonic wind tunnel at Mach numbers of 1.8 and 2.0. The boosters were pairs of circular cylinders with conical forebodies mounted on the top and bottom of the fuselage, and the engine was mounted on a horizontal strut. Results regarding the characteristics of the flow field, effect of putting the boosters in several positions, and effect of angle of attack are provided.

Report presenting a study of the altitude-starting limits of a production turbojet engine with an axial-flow compressor and a multiple through-flow combustor. The ignition limits, flame-propagation limits, and acceleration limits of the engine were improved to increase the starting limits to relatively high altitude.

Memorandum presenting minimum spark-ignition energies for 12 pure fuels measured at reduced pressure, and the data obtained were extrapolated to 1 atmosphere. Some of the fuels investigated included normal and cycloparaffins, olefins, carbon disulfide, and oxygenated compounds such as alcohol, ether, propylene oxide, and tetrahydropyran.

Memorandum presenting testing conducted to determine the conductivity of magnesium oxide, stainless steel, and uranium oxide powders in various gases at a range of temperatures. Results regarding the experimental effective conductivities, comparison of analytical and experimental results, and effect of pressure on conductivity are provided.

Report presenting an investigation of the effect of inlet-air temperature on the combustion efficiency of a 16-inch ram-jet engine in a connected-pipe installation. The engine was operated over a range of fuel-air ratios with several different combustor configurations and two fuel types. Configurations tested included a sloping baffle and a can-type combustor in three configurations.

Report presenting an investigation in the supersonic wind tunnel on a 50 degree conical-spike inlet at three Mach numbers over a range of angles of attack. The additive-drag penalty associated with inlet mass-flow spillage was significantly reduced by using a translating-spike inlet rather than a fixed-geometry inlet.

From Summary: "Since canard configurations have been found to possess unusual static stability characteristics, an investigation has been conducted in the Langley free-flight tunnel to determine the dynamic stability and control characteristics of a model of this type. The characteristics of the model were unsatisfactory in the higher lift-coefficient range because of lightly damped lateral oscillations and because of erratic behavior in pitch and yaw which was apparently caused by random trim changes associated with the irregular fluctuations in the vortex flow from the horizontal tail."

Numerous experiments were conducted to determine factors which affect the internal performance of convergent-plug exhaust nozzles. The results of these experiments, which include effects of such things as plug shape, nozzle inlet Mach number, and outer-shell characteristics, provide a basis for optimum desifn from the standpoint of weight and size. The results also show performance penalties which can result when the nozzle is too small.

The override was designed to automatically recover the engine from stall and surge by reducing fuel flow and then increasing fuel flow in a manner to avoid repeated stalls and surges and successfully complete the acceleration. One of two parameters was used to operate the override, tailpipe temperature, or the derivative of compressor-discharge pressure. The override operating with tailpipe temperature recovered the engine from stall and surge. Operating on compressor-discharge-pressure derivative, the override recovered the engine from surge, but failed when stall was encountered.

"Tests on equivalent bodies of revolution of six configurations of the Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation proposed supersonic bomber (Convair MX-1964) have indicated that it is possible to reduce the drag of the configuration by designing it to have a favorable area distribution. The method of NACA RM L53I22c to predict the peak pressure drag of a configuration on the basis of its area distribution gave generally good agreement with the subject models" (p. 1).

The first four stages were found to cause a major part of the poor low-speed efficiency of this compressor. The low design-speed over-all pressure ratio at surge was caused by the first and the twelfth to fifteenth stages. The multiple over-all performance curves in the intermediate-speed range were at least partly the result of double-branched characteristic curves for the third and seventh stages.

"Data obtained in tests of a 10-foot diameter, three-blade propeller, having NACA 10-(3)(08)-03 blades, conducted in the Langley 16-foot high-speed tunnel are presented. The propeller performance quantities related by the tests are thrust, torque, efficiency, and advance ratio for various rotational speeds or stream Mach numbers with blade angle as a parameter. Advance Mach numbers varied from 0.12 to 0.64" (p. 1).

An experimental investigation of the effect of angle of attack and inlet corrected air flow on diffuser-discharge total-pressure profiles of inlets located in various circumferential positions on a fuselage was conducted at supersonic speeds. Results indicated that the diffuser total-pressure profiles for a bottom inlet were least affected by angle of attack on distortion level was obtained with a side inlet. Variation in distortion for top inlets with angle of attack was confined to the supercritical range of inlet operation.

From Summary: "One-fifth-scale rocket-propelled models of the Convair YF-102 and F-102A airplanes were tested to determine free-flight zero-lift drag coefficients through the transonic speed range at Reynolds numbers near those to be encountered by the full-scale airplane. Trim and duct characteristics were obtained along with measurements of total-, internal-, and base-drag coefficients. Additional zero-lift drag tests involved a series of small equivalent-body-of-revolution models which were launched to low supersonic speeds by means of a helium gun."