National

Aeronautics and
Space
Administration

A
 Y

National
Aeronautics and
Space
Administration

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents,

U.S. Government Printing Office, Wash., D.C. 20402

E
Contents

Introduction to a Mystery 1

NASA: What and How 2

Driven by Air Movements 4

Four Ways to Research 4

The Tools of Research 6

Energy-Efficient Aircraft 7

Shorter Takeoffs, Lower Noise 9

Revolutionary Lift 11

Real-World Environments 13

Study in Contrasts 15

Fast, Faster, Fastest 17

Single Pivot for a Wing 19

The Science of Shapes 21

General Aviation Programs 23

Building It Stronger 26
~~

T h e Future of Aeronautics 27
 A
Introduction
toa
MY-Y

T h e r e is a grand mystery to
flight, a mystery that still de-
fies analysis and complete
understanding.
The erratic flapping of a
butterfly, the swift swoop of a
falcon, the soaring silence of a
sailplane share that mystery
and partially reveal only three
of its many faces.
Now, we are almost two
centuries into the experi-
ences of flight, almost 200
years from the time the
Montgolfier brothers first
harnessed hot air to hoist
their demonstration balloons
I into the skies of France. The
years between then and now
have added immeasurably to
c
our store of aeronautical

1
knowledge. The refinements
of theory and the gathering of
practical data by engineers
and scientists have increased
our understanding of why
flight is possible. But, as late
as these latter decades of the
Conceptfor an advanced super- and uses thrust vectoring t o mentation system will be added Twentieth Century, much
sonicfighter is shown before achieve that goal. The exhaust t o increase the available thrust still remains hidden from our
testing in the Ames Research from twin GeneralElectricJ-79 and achieve vertical takeoff. view.
Center 40- by 80-foot wind turbojets is directed over the This particular model is three- Realize, for example, that
tunnel. Thefighter model is in- wing flaps t o increase their I@ quarters full-scale, and was there is still no way to predict
tended t o have vertical or short increment for short-field per- mounted for low-speed tests in accurately the amount of tur-
takeoffand landing capability, formance. Later, a thrust aug- the Ames tunnel facility. bulence in airflow, and its ef-

1
 NASA:
What
and How

T h e National Aeronautics
and Space Administration
was chartered officially to
conduct aeronautical re-
search, among its other de-
fined tasks. That was the only
task for NASA’s predecessor,
the National Advisory Com-
mittee for Aeronautics,
founded in 1915. The Na-
tional Aeronautics and Space
Act of 1958, the legislation
that established NASA, states
that the general welfare and
security of the United States
Conceptual design studies are a tested in the Ames Research versions. Note the lifting fan require adequate provision to
majorportion of the workloadin Center‘s 40- by 80-footwind near the nose of this aircrab, be made for aeronautical ac-
NASA test facilities. Here, a tunnel. This huge facility is ca- and the two vertical jet tivities, and that these ac-
liftt-fanpowered aircraft, in- pable of handling many full- exhausts, one f w n each nacelle, tivities should be so con-
tended for vertical takeoff, i s scale aircrab, or models ap- aft of the model suspension ducted as to contribute mate-
being inspected before being proaching the size of full-scale system. rially to one or more of these
objectives:
fect on flight. In the con- But it can be approximated, Aeronautical research,
0 The expansion of knowl-
trolled environment of to- and quite closely, in some then, is often a science of ap-
day’s wind tunnels, turbu- cases. So can some of the les- proximations. It attempts to edge of phenomena in the
lence affects test results to a ser mysteries of flight: Those atmosphere.
understand the “why,” not
degree still to be exactly de- that cause an airplane to turn just the “how” of flight. It The improvement of the
termined. Turbulence is an and climb and dive; those that does this, because under- usefulness, performance,
important component of make it possible to build a standing how a thing works is speed, safety, and efficiency
flight mechanics, and a very light and simple structure that the main path toward making of aeronautical vehicles.
complex one. It is so com- can withstand the winds of it work better. So aeronautical
0 The preservation of the
plex, in fact, that it cannot super-hurricane force hurtl- research also becomes the
even be analyzed totally by ing across a wing; those that science of the approximations role of the United States as a
the fastest and most capable extend the range of an airplane of improvement . leader in aeronautical science
contemporary computers. so that it can cross oceans. and technology.

2
 A joint NASA-Nauy program
uses this Gwmman F-14A
fighter as a flight research uehi-
cle to investigate a new control
system concept originating at the
Langley Research Center. The
vew system features an aile-
ron-rudder interconnect (AH)
for improved handling qualities
at high angles of attack. This
F-14A has been modified to in-
clude a spin-recwery parachute
and two-position deployable
canard sudaces. The canards,
shown extendedfrom the fuse-
lage sides just forward of the
pilot’s position, are part of the
spin-recweiy system on this re-
search aircraft.

The most effective utiliza-

tion of the scientific and en-
gineering resources of the
United States in order to
avoid unnecessary duplica-
tion of effort, facilities and
equipment.

NASA research scientists,

part of a team that includes
industry, universities, other
government organizations,
and laboratories, both private
and government, work to-
ward those broad objectives.
Specifically, NASA aims its of space vehicles that depart from NASA-funded pro- To solve the problem of engine
research toward the ad- from, or land on, the Earth. grams. Universities have a inlet airflow separation, h i s
vancement of both civil and The major share of this unique contribution to make Research Center and Grumman
military aeronautics, pointing work is done at four NASA that reflects-their long tradi- Aircraft Corporation conducted
toward new concepts of centers: Langley Research tion of academically oriented a joint test project using this
flight, seeking new ap- Center, Hampton, Virginia; research studies. The military typical nacelle installation
proaches to solve the ever- Ames Research Center, services become partners which houses the engine of a
changing, ever-complex Moffett Field, California; with NASA on specific pro- VISTOLpowerplant. A n an-
problems of transportation, Dryden Flight Research grams or projects, or long- nular jet of air was blown over
and evolving new ideas to Center, Edwards, California; term participants in one or the internalsudace of the engine
stimulate the designers of and the Lewis Research Cen- more fields of investigation. inlet to delay the separation of
tomorrow’s aircraft and ter, Cleveland, Ohio. NASA research is planned airflow from that region. The
aeronautical vehicles. Additional studies are done to support the needs of useful nacelle angle-ofattack
NASA’s broad field of at other NASA labs, or at the operating agencies, such as range was essentially doubled by
aeronautical research has as laboratories and facilities of the Department of Defense using the blown jet. This first
its primary subjects the vehi- other government agencies. and the Department of successful demonstration of the
cles and powerplants that use Private industry makes major Transportation, and of the principle could lead to substan-
the Earth’s atmosphere for contributions, from self- aerospace industry, with its tially lighter and more compact
flight. It also is concerned supported research and de- myriad of ideas for future de- inlet designs for VISTOL
with the aeronautical aspects velopment programs, and signs and development. aircraft.

3
Driven Four Ways
by Air to
Movements Research

An advanced turbofan engine swung up and open for access to the engine and the altitude in-
that powers US.Air Force and the engine. Almost all of the ex- side the test chamber are con-
Navy supersonic fighters is temalvisible mass ofpiping and trolled to verifr engine per-
shown in the test section of a cabling is test instrumentation, formance ouer a wide range of
high-altitudefacility at installed onIy for the research ambient conditions of speed and
NASA's h i s Research Center. program in the Lewis facility. altitude.
The test section door has been For a typical test program, both

