From Introduction: "The purpose of the present report is to present a comprehensive summary of theoretical investigations of comprehensible laminar boundary layers which have been carried out since 1949 at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn under the sponsorship and with the financial assistance of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. The results of these investigations are contained primarily in references 1 to 7."

A longitudinal stability and control characteristics of a Boeing B-29 airplane have been measured with a booster incorporated in the elevator-control system. Tests were made to determine the effects on the handling qualities of the test airplane of variations in the pilot's control-force gradients as well as the effects of variations in the maximum rate of control motion supplied by the booster. The results of the control-rate investigation indicate that large airplanes may have satisfactory handling qualities with the booster adjusted to give much lower rates of control motion than those normally used by pilots.

"The material given in this report summarizes some of the results of recent research that will aid the designers of an airplane in selecting or modifying a configuration to provide satisfactory stability and control characteristics. The requirements of the NACA for satisfactory flying qualities, which specify the important stability and control characteristics of an airplane from the pilot's standpoint, are used as the main topics of the report. A discussion is given of the reasons for the requirements, of the factors involved in obtaining satisfactory flying qualities, and of the methods used in predicting the stability and control characteristics of an airplane" (p. 1).