Although the corrosion resistance of sheet duralumin can be greatly improved by suitable heat treatment, protection of the surface is still necessary if long life under varied service conditions is to be insured. The coatings used for this purpose may be grouped into three classes: the varnish type of coating, the oxide type produced by a chemical treatment of the surface, and metallic coatings, of which aluminum appears to be the most promising. Since the necessary weather exposure tests are not complete, some of the conclusions regarding the value of various surface coatings are necessarily tentative.

The tests described in this paper afford a direct comparison of the efficiency and smoothness of flow obtained with propeller fan and multiblade centrifugal fan drives in the same wind tunnel. The propeller fan was found to be superior to the centrifugal fan in that the efficiency was about twice as great, and the flow much smoother.

Measurements of drag were made on fittings taken from a typical fuselage to determine whether the difference between the observed full size fuselage drag and model fuselage drag could be attributed to the effects of fittings and surface irregularities found on the full size fuselage and not on the model. There are wide variations in the drag coefficients for the different fittings. In general those which protrude little from the surface or are well streamlined show very low and almost negligible drag. The measurements show, however, that a large part of the difference between model and full scale test results may be attributed to these fittings.

"This note contains the results of tests to determine the resistance of four sizes of streamline wire. The investigation was conducted in the six-inch wind tunnel of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. The tests were made at various velocities and it was found that the resistance of streamline wires was considerably less than that of round wires of equivalent strength. Scale effect was also found since, with an increase of Reynolds Number, a decrease in the resistance coefficient was obtained" (p. 1).

Described here is an automatic control that has been used in several forms in wind tunnels at the Washington Navy Yard. The form now in use with the 8-foot tunnel at the Navy Yard is considered here. Details of the design and operation of the automatic control system are given. Leads from a Pitot tube are joined to an inverted cup manometer located above a rheostat. When the sliding weight of this instrument is set to a given notch, say for 40 m.p.h, the beam tip vibrates between two electric contacts that feed the little motor. Thus, when the wind is too strong or too weak, the motor automatically throws the rheostat slide forward and backward. If it failed to function well, the operator would notice the effect on his meniscus, and would operate the hand control by merely pressing the switch.

"This note describes a simple and inexpensive method for determining the deflection of propeller blades under operating loads. Both the centrifugal force and air force loads are applied statically as a number of concentrated loads by means of weights and wires. Two methods of attaching the wires to the propeller blades have been tested, both giving approximately the same deflections. The method is considered useful for studying the deflections of propellers of different shapes under various operating conditions" (p. 1).

"In order to study the effect of the fuselage, landing gear, and engine on the air flow through the propeller, a survey was made in the plane of the Sperry Messenger propeller with the propeller removed. The tests were made in the 20-foot air stream of the propeller research tunnel of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics at Langley Field, Virginia. The variation of the velocity with distance from the center in the propeller plane was found to be appreciable and well worth consideration in the design of propellers" (p. 1).

"The assumption is made that a skeleton or cutaway center section is desirable for forward vision and to determine the effect of such mutilation upon performance the following work was done. The airplane used was a Vought VE-7 and in addition to the cutaway center section a system of end plates or fins was installed. Various conditions and combinations were investigated in level flight and in climb" (p. 1).

"The drag of a Sperry Messenger airplane with the wings removed, and also the drag of its various component parts, was measured in the 20-foot air stream of the N.A.C.A. propeller research tunnel at air speeds from 50 to 100 m.p.h. It was found that the three-cylinder radial air-cooled engine nearly doubled the drag of the bare fuselage, and the drag of the landing gear was about the same as that of the fuselage and engine combined" (p. 1).

These tables are intended to provide a standard method and to facilitate the calculation of the quantity of "Standard Helium" in high pressure containers. The research data and the formulas used in the preparation of the tables were furnished by the Research Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This paper is the second of a series of notes, each of which presents the complete results of pressure distribution tests made at Langley Field by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, on wing and tail ribs of the VE-7 and TS airplanes for a particular maneuver of flight. The results for pull-ups are presented in the form of curves which show the variation of pressure distribution, total loads, normal acceleration and center of pressure with respect to time.

A special protractor was designed and built with a view towards supplying a simple, inexpensive, practical, portable instrument for making measurements to detect propeller warpage under practically all conditions, without the use of auxiliary equipment, and without having to remove the propeller from the airplane. A detailed description is given of the protractor. Techniques for measuring are described. Directions are given on how to use the protractor to set detachable blade-type propellers on an airplane.

Report examining the aerodynamic characteristics of three airfoil sections as determined in the variable density wind tunnel. Particular attention is given to the relation of the characteristics to the angle of attack and their use in airplane design.