of air transportation almost NASA aeronautical research

stagger the imagination. A is categorized in aquartet of
major problem is how to han- headings: Proof of concept, ex-
dle the demands for growth, tension of the art, future needs,
particularly in a world of ap- and problem solving.
parently decreasing oil Proof of concept is an approach
supplies and escalatingprices. that often, but not always, re-
More efficient aircraft de- quires the building and test-
signs are needed, and that re- ing of a special aeronautical
quirement demands new vehicle. The best-known
kinds of powerplants, new examples are the famed X-
approaches to lightweight and series of research aircraft de-
efficient structures, and new veloped by NACA and in-
ways to increase range by de- dustry in the late 1940s and
creasing drag. More aircraft subsequently. A more recent
movements carry the poten- example is the joint Navy-
tial for increased neighbor- Army-NASA-Bell XV- 15, a
hood noise near major air- unique rotorcraft with a po-
ports around the world, and tential for both military and
already have crowded the civil use. Technology is avail-
T h e driving force behind most important supporting traffic lanes of the air to the able for proof of concept, but
NASA research is the simple service. point of near-saturation. needs to be transformed into
fact of the overwhelming im- Today, tourists and busi- NASA looks aheadjworking a tangible flying machine for
portance of air transporta- ness travelers are flying across on problems that will obvious- the ultimate test.
tion, whether it be the seas and continents for vaca- ly require solutions before
movements of people, tions or commerce. Expand- the next ten years have passed. Extension of the art takes as a
freight, or weapons. In a ing industries reach out to But a large portion of NASA basis the contemporary state
dynamic world that is be- new sources of raw materials work also is directed to the of that art, and builds on that
coming more international by or labor, generating a new immediate problems of foundation. Today's subsonic
the day, and where develop- traffic pattern for the flow of today, whether they be some transport aircraft are, for
ing countries are spawning goods. Oil, the common de- aerodynamic quirks of a example, well understood.
major industrial complexes nominator of movement, has fighter just entering operation, But continuing research in
that generate passenger and alone remodeled the air travel or the strains on a production aerodynamics, propulsion,
freight traffic, air transporta- patterns of the globe. engine being boosted to new structures, materials and av-
tion is probably the single Projections for the future limits of performance. ionics indicates that tomor-

4
 horizontalplane us shown here.
The XV-15(its militaty desig-
nation) can I$t OfluerticaIIy
and then, by a progressiue for-
ward tilting of the rotor as-
semblies, can translate the uer-
tical lifting force into forward
thrust. This project is a joint
program shared by the Army
and NASA. The basic purpose
-. . . . ... is to conduct a thorough inues-
tigation and evaluation of the
I tilt-rotor system for advanced
vertical and short takeofland
bnding aircraft.

row’s transports could be im-

proved by the incorporation
of new ideas. The art has been
extended, and that body of
knowledge is available to in-
dustry as foundation stones
for the next-built generation
of aircraft.
Future needs call for the
broadest research goals,
sometimes the end point of
work that would seem to have
little practical current appli-
cation. An example: The in-
vestigation of highly special-
ized and very expensive ma-
terials for use in some future
powerplant. At today’s prices,
the cost of using the materials Aerodynamics, propulsion, Thesecondof the two Tilt-Rotor
would be prohibitive; but for some years, in the case of
civil aircraft-may develop a structures and materials are Research Aircrafi (TRRA),
historically, the costs of new typical areas where discipli- built by Bell Helicopterfor a
materials decrease as the problem that could not have
been predicted earlier, a nary research is conducted. joint NASA-Army program, is
number of applications in- The second is research shown in horizontal flight.
creases. And there never will problem related perhaps to
long-time exposure to some applied to specific classes of Fixed wing surfaces cawy the
be any future applications aircraft, for example, sub- rotor assemblies and powerplant
unless research is done now external force. That kind of
problem-solving is typical of sonic transports or fighters. nacelles, and generate liJt for
to lead toward them. horizontalflight.
the work that NASA has In either of these classes of
Problem solving is obvious re- done. research, flight vehicles may
search. The best of designs, These four categories be used to prove a concept,
after painstaking analysis, further subdivide themselves test a refinement, or to carry
extensive wind-tunnel testing into two broad areas. The first some particular research ex-
and exploration of the flight is disciplinary research, deal- periment into an environ-
envelope-perhaps even after ing with a branch of the ment not so efficiently
certification and operation aeronautical art. reached on the ground.

5
The Tools
of
Research

T h e general popular impres-

sion of NASA’s aeronautical
research visualizes a huge
wind-tunnel section contain-
ing a full-sized airplane
mounted on struts, dwarfing
the researcher standing near
to give scale. Wind tunnels
were, and are, a most impor- A dynamically similar scaled nel. The tethered model can be
tant component of NASA model of the Grumman P-14A flown from pilot stations in the
facilities, and a very long- fighter aircraft isshown during tunnel to simulate behavior at
standing method of tonduct- a test program in the Langley the low-speed end of the F-14A’s
ing research experiments. Research Centerfull-scale tun- flight envelope. Studies of the
They provide a means to
test accurate scale models, or slide rule and perhaps a desk engineers or pilots “flying” of the vehicle itself. NASA
even full-size actual aircraft, calculator, such analyses now the new design, they reveal research pilots, who also are
over some of the normal are the special provinces of the good and bad qualities. engineers, conduct a meticul-
speed range encountered in high-speed computers. They A simulator can be used to ous program that gradually
flight. These are carefully process codes fashioned to duplicate an existing aircraft’s probes the flight envelope,
controlled tests, with a calib- forecast flow patterns and flying qualities,,and to pre- edging toward the speed, al-
rated airstream rushing past forces around a fuselage or sent them in a realm that might titude and load limit that will
the mounted model. Accu- wing, or their juncture. endanger a crew on a real define the final performance
rate balances measure the The simulator offers a third flight. It can refine an airplane of the aircraft itself. This full-
forces, and computers trans- approach to research. Driven design before final produc- scale research furnishes an-
late those measurements of by many computational cir- tion drawings are released to swers that will corroborate,
pounds of tension and com- cuits that calculate the be- the shops. It can study the extend and perhaps correct
pression into coefficients of havior of an aircraft and pre- effects of minor or major the inputs from analysis,
lift, drag and pitching mo- sent it in a display, the changes in the aircraft’s com- wind-tunnel tests, and
ments. simulator offers a way of ponents, powerplants, or simulation.
But before wind-tunnel “flying” an aircraft before it is other systems. These are the four major
testing occurs, analytical built. The characteristics of Analysis, model testing and tools of NASA researchers.
methods traditionally are the vehicle, determined from simulation all contribute to They have been used singly,
used to predict the behavior drawings, analysis and model the understanding of the or in concert, to explore prob-
of an aircraft in flight. Once tests, are programmed into performance of a flight vehi- lem areas in the safety, effi-
laboriously done with pencil, the computer. Played back to cle. One step remains: Flight ciency, or comfort of aircraft.

6
 v---
Energy-Efficient
. - * . -
Aircraft?'

Commercial transports burn Efficiency (ACEE)program is

about ten billion gallons of a ten-year planned effort that
aviation fuel each year. A five looks simultaneously at
percent improvement in their near-term and far-term
overall efficiency would save problems. It attempts to de-
the United States 500 million velop solutions that can be
gallons of fuel annually. And applied to existing transports,
five percent is well within the to their derivatives expected
airplane's stability and control potential for improvements within a few years, and to new
at high angles of attack, such as in aerodynamics, propulsion, classes of aircraft designed spe-
demonstrated here, may lead to and other active systems of cifically to be, fuel-efficient.
suggeitions for improvements in commercial transports. The broad goal of the
pegorance, or handling, or both. NASA's Aircraft Energy ACEE program is the de-

n The exceptional aerodynamic

cleanliness of this prototype
general aviation aircraft re-
d t e d in outstanding high-
;peedperformance, achieved ap-
jarently by attaining a high
degree of natural laminar flow.
NASA evaluated the aircraft in
a flight-test program at
L" Langley, to determine its drag
D characteristics and to ascertain
the extent of the laminarflow
characteristics. Results are ap-
plicable not onIy t o the design of
1 future light, general-aviation

h
 Spinning characteristics of a qualities and quantities of the Four of the empennage geome- aerodynamic approaches t o the
typical light single-engined spin, and to relate them to the tries evaluated on NASA 501, problem of spin recovery. Tail 3
aircraft were studied i n a pro- results obtainedfrom model tests. the spin-research aircraft typi- features a small endplate on top
gressive program at the Langley ASpart of the aircraft research cal of light single-engined of the rudder. Tail 4 has a
Research Center. The test series program, a number of different planes, demonstrate different low-set horizontal surface, but
began by observing the behavior vertical and horizontal tail Tail6 has the horizontal tailset
of small dynamically similar configurations were evaluated higher, on the lower portion of
models in the Langley spin tun- for their effect on aircrafi spin the verticalfin.
nel. Later, radio-controlled characteristics.Modificationst o
models were flown in small- the standard airplane also in- N A S A 501, the spin research
scale, free-flight testsfor com- cluded wingtip booms for in- aircrafi typical of light sin-
parison with spin-tunnel re- strumentation and a spin- gle-engined designs, is shown in
sults. Then the full-scale air- recovery chute mounted on an flight above the test area adja-
craft began its flight research external bracket below and be- cent to the Wallops Plight Cen-
program to investigate the basic hind the base of the rudder. ter, Wallops Island, Virginia.
Number 2 on vertical tail indi-
cates that the plane is flying

---
e* -
-
Tail 2
,C. with the second of several em-
pennage configurations de-
veloped for improved spin recov-
ery. Note the instrumentation
booms extendingforward from
--+WE= each wingtip, and the spin-
recovery parachute mounted on
. the aft fuselage behind and
below the horizontal tail.
velopment of an inventory of The Energy-Efficient thickness of the wing section.
technology, available to the Transport (EET) studies, one Consequently, a properly de-
manufacturers of transports of six technology programs
and powerplants in the
United States. Most of the re-
that comprise the overall
ACEE work, serve to illus-
I
Tail 3
signed supercritical wing has
three direct benefits that im-
prove aircraft efficiency:
search and technology proj- trate the interdisciplinary ap- First, it reduces wing drag;
ects grouped under this pro- proach to new solutions. second, it increases internal
gram are being done by in- Commercial airlines are con- volume for fuel storage; third,
dustry, the constructors of cerned with three operational it increases the structural effi-
airframes and engines. Their factors: The direct operating ciency of the wing and leads
existing facilities and test air- cost (DOC), the range, and to lower weight.
craft can do the work effi- the weight of the aircraft. The total benefit of a well-
ciently. Additional efforts are More than half of the current designed supercritical wing
being made by the commer- DOC is charged to fuel; obvi- could be a reduction of 10 to
cial airlines, who furnish their ously, any reduction in fuel 15 percent in the amount of
special inputs to the seekers consumption would mean a fuel burned for a specified
of operational solutions. major improvement in DOC. trip.
ACEE is a continuation of Reductions in drag, and other Other aerodynamic im-
an earlier program that attainable improvements in provements with fuel-saving
NASA had instituted before the ratio of lift to drag, will potential include winglets,
there was a fuel crisis. During improve the range capabili- small surfaces mounted at and
the early 1970s, the agency ties. New materials and above the wingtips; high-lift
began studies of Advanced structural concepts, com- devices used during climb and
Transport Technology bined with the use of active descent; active controls, to
(A"), with the goal of ex- controls, can produce lighter reduce the size-
amining new concepts and and smaller airframes. and therefore the drag and
their effect on productivity. The NASA supercritical weight-of horizontal and
Many of the ideas that origi- wing design and its sub- vertical tail surfaces; and
nated then-supercritical sequent development is one careful integration of the
aerodynamics, composite method for improving the propulsion system into the
structural materials, and ac- lift-drag ratio. This unusual Tail6 aerodynamic flow contours of
tivecontrol systems-became airfoil section controls the ventional airfoils operating in the aircraft.
foundation stones for current flow over the wing; it avoids high-speed airflow. Further, One method with great
ACEE work, because they the sudden increase in drag it shows this lower drag fea- potential for drag reduction is
also reduce fuel consumption. that would occur with con- ture in spite of an increased laminar flow control (LFC),
 Shorter
Takeoffs,
Lower Noise

using suction through multi- propellers used with piston T h e broad aims of the ACEE great interest at NASA cen-
ple slots in the wing surface to engines, the new propeller program apply best to long- ters. Tied closely to it has
maintain smooth, low-drag has multiple blades, curved range transports that carry a been the investigation of
airflow over the wing. and shaped for maximum ef- hundred or more passengers noise, because one use of
NASA’s interdisciplinary ap- ficiency at high rotational across continents and oceans. STOLand vertical takeoff and
proach focuses on a light- speeds. These scimitar shapes In such long-distance, high- landing (VTOL) aircraft is
weight, strong and rigid have been tested in wind tun- capacity flights, increased air- planned around the concept
structure combined with a nels and will evolve through craft efficiency really pays in of close-in airports. Such lo-
suction system that could small-scale models to a full- terms of fuel saved. Fuel cations demand aircraft with a
make practical LFC systems a size development, if the pre- costs, once a relatively small low noise level. This is not to
reality. liminary studies point in that part of the direct operating imply that noise reduction is
Improvements in propul- direction. costs of an airline, have be- not necessary at major termi-
sion include the development The example of the ACEE come instead a major portion nals; it is.
of engine components- program shows how NASA of those charges. That fact is Several factors have altered
compressors, combustors, functions. It involves a team true equally for the smaller the noise environment
turbine-that have higher effort by government agency third-level air carriers as well around airports since jets first
individual efficiencies. Be- and industry. It crosses the as for the major trunk and appeared on the scene in the
yond that work, there is po- boundaries of aeronautical international airlines. late 1950s. There has been a
tential for development of a disciplinary areas, and inte- As fuel availability and cost tremendous construction
basically new powerplant grates them into a planned change the pattern of air boom, and undeveloped land
around the older concept of a and phased program. It uses travel, and as the shorter everywhere was used for sub-
turboprop. That type of en- the four basic classes of re- route segments once flown by urban homes. Much of the
gine was once a way station on search tools available to the major carriers are taken undeveloped land around
the journey from piston en- NASA: Computers, that over by the smaller ones, new major cities was also around
gines driving propellers to jet analyze flow, performance demands may arise for the major airports that served
engines. But now, the fuel ef- and design characteristics; categories of aircraft not yet those cities. Consequently,
ficiency of such an engine, wind tunnels, that test scale developed. In some cases, the houses were built right up to
coupled with developments models of components, or of requirements of an air car- the borders of the field, in
in propeller technology, have complete aircraft; simulators, rier’s route structure may best some cases. There was also a
spurred a new look at this old that verify the effects of small be served by the introduction rapid expansion of travel,
idea. changes in existing airplanes; of a large-capacity short which meant more flights and
The big difference is in the and flight vehicles, such as the takeoff and landing (STOL) therefore more airplanes to
appearance of the propeller. drones that will carry the airplane. generate more noise around
Instead of the three Or four examples of advanced wing The technology of STOL the airport. Finally, the first-
blades commonly seen on designs into the air. has long been a subject of generation turbojet engines

9
 The Quiet Short-haul Research Havilland C-8A “Buffalo” tirely new wing design.Here the
Aircraft (QSRA) is a proofiofi light military transport loaned QSRA is being checked out by
concept vehicle to investigate the by the A m y for the program, Boeing company pilots before
technology of a Propulsive lift and modified by The Boeing delivery to NASA’s Ames Re-
system that uses wing upper- Company t o incorporate the search Center for the major por-
surface blowing. I t utilizes a de propulsive lift system in an en- tion of its research flying.

in the transports gave way to with industry-developed exhaust was blown directly propulsive lift. The geometry
later and more efficient tur- such an experimental pow- over external flaps to produce of the QSRA is typical of a
bofan engines; but these later erplant that produced a sig- the added lift for STOL. In short-haul transport, and the
powerplants had a different nificant reduction in gener- the other, part of the bypass low-speed flight regime is the
noise pattern which changed ated noise. air was ducted to blow over area of particular interest.
the perceived sound levels. That work also led to the upper surface of the wing Noise levels, flying qualities,
These factors, although they another developmental pow- to generate additional lift. stability and control, and op-
did not initiate NASA pro- erplant designated QCSEE, Both these types of engines erational constraints are items
grams in noise research, cer- for Quiet, Clean, Short-haul were built and successfully on the QSRA test program.
tainly were additional spurs to Experimental Engine. It tested. The wing of the QSRA,
accomplishment. began test runs at the Lewis A parallel step was the de- which incorporates the pro-
NASA has developed Research Center in the late velopment of the QSRA pulsive lift system, was de-
methods for lowering the 1970s. The goal of the pro- (Quiet Short-haul Research signed and built by The Boe-
noise level of large jet trans- gram was to produce a pow- Aircraft), which originated as ing Company, and installed as
ports by an acoustic treatment erplant for a four-engined, a proof-of-concept vehicle a modification to a de Havil-
of the engine nacelles. The 150-passenger STOL trans- and a research tool. It was in- land of Canada C-8A “Buf-
“quiet” nacelle found wide port with a small and rela- tended to validate the falo,”aU.S. Army light STOL
acceptance among airline op- tively low noise footprint. technology of apropulsive lift transport. Flight evaluation is
erators. But that was, obvi- The STOL technology system that used upper-sur- being done at the Ames Re-
ously, an interim solution. around which the QCSEE was face blowing. Additionally, its search Center, designated to
The better way was to de- developed utilized the engine operations would develop lead NASA’s VTOL and
velop a “quiet” engine, and exhaust to produce in- criteria for certification of STOL programs.
NASA-in a joint program cremental lift. In one case, the future transports that used