"It is known that in a biplane the load is not distributed equally between the wings. The presence of one wing will affect the lift characteristics of the other wings. A designer must know the total load that each wing carries in order that he may design an adequate structure. The purpose here is to determine the distribution of loads between the wings of a biplane at various angles of decalage, when the gap/chord ratio is one, and there is no stagger" (p. 1).

This note deals with the mass distribution and performance of free flight models. An airplane model which is to be used in free flight tests must be balanced dynamically as well as statically, e.g., it must not only have a given weight and the proper center of gravity but also a given ellipsoid of inertia. Equations which relate the motions of an airplane and its model are given. Neglecting scale effect, these equations may be used to predict the performance of an airplane, under the action of gravity alone, from data obtained in making dropping tests of a correctly balanced model.

This paper is the first of a series of notes, each of which presents the complete results of pressure distribution tests made by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, on single-wing ribs of the VE-7 and TS airplanes for a particular condition of flight. The level flight results are presented here in the form of curves and show the comparison between the pressure distribution over a representative thin wing, R.A.F.-15, and a moderately thick wing, U.S.A.-27, throughout the range of angle of attack.

From Summary: "Tests have been made in the atmospheric wind tunnel of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics to determine the effects of pitching oscillations upon the lift of an airfoil. It has been found that the lift of an airfoil, while pitching, is usually less than that which would exist at the same angle of attack in the stationary condition, although exceptions may occur when the lift is small or if the angle of attack is being rapidly reduced. It is also shown that the behavior of a pitching airfoil may be qualitatively explained on the basis of accepted aerodynamic theory."

"This paper contains a description of the method of measuring the moments of inertia of full scale airplanes as practiced by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory. The method, while not at all new, is published for the information and guidance of others who may desire to make similar measurements. The paper includes as an appendix the computations for the moments of inertia of 0-2 airplane" (p. 1).

Report presenting testing in the variable density wind tunnel on two airship models known as the NPL Standardization Models, long and short. The resistance or shape coefficients were determined for each model through a range of Reynolds numbers. Further work is found to be necessary in the standardization of wind tunnels.

"The saving of time that results from flying across country on compass headings is beginning to be widely recognized. At the same time the general use of steel tube fuselages has made a knowledge of compass correction much more necessary than was the case when wooden fuselages were the rule. This paper has been prepared primarily for the benefit of the pilot who has never studied navigation and who does not desire to go into the subject more deeply than to be able to fly compass courses with confidence" (p. 1).

Described here is a new corrosion resistant aluminum product which is markedly superior to the present strong alloys. Alclad is a heat-treated aluminum, copper, manganese, magnesium alloy that has the corrosion resistance of pure metal at the surface and the strength of the strong alloy underneath. Of particular importance is the thorough character of the union between the alloy and the pure aluminum.

The ultimate test of a load factor formula is experience. The chief advantages of a semi rational formula over arbitrary factors are that it fairs in between points of experience and it differentiates according to variables within a type. Structural failure of an airplane apparently safe according to the formula would call for a specific change in the formula. The best class of airplanes with which to check a load factor formula seems to be those which have experienced structural failure. Table I comprises a list of the airplanes which have experienced failure in flight traceable to the wing structure. The load factor by formula is observed to be greater than the designed strength in each case, without a single exception. Table II comprises the load factor by formula with the designed strength of a number of well-known service types. The formula indicates that by far the majority of these have ample structural strength. One case considered here in deriving a suitable formula is that of a heavy load carrier of large size and practically no reserve power.

"Tests have been made by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics on the air flow in an open jet wind tunnel with various sizes, shapes, and spacings of cones, and the flow studied by means of velocity and direction surveys in conjunction with flow pictures. It was found that for all combinations of cones tested the flow is essentially the same, consisting of an inner core of decreasing diameter having uniform velocity and direction, and a boundary layer of more or less turbulent air increasing in thickness with length of jet. The energy ratio of the tunnel was obtained for the different combinations of cones, and the spilling around the exit cone causing undesirable air currents in the experiment chamber was noted" (p. 1).

Strips of german silver, steel, copper, duralumin, nickel and brass were tested in tension in an apparatus in which the change in deflection with time was measured by means of an interferometer. This change in deflection with time caused by the application and removal of a load is defined as "drift" and "recovery," respectively. It was measured in the time interval from approximately 5 seconds to 5 hours after loading. The data are given in a series of graphs in which the drift and recovery are plotted against time. The proportional drift and recovery in five hours are given for a number of the tests, and in addition are shown graphically for nickel and steel.