10
Revolutionary
Lift

Rotary-wing aircraft are in a

class by themselves. Capable
of both STOL and VTOL
performance, and uniquely
able to hover and perform
other unusual aerial maneuv-
ers, these aircraft pose prob-
lems that have intrigued re-
searchers at NASA and else-
where for decades. The
problems stem from the na-
ture of their lift generation.
Their “wings” are rotating
blades, whirled at high speeds
in a horizontal plane, and ad- I
justed individually by a com-
plex mechanism in order to
produce motion about
three axes.
Two different flight vehi-
cles are the keystones of
NASA’s rotary-wing research
programs. First of these is the
Tilt-Rotor Research Aircraft
(TRRA), built by Bell
Helicopter Textron under a
joint effort that originally was
shared by the Ames Research
Center and the Army’s Air The ArmyINASA Rotor Systems the ability t o be flown as a com- and to investigate rotor systems
Mobility Research and De- Research Aircraft (RSRA),de- pound helicopter with fixed and other helicopter features on
velopment Laboratory. The veloped by Sikorsky Aircraft, is wings and aforwardpropulsion its own. One notable identifica-
TRRA, or XV-15(its military shown in level flight near the system as add-on features. The tion feature of the RSRA
designation), has twin rotors Ames Research Center. Two of second, shown here, was de- helicopters is the tall vertical
and powerplants mounted at these unusual craft were built signed tofly as apure helicopter T-tail that carries the anti-
the ends of a high wing. The for the joint program, one with t o furnish baseline test data, torque rotor.

11
 One of two Rotor Systems Re- help to unload the rotor system. lage. A unique crew escape sys-
search Aircraft (RSRA) de- A standard Sikorsky S-61 rotor tem was developed for this re-
velopedfor a joint NASA-Army head is used in the design. The search aircraft, which ejects the
program by Sikorsky Aircraft, turbofanengines mountedon the three-man crew in split-second
this particular RSRA is shown fuselageflanks are for forward sequencing following ejection of
in its compound helicopterform. propulsion; the lifting rotor is the rotor blades.
Thefixed wings carry some of driven by twin turboshaft en-
the lift in horizontalflight, and gines mounted above the fuse-

r
7 7
Ilr-
r

I___

rotors can be tilted from hori- search program which is con- conventional helicopter, or as at the Ames Research Center.
zontal, permitting vertical tinuing. a compound helicopter, with The RSRA and the XV-15
flight, to vertical, permitting The second type is the fixed wings installed to “un- also can perform additional
horizontal flight. Rotor Systems Research Air- load” the rotor by assuming flight research, once their
Two XV-15 aircraft were craft (RSRA), built by some of the lift. basic programs have been
built. The first, after a few Sikorsky Aircraft Division of The RSRA brings new completed. The RSRA air-
hours of check flights, was United Technologies Corp. flexibility and versatility to craft will be used for studying
mounted in the Ames full- for NASA and the Army. The NASA’s rotary-wing flight noise, the dynamics of rotor-
scale tunnel and tested two aircraft built under the research program. It operates craft, and rotor modifications.
exhaustively. The second, program use Sikorsky S-61 over a wide speed range, so Both aircraft will be used in
which first flew in the hover helicopter rotor heads as the that the likely flight envelope the development of avionics
mode in early 1979,became basic lifting system, but are of any near-future helicopter systems for improved
the primary flight-research designed to be able to test a design could be explored ex- helicopter operations in both
subject. Both aircraft now are wide variety of rotor systems. tensively. Both aircraft have clear and bad weather.
being flown in a detailed re- The RSRA can be flown as a been delivered and are flying

12
Real-World
Environments
cc?
A

Operational and safety prob- The internalawangement of the search cockpit, located in the behind the researchcockpit isfor
lems have been traditional NASA Terminal-Configured forward fuselage of the TCV. flight test engineers who
topics for NASA aeronautical Vehicle (TCV) is shown in this Safetypilots in the conventional monitor and interpret the video
research. Flight in bad cutaway model of the modified cockpit sewe as backup to the re- display system.
weather, landings on wet Boeing 737 aircraft. The test search pilots, and can f l y the
runways, and airport ap- program is flown from the re- airplane as required. Seating
proaches during periods of
high-density traffic flow have
been studied and improved
by NASA programs. billion dollars annually. Con- airport demand to its capac- by the “smart” avionics in the
One of the most productive cerned organizations such as ity. Adding a “smart” airplane TCV, is done along a flight
of these is the continuing NASA, the Federal Aviation with advanced avionics sys- path that uses minimum fuel,
work on the Terminal-Con- Administration, the Air Line tems permits the controller to so that there is apotential fuel
figured Vehicle (TCV), a re- Pilots Association, and in- progress from active meter- saving by using the systems
search airplane with unique dustry, have been studying ing of traffic to passive me- and techniques developed by
capabilities. The TCV was ways to increase the handling tering. The TCV program is the TCV programs. Other
modified from a standard capacity and capability of the investigating the techniques potential payoff areas include
Boeing 737 twin-engined jet nation’s high-density air ter- needed to achieve the routine operations in bad
transport by adding a second minal areas. They believe assigned-time objectives ac- weather, pilot participation in
cockpit, with advanced digital such increases are excellent curately and effectively. the traffic control system loop
avionics systems, in the ways to increase the pro- Research with the TCV air- by using a cockpit display of
passenger cabin of the 737. ductivity of the air traffic con- craft has shown a consistent traffic, reduced lateral sep-
Two sets of crews may fly the trol system and the airports. ability to place the airplane at aration and spacing, and re-
TCV; up front, in the usual One suggested partial so- a point in space-for exam- duced runway occupancy
positions, is the safety crew. lution is the use of a time- ple, at the start of the descent time. All of these factors tend
Back in the second cockpit controlled descent to the air- to the airport-within a few to increase the capacity of an
are the pilots who fly the TCV port. FAA air traffic control- seconds. If there are unfavor- airport in both clear and bad
in its research toward im- lers at three major U.S.air- able winds, that time may be weather.
proving terminal area capac- ports have been working with increased to as much as ten Bad weather can affect air-
ity and efficiency, and toward that method to simplify the seconds. But that compares craft far from their terminal
improving approach and control of traffic in the ap- with perhaps two minutes’ ac- areas. Boiling up off the mid-
landing capabilities in bad proach. A computer sorts out curacy with current conven- western plains in the heat of
weather conditions. and sequences arriving air- tional methods of air traffic summer, violent thun-
In the late 1970s, delays craft in a time-based traffic control. derstorms could wrack an air-
cost the airlines about a half- control system, matching the The descent itself, handled craft and do serious damage

13
 Small wing-rootextensions have
been added to a typical agricul-
turalaircrafc understudy in the
full-scalewind tunnel at
Langley Research Center.
NASA has been investigating
the characteristics and opera-
tions of agriculturalaircraftfor
many years, and has ongoing
programs to improue the per-
formance capabilities,handling
qualities, and safety of these
specialized airplanes and
helicopters. The subject of this
specific study was the airflow
pattern in the region of the
wing-fuselageintersection.

6 ‘I!

to its structure and systems.

Because thunderstorms are
avoided, rather than sought
out, there is little detailed,
data on their characteristics.
Their bad qualities are
known: Extreme turbulence,
lightning strikes, torrential
rains and pounding hail
storms. But quantifying those
characteristics has not been
done adequately. NASA hasa
research program, using test
flights of a lightning-hard-
ened General Dynamics F-
lO6B interceptor aircraft, to
probe the unknowns of thun-
derstorms by flying through
them, deliberately seeking
out lightning strikes and Their wingtips generate a spoiler to break up the vor- are not potentially dangerous
other phenomena to assess vortex flow, a rotating and tex. Flight research of spoilers or harmful. Generation of a
their effects on the aircraft. expanding cone of high- on a modified Boeing 747 is wingtip vortex by agricultural
One aspect of this research energy air, strong enough to being done, first, as an ap- sprayer and duster aircraft
will be the investigation of tumble a smaller and lighter proach to reducing the helps lay down a swath of in-
ways to protect on-board avi- aircraft passing into its field of strength of the vortex gener- secticide or fertilizer. But not
onics systems against a direct influence. Much study has ated by the airplane’s passage, all operators agree that
lightning strike on the aircraft. gone into understanding and and second, to understand the generating a vortex is the best
The violent turbulence of a attempting to defeat the general mechanism of that method to distribute material
thunderstorm has a parallel in trailing vortex because, in generation. The method through the wake of the air-
the miniature tornado gener- some cases, the strengths of shows promise for reducing craft, and one of NASA’s
ated by the passage through these vortices determine the the present separation dis- many unusual research pro-
still air of a large and heavy safe spacing between landings tance from six miles to three, grams is investigating ways to
airplane, such as the wide- at an airport. with a corresponding improve- spread materials from low-
bodied transports now One promising solution is ment in airport capacity. flying planes.
operating almost everywhere. the use of an aerodynamic As a sidelight, all vortices

14
 Study
in
Contrasts

I
AH

T h e r e could hardly be more this routine was done with equations that result from a
difference between the shape slide rules and desk cal- true three-dimensional situa-
and function of an angular ag- culators. Those techniques tion in the presence of a tur-
ricultural aircraft and those of resulted in approximations bulent boundary-layer flow.
a sleekly contoured super- that were accurate enough for For two-dimensional flow,
sonic fighter. Yet under- the unsophisticated airplanes the situation is different. In
standing how both of them of the time. But in more re- 1970, it took the most ad-
work finds common ground cent years, the increasing vanced computer of its day six
in understanding the basic complexity of aircraft has hours to compute a two-
flow fields around them, and been matched by the availa- dimensional flow field,
the effects their shapes have bility of the computer to excluding the effects of the
on that field. handle the real chores of boundary layer, a thin,
The traditional way to de- airflow computations very slow-moving sheet of air next
termine flow fields around rapidly and efficiently. But to the surface. By 1980, com-
aircraft has been by calcula- even the advanced capabili- puter capabilities had in-

.-
tion, later verified or cor- ties of contemporary com- creased so that the same cal-
rected by wind-tunnel and puters are not sufficient to culation could be performed
flight tests. In earlier times, solve the highly complex flow in five to ten minutes, in-

Aerodynamic evaluation of an
agricAturaI aircraft in tie
full-scale wind tunnel at the
Langley Research Center re-
vealed some potential im-
provements in this specialized
type of aircraft. Tuftswere fas-
tened to the external surfaces of
the entire aiplane for a visual
study of airflowpatterns. Dark-
ened sectors behind tuft attach-
ment points vividly show
regions of airflow instability.

15
 Splitting a model on a vertical
plane through the centerline is
one method devised by Langley
Research Center scientists to re-
duce t o a minimum the inter-
ference ejfects of wind-tunnel
mounting arms. In this Uni-
tary Plan wind tunnel at
Langley, a model of a super-
cruiser design concept is being
tested. The dividing plane can
be seen splitting the model into
leji and right halves. The
wingtip suspension system holds
the complete model.
Aerodynamicforces on the ldt
side are measured and are af-
fected minimally by the method
of suspension.

cluding the boundary-layer

effects.
Reynolds’ Number (RN) is
a dimensionless parameter
used as one basis for compari-
son of the results of wind-
tunnel tests with those of
full-scale flight. The closer
the Reynolds’ numbers corre-
spond, the closer the test re-
sults agree. To attain full- nitrogen gas. It is also a the flow patterns around to- the National Transonic Facil-
scale R N values in a small- pressure tunnel working at day’s and tomorrow’s aircraft, ity (NTF) tunnel, scheduled
scale wind tunnel is very dif- nearly nine times the outside scientists foresee a need to to start calibration runs in
ficult, and the story of atmospheric pressure. Its test process one billion opera- 1983. When it is fully opera-
wind-tunnel development has section is about 2.5 meters tions each second, and to tional, it will increase greatly
been told largely in terms of square, and a typical model store 40 million words. NASA’s ability to obtain ac-
the quest for higher and will have a one-meter The development and pro- curate wind-tunnel pre-
higher R N values. High- wingspan. The predicted curement costs for such an dictions of full-scale
pressure tunnels have been values of R N will correspond advanced computer are high, phenomena. The key is the
developed to obtain an in- more nearly to those attained and the time required for attainability of large
crease through an increase in in a much larger wind tunnel, putting it in place is long, so it Reynolds’ numbers. Wind
air density. High-speed tun- say in a test section on the may well be several years be- tunnels have other problems,
nels also increase the R N order of eight meters square. fore new computational since they are not perfect re-
value. Use of the largest NASA sees a future need facilities will go on line. search tools. For example, the
model size possible raises the for further increases in The wind-tunnel facility presence of the test section
value further. The only place capacity and capability of its picture is brighter. Even wall is an artificial constraint
left for improvement now computational facilities. To though this revolutionary on any testing. N o real
seems to be a lowering of the put this future need into computational capability is airplane flies around sur-
viscosity of the working fluid. perspective, consider needed to understand fully rounded by a solid surface
And considerations of that NASA’s most powerful com- the complex flow patterns, that does not match the
need, plus some other prob- puter on-line in 1980. It han- the theories still need to be streamlines of flow. But sup-
lems, led to the development dles between 20 and 140 mil- selectively verified by ex- pose a wind-tunnel wall could
of the NTF tunnel. lion operations per second, periment. Assisting in this be made to conform to those
It is a cryogenic tunnel; its and can store a million verification of theory are ad- shapes? Some early research
working fluid is supercooled “words.”To compute some of vanced research tools such as and tests reflect optimism

16
 Fast, Faster,
Fastest.. .
Conceprual model of a aft and up. This particular
supercruiser fighter design model is being tested in one of the
shows one of the characteristic Langley Unitary Plan wind
aerodynamic shapes evolved in tunnels, using a unique method
the NASA study program. The of suspension to reduce model
geometry is that of a blended support intetference to an abso-
wing-body configuration,using lute minimum. The model is
a highly swept delta wing as the split longitudimlly along a
basic shape, and adding the un- vertical plane through the
usual wingtips which are swept centerline.

T h e demand for flight at Speed and maneuverability

higher and higher speeds has are the major qualities sdught
been a major reason for the for a military fighter aircraft,
development of such ad- and they are needed for its
vanced analytical and re- offensive performance as well
search tools as future com- as for its own defense. But
puters and the National speed and maneuverability
Transonic Facility. Histori- have tended to be mutually
cally, increases in speed have exclusive. The high-speed
been associated with the de- fighters of the past did their
that it can be done. NASA, needed is no physical suspen- velopment of military air- best maneuvering at veloci-
working in conjunction with sion at all. The model should craft, particularly fighters. ties well below their maxima,
British scientists at the Uni- be free in space, the way its More recently, the program and at peak speed per-
versity of Southampton, has real counterpart is. for an American supersonic formance were capable only
devised an adaptive wall that Researchers at NASA and transport generated some of gentle turns. That no
is self-streamlining. It has a abroad have been studying new and different require- longer is good enough, and
flexible floor and ceiling, and this particular problem for ments for high-speed aircraft the latest military designs, in-
ways to measure the pressure some years, and have begun design. Most recently, after cluding such in-service types
pattern inside the test section. to evolve a system of mag- the cancellation of the SST as the McDonnell-Douglas
Using that pressure data and netic suspension that does not and the shift in emphasis to F-15A and the General
other information, the tunnel intrude into the test section. supersonic research aimed at Dynamics F-16A, show com-
test section adjusts its shape The model is held in a strong fighter design, a number of binations of speed and ma-
until the flow through it magnetic field, and is free of modern technologies became neuverability never before
matches the computed veloc- any interference effects that part of the synthesis. And achieved.
ity distribution in free air. might be caused by a conven- synthesis it is; no modern It’s difficult to build ma-
Models are held in any tional suspension system. airplane is designed around a neuverability into a combina-
wind tunnel generally at the The new NTF eventually single predominant feature. tion of a high-speed airframe
end of a long arm, filled with may incorporate these latter Now it must use the best of and a human pilot. High ma-
measurement systems that two concepts in its test sec- the contemporary arts and neuverability subjects the air-
sense the movement of the tion. Developmental systems sciences in aerodynamics, frame to loads that are several
arm and translate that into have been built on smaller structural concepts, propul- times normal and frequently
force measurements. But the scales and have been tested sion, control, materials and unsymmetrical. It imposes a
very presence of that arm in for applicability. avionics. To do less is to severe strain on the aircraft,
the test section affects the va- doom the design to a second- the pilot, and all the control
lidity of the tests. What is rate position. systems. It may even trigger

17
The HiMAT vehicle used in models are more economical.
NASA's program to study The HIMAT vehicle is carried
Highly Maneuverable Aircraft aloft by a modified Boeing 8-52
Technology is a scaled-down re- mother ship and launched at
motely piloted research aircraft. altitude, typically 45,000 feet.
This experimental technique I t can fly for approximately 20
was developed by NASA several t o 25 minutes after release,
years ago and is useful to study landing on the dty lake bed at the
high-risk technologies. Further, Dtyden Flight Research Center,
tests with small-scale, unmanned Edwards, California.

an aerodynamic instability of will assist designers in

some sort that may cause the industry.
airplane to whip out of HiMAT is a joint NASAI
control. USAF program, with the de-
The studies of the interre- sign and construction of its
lations of all these factors, test vehicles being the re-
done by NASA, the military sponsibility of Rockwell In-
services' laboratories, and in- ternational's Los Angeles
dustry, have coalesced Aircraft Division. The basic
around a single program concept of HiMAT is that of a
called HiMAT (Highly Ma- close-coupled canard layout,
neuverable Aircraft Technol- with advanced airfoil design
ogy). It is another example of and aeroelastic tailoring. It is
NASA's approach to re- a subscale model of an ad- The HiMAT vehicle makes its shock of landing and to furnish
search, because HiMAT vanced fighter, synthesized final approach for landing on the braking required to stop the
began as a series of analytical by Rockwell designers as the lake bedat the Dryden Flight vehicle. The remotely piloted ve-
and computerized studies, typical of the year 1990. Research Center, Edwards, hicle can sustain, typically,
progressed to tests of scale The detailed design California.I t uses landing skiis twice the rate of turn of contem-
models in a number of wind specified a core vehicle with a rather than wheels to absorb the porary fighters because of the
tunnels, and now is in the basic engine, airframe and
flight-research stage, using systems. The remaining com- stiffness. The composite wing search Center, and he flies the
unmanned, remotely piloted ponents were designed as and canard surfaces are de- vehicle from there, monitor-
vehicles approximately half modules that could easily be signed so that the natural ing its performance on a
the size of a typical fighter attached to the core vehicle, bending of both surfaces series of displays typical of a
design. and just as easily replaced by under maneuvering loads will fighter cockpit. A backup
HiMAT has two basic different or developed units control the changing of the controller, aloft in a Lock-
tasks. First& is used to study as the program progressed. aerodynamic shape of the heed TF-l04G, can assume
the interrelated problems of Composite materials ac- HiMAT to maintain optimum commaqd of HiMAT if
all aspects of the flight of a count for nearly one-third of lift and drag conditions. ground control is lost. And,
typical advanced fighter con- the airframe structural weight Flights of HiMAT begin should both fail, the vehicle
figuration. Second, it is con- of the HiMAT vehicles and, with an air launch from'a automatically goes into con-
tributing to the design of fu- for the first time, these new modified Boeing B-52D air- tinuous turning flight and will
ture fighter types by furnish- materials are being used to craft. The research pilot sits in stay in that maneuver until
ing fundamental aerodynamic capitalize on the ability to a cockpit on the ground at control is regained by
and structural loads data that give them unidirectional NASA'S Dryden Flight Re- either pilot.

18
 ~

Single Pivot
for
a wing

There’s an old saying in avia- rection, the oblique wing

tion that if an airplane looks concept called for a second
right, it will fly right. There is look.Jones had never aban-
also an old maxim that every doned the idea and, in fact,
rule has an exception. Com- had continued to develop it in
bine these, and you have an scale-model testing. He used
impression of the NASA small radio-controlled mod-
oblique-wing aircraft, a con- els which flew well and con-
cept that looks as wrong as tinued to dumfound the
possible. On one side, a wing casual observer.
lunges forward to meet the Oblique wing studies had
oncoming air; on the other been extended earlier to the
side, it sweeps back. requirements of supersonic
lifting characteristics of its And it flies right. flight and had shown, sur-
unique configuration.HiMAT This radical departure from prisingly to some, that the
is a joint project of NASA and the conventional geometry of odd shape offered amajor ad-
the US.Air Force. Thispicture aircraft layouts was devised vantage in the design of a
shows the vehicle near the com- by NASA’s Robert T. Jones, supersonic transport. Analy-
pletion of its third test flight. and first advanced by him sis and wind-tunnel work
several decades ago. Great done at Ames Research
The basic technique of re- ate it under test conditions in skepticism greeted the idea, Center pointed to a fuel
motely piloted flight was de- free flight. Its smaller scale even though it had been economy twice as good as that
veloped by NASA at the serves to reduce costs, both tested in a wind tunnel and of the first generation of op-
Dryden center, and has been initially and operationally. Its seemed to be workable. But erational supersonic trans-
used in earlier test programs, size also allows it to be tested at that stage of the art, it may ports. There was a bonus: The
for example, stall and spin re- in large wind tunnels, for di- have been impractical to concept seemed to produce a
search on a scale model of the rect comparison of provide the structure re- substantially weaker sonic
McDonnell-Douglas P-1 SA. aerodynamic data with free- quired to perform the unique boom, one of the banes of
The advantages of such a flight results. And with a task of sweeping one-half of supersonic flight.
research program as HiMAT pilotless vehicle, the ex- the wing forward and the NASA funded the design
are readily apparent. Its mod- tremes of the flight and ma- other half back. and construction of a small,
ular design makes it relatively neuverability envelope can be With the advent of compos- piloted research aircraft with
easy to change a major com- explored without the need to ite materials, and their unique a pivoting wing. This proof-
ponent, such as an engine put a pilot’s life at risk. ability to be tailored to carry of-concept vehicle was built
inlet or nozzle, and to evalu- loads along any desired di- by the Ames Industrial Corp.,

19
Bohemia, NY, and the air- winged airplane. In that con-
craft now is flying in an ex- figuration, it has good
ploratory program that will stability and control qualities,
check out the subsonic flight no need for ornate high-lift
characteristics of the unusual systems, and reduced engine
wing concept. The research thrust for takeoff. For high-
vehicle, designated the AD-1, speed flight, the wing pivots
is built of foam and fiberglass. to angles up to 60 degrees
It has a 32-foot wingspan and with respect to the aircraft
a 40-foot length, and weighs centerline. The drag is de-
in at a total of 1,800 pounds. creased substantially.
Its powerplant is a pair of Once again, the progres-
200-pound thrust turbojet sion from an idea through
engines. analysis, wind-tunnel tests
For low-speed flight, the and into flight research un-
wing stays at a right angle to derscores NASA's systematic
the fuselage centerline, and approach to a new and unique
provides all of the excellent concept for the improvement
characteristics of a straight- of aeronautics.

20
 The Science
of
Shapes

O n e of the historic tasks at to accelerate to supersonic

NASA has been the de- flight rapidly and efficiently.
velopment of new shapes of One of the things learned
flight. The years have seen in these studies has been the
the biplane, with its struts and importance of the strake, a
wires, give way to the cantile- fairing that stretches from the
vered monoplane. Straight leading edge of the wing to a
wings made way for sweep- point forward on the fuselage.
back, then for variable sweep, On a very high speed aircraft,
with the special case of the that strake may become a
oblique wing mentioned major portion of the lifting
above. The search for more surface. It can be used to
speed and more efficient air- create a vortex that generates
craft has recently led to a lift, and to apply that lift to-
family of shapes in which the ward maneuverability. The
wing and the fuselage are concept is an exciting one,
The Ames-Dryden- 1 (AD-1), blended into an integrated and it is finding applications
photographed during a test whole of sweeping and CUN- in the new generation of
flight from NASA’s Dryden ing surfaces. fighter aircraft.
Flight Research Center, is being Part of this work has been Aircraft efficiency is mea-
flown to study the concept of the aimed at the “supercruise” sured simply; it is the ratio of
oblipe wing. Invented by Ames class of airplanes, designs that lift to drag. The higher that
Research Center scientist Robert are intended to fly economi- ratio, the more efficient the
T .Jones, the oblique wing is cally and efficiently at super- airplane. The major problem
pivoted at a centralpoint span- sonic speeds. At first, NASA in supersonic flight is that the
wise. Rotated by actuators, one programs in this area con- lift-drag ratio inherently has
wing tip movesforward and the centrated on the specific not been high, and it has not
other aftto sweep angles up to 60 needs of the U.S. supersonic been easy to raise the modest
degrees with the fuselage cen- transport. But now the work values that are routinely
terline. This aircraft,flown by is aimed primarily at the de- attained.
pilots of the Dtyden Plight Re- velopment of new shapes for Consequently, NASA has
search Center, is an example of fighter aircraft, shapes that been analyzing ways to in-
the NASA r$v-oof-of-concept” will permit unusual ma- crease lift and reduce drag of
~ approach in aeronautical neuverability coupled with wings, shaping them to the
research. dazzling speed and the ability needs of supersonic flight. As

21
Experiments with plastic coat-
ings to reduce skin friction drag
on wing and tail surfaces are
being done on a Boeing 727 op-
erated by Air Micronesia in a
tropical environment. Two dg- ,‘hemgIaze -+
ferent types of coatings- M313
Chemglaze M3 13 and
CAAPCO B-274-ure being
evaluatedfor drag reduction
and resistance to the particular
environmental factors of the air \
operations in Micronesia. Po- CAAPCO
tential fuel savings from small 3-274
drag reductions are substantial,
and increase with the increasing
cost ofjetfuel. Thissketchshows
the location and extent of the
plastic coatings.

a further refinement, these

wings then are fitted with a
variety of high-lift devices, to
improve their characteristics
in the takeoff and landing re-
gimes of flight. Some of these
ideas are finding applications
in the ACEE program as well
as on the futuristic shapes concentrating on proper react to a disturbance. An obvious way to reduce
being developed for tomor- shaping of the pylon that Active controls are a sub- airplane drag is to wax its
row’s fighting aircraft. holds the engine nacelle to ject under major study at surface. O n a small personal
Chasing down drag is an the wing, looking to smooth NASA. The approach is on aircraft that’s feasible; on a
endless task. N o sooner does the flow under the wing and the basis of what are called Boeing 747 it’s not very prac-
one component seem to have to reduce any tendencies for a “relaxed” stability require- tical. But coating the airplane
been brought to the irreduci- crossflow to develop. ments, in which an instability with some sort of a synthetic
ble minimum of drag produc- Wind-tunnel tests of pylon is anticipated by sensors and surface might achieve the
tion than another shows as a redesigns and other modifi- transformed into signals to same results as hours and
contributor of sizable drag in- cations have shown ways to the control surfaces to correct hours spent waxing the ex-
crement to the aircraft. A jet reduce their drag contri- for that instability even as it is terior. NASA has funded a
engine installation on a con- bution. occurring. By doing that, the study of airplane coatings
temporary transport is a typi- Aircraft control surfaces control surfaces can be made with Air Micronesia, whyse
cal example. There is a flow are sized to meet the stability smaller, and therefore lighter, Boeing 727s work in the
interference in the region and control requirements than normally. Anything that South Pacific islands, in an
between the wing and the en- spelled out in Federal Avia- saves weight and size also re- envirohment of sand and
gine nacelle, and it adds a sub- tion Administration or other duces the drag and the coral abrasion, torrential
stantial sum to the total drag cognizant agency regulations amount of power required to rains, torrid Sun, and salt
of the aircraft. And because and handbooks. The surfaces fly. And that, in turn, reduces spray. The leading edges of
there are, typically, either two $e large, because they are de- the amount of fuel burned. So the wings and rail of one of
or four of these intersections signed to static stability re- the active control programs the airline’s 727s have been
between wing and nacelle on quirements. The tail surfaces under investigation at NASA coated, and are being studied
today’s transports, it’s a re- act like a weathervane’s tail; have been aimed at the broad over a long time period to as-
gion worth exploring with the they keep the airplane-or goals of the ACEE efforts, sess the effects of the coatings
aim of reducing its contribu- the weathervane-pointed and in related studies for ap- on performance, and the ef-
tion to aircraft drag. into the relative wind. They plications outside the trans- fects of the environment on
NASA investigators are are passive controls; they port field. the coatings.

22
General Aviation
Programs

G e n e r a l aviation is a catch-all
term to describe a very im-
portant segment of
aeronautics. It includes all of
private flying, all of corporate
and executive transportation,
all of agricultural flying, much
of the newly emerging com-
muter air transportation mar- Leading-edge slats, extending hundreds of tufts, used as visual craf. These full-scale tunnel
ket, and a miscellany of an- wellfirward of the outer wing indicators of the direction and tests can later be correlated with
tique aircraft, restored panels of this typical light type of localairflw. This par- actualflight tests of the aircraft,
museum pieces, homebuilt twin-engined general aviation ticular test was part of a con- t o determine the degree of agree-
planes, gliders, and hot-air aircrafi, were evaluated in tinuing series at NASA to ment between the two sets
balloons. The list is long, and Langley Research Center’s study, evaluate, and derive of results.
indicative of the variety and full-scale wind tunnel. Wing aerodynamic improvementsfor
growing importance of gen- and engine nacellesudaces carry typical general aviation air-
eral aviation.
NASA’s interest in this al- products. A third is improv- in a carefully controlled, in- free-falls onto concrete
ways-growing field goes back ing the energy efficiency by strumented and documented pavement. More recently,
to the early 1920s, and the improving the performance series of spectacular impacts. small rocket motors have
early years of the NACA. of major components and As the result of a flood a few been installed in the engine
Even then, the agency was in- systems. NASA also has em- years ago, which inundated nacelles to boost the impact
vestigating ways to make per- phasized increased utility in the final assembly lines of a velocity in a simulation of
sonal aircraft more reliable, its studies. major manufacturer of gen- crashes at higher speeds.
safer, and more efficient. One way to improve safety eral aviation aircraft, NASA Extensive instrumentation
Currently, NASA focuses is to study how airplanes acquired a number of nearly in the aircraft as well as out-
its attention on several basic crash, in the hope of finding completed airframes. These side, high-speed photogra-
problem areas in general avi- some basic structural or other had been condemned as un- phy, and other means are
ation. The first, and most im- design changes that will in- airworthy because of water used to acquire data and to
portant, is improving safety. crease the survivability of damage, but they became document the crashes. An-
A second is improving the crew and passengers in an ac- useful research tools. thropomorphic dummies are
environmental characteristics cident. For several years, The crash tests at the harnessed in crew and
of the aircraft and engines, NASA has been deliberately Langley center have pro- passenger positions, in-
reducing their noise levels crashing a number of single- gressed from the early few, strumented and photo-
and emissions of exhaust and twin-engined lightplanes which were essentially guided graphed to assess their

23
 This spectacular photograph
shows a light twin-engined
general aviation aircrafi mo-
ments before its impact with a
runway sudace in the seuen-
teenth of a series of crash tests at
the Langley Research Center.
Flame streaks are the exhaust of
four solid-propellant rockets
which thrust the plane to a
higher impact speed than is
possible i n a simple grauity-
accelerated drop. The impact
occurs in front of a gridded
backdrop which allows mea-
surements of aircraft accelera-
tions and decelerations.

chances of surviving the de-

liberate crash.
One investigation that uses
this test environment is a
study of energy-absorbing
aircraft seat design. New con-
cepts in passenger seats, eval-
uated in high-speed rocket
sled tests by the FAA’s Civil
Air Aeromedical Institute,
later were installed in test
airframes for the crashes.
In a related effort, energy-
absorbing structural design
techniques were used to
modify the fuselages of
crash-test airframes. Post-
crash examination of the
fuselages and the insttumen-
tation results was used to as-
sess the applicability of the
new designs for future
light aircraft.
The best way to survive an tered. Typically, research spin flight research. One was tion has been discovered to
accident is not to have one, of starts with a small dynamically modified so that a number of have apowerful effect on spin
course. One of the major similar model of an airplane vertical tail designs could be resistance.
long-term areas of NASA’s which is tested in the spin installed for investigation of A major program to dem-
activity in general aviation is tunnel at Langley. Recently, their effect on the stall/spin onstrate the technology for a
in the investigation of stalls these tests have been fol- recovery. Other design mod- Quiet, Clean General Avia-
and the spins that sometime lowed by free-flights of ra- ifications have included the tion Turbofan (QCGAT) en-
follow. A leading cause of dio-controlled scale models, addition of strakes (fin-like gine was established by the
civil air accidents, the stall/ and finally by flight research surfaces) and, most important Lewis Research Center, with
spin is a phenomenon that in- with the real aircraft. Several of all, changes to wing leading funded contract work placed
creasingly is being under- general aviation aircraft serve edge configurations. The with industry. The goal was to
stood, analyzed, and coun- NASA as vehicles for stall/ wing leading edge configura- show that the technology of

24
The suspension system that as-
rums the correct angle of impact
with the conrete sudace in these
NASA crash tests is being
checked here before hoisting the
light twin-engined aircraft t o
its release point. This test, sev-
enteenth in a series of controlled
crashes t o investigate aircraft
structural behavior following
impact, used four solid-propel-
&antrockets mounted in the rear
of the engine nacelles t o acceler-
ate the airframe t o a higher
speed than possible with a grav-
ity drop. External paint scheme
defines the internal structure of
the aircraft, so that high-speed
photography can show the
progression of airframe reaction
after impact.

noise and emission reduction, Aircraft structure behavior on

common to large turbofan impact with the ground is being
engines, could be transferred studied in an on-going program
to the design and develop- at the Langley Research Center.
ment of turbofan engines in UsingpIanestypical of the light
thrust categories useful for single- and twin-engined air-
some general aviation air- craft in general aviation use,
craft. Garrett's AiResearch NASA engineers deliberately
Manufacturing Co. and Avco release the planes along a con-
Lycoming each modified an trolledflight path onto a con-
existing engine in their com- crete apron. Highspeed cameras
mercial line to meet the re- and other instrumentation re-
quirements of the program. cord the loads, decelerations and
The major effort was directed distortions of the aircraft. ln-
toward reducing the noise strumented anthropomorphic
level, and that was achieved in dummies, which accurately
both engines. A second goal simulate the human frame, may
was to reduce the carbon be included in the test t o study
monoxide, unburned hy- the survivability aspects of a
drocarbons, and oxides of nit- particular type of impact. This
rogen emitted; that, too, was sequence reads from top t o
achieved. One constraint was bottom, t o show the stages from
to accomplish these reduc- initial impact through sub-
tions without any increases in sequent deceleration to a stop.
the fuel consumption. Ac- Both NASA and the FAA sup-
tually, the fuel consumption port this testprogramas one way
decreased significantly. of helping t o increase occapant
A series of four study pro- survivability in general avia-
grams, also with industry, tion accidents.
looked at the feasibility of de-
veloping small turboprop en-
gines for general aviation in
the 300 to 700 shafthorse-
power range, where they
could compete with highly

25
 Building It Stronger

One of two competing quiet, A iResearch Manufacturing

clean general aviation turbofan Company-their engine is
engines (QCGAT), developed shown here-nd Avco Lycom-
under contracts funded by ing both developed an existing
NASA’s h i s Research Center, engine to the requirements of
shows the general configuration general aviation. Both man-
of thepowerplant.Purpose of the ufacturers achieved major re-
program was to demonstrate ductions in noise level, and in
transferof technology from com- the emission levelsfor carbon
mercially available, large tur- monoxide-andunburned
bofan engines to smaller engines hydrocarbons.
in a lowerpower class. Garrett’s

T h e dynamics of the aircraft along an axis of particular

crashes at Langley have led to strength.
the development of new seat Composites seem to be
design concepts and seat re- very useful materials for air-
straint systems. But they also craft structures. Made from
have led to a careful analysis fibers of carbon or other
of the way an airframe is dam- high-strength substances im-
aged in a crash, how the pro- bedded in a matrix, these new
gressive destruction of the materials can be formed into
airframe moves from the structures replacing many
point of impact throughout components of modern air-
the structure. It may be that craft. NASA has a long-term
some simple changes will be program in which control
found to increase the surfaces, stabilizers, and
crashworthiness of aircraft. fuselage fairings have been
These studies have been ex- designed and built using
trapolated to large transports, composites. These parts, in-
developed internal combus- increase propeller efficiency, and all three major manufac- stalled as replacement units
tion engines. The aim of the through such possible turers of airliners have NASA on commercial transports, are
studies was to see if such en- changes as the use of modern contracts to investigate the in long-term airline use to
gines appeared feasible in the airfoils instead of the older problem of crashworthiness evaluate their durability in
light of fuel consumption, conventional airfoils nor- in airplanes of the size they the real world of routine
weight and cost constraints. mally used. New designs in- design and build. operations.
The studies indicate that this clude NASA’s supercritical Understanding how These composite struc-
should be possible with ad- airfoil technology for appro- something fails is the key to tures are very light and very
vanced technology engine priate flow regimes. The efficient design of that piece. strong; they can be made very
components and manufac- composite materials also offer Knowing that, the design can stiff, also. Or, the strength
turing techniques. Advanced promise, because the indica- take into account some spe- and deflection can be applied
technology programs are tians are that propellers could cial feature that will delay or along a specific path, or about
being proposed to achieve be built with less weight and even prevent a specific mode a specific axis. Other NASA
these objectives. with better structural of failure. One example is the composite structures are
Additionally, propeller de- characteristics and fatigue life use of small extruded trips of found in the HiMAT research
sign, frozen in the past with using modern composite metal on a pressurized fuse- vehicles, and in a series of
few exceptions, has been long structural design technology. lage skin panel to act as rip- sub-scale test wings being
overdue for a transfusion of Further, their aerodynamic stoppers. Another example is flown on drones into a high-
modern technology. NASA performance would show a the tailoring of a composite speed aerodynamic regime
has been looking at ways to major improvement. structure to absorb the load where flutter is studied.

26
The Future
of
Aeronautics

I n 1980, the cost of every- ceived in the best tradition of

thing was of major concern, aeronautical research. That
and the price of NASA re- tradition, which began in
search was no exception. Cost 1915 with the establishment
considerations have been the of the National Advisory
major reason behind the Committee for Aeronautics,
sometimes slow pace of is agreat intangible advantage
aeronautical research. But, that pervades the staff and
because industry finds itself laboratories of today’s
facing the same problems, it NASA. Together, they con- The HiMAT vehicle used in
has been turning increasingly stitute a national asset of great NASA’s program to study
to NASA for the funding of worth, of past proven per- High& Maneuverable Aircraft
research programs that might formances, and of enormous Technology is a scaled-down re-
have been regarded as prop- future potential. mote& piloted research aircraft.
rietary subjects a few years
ago. A strong case can be
made for doing the kind of re-
search that industry wants and
needs, based on the NASA
charter defined by the 1958 t
National Aeronautics and
Space Act.
NASA’s record has shown
that its research and technol-
ogy programs have advanced
the progress of aviation. Its
present programs are making
valuable and timely contribu-
tions to the design of ad-
vanced fighters, to the safety
of general aviation, to the im-
provement of air transport
operations in areas of high-
density traffic. NASA’s fu-
ture plans for modernization,
such as those for the National
Transonic Facility, were con-

27
National
Aeronautics and
Space
Administration

Public Affairs Division

NASA Headquarters
Washington, DC 20546

EP-85