Radical Wings (&) Wind Tunnels: Advanced Concepts Tested at NASA Langley

摘要

Commonly called the "Mother Center," the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, was the United States' first civil aeronautical research laboratory. The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), NASA's predecessor, created its first laboratory at Lang-ley in 1917. In their book Radical Wings & Wind Tunnels, Joseph and Mark Chambers explore the history of the Langley test facilities and some of the aircraft tested there, focusing on two main areas: the wind tunnels and the aircraft that have gone through them. Built in 1922, the first wind tunnel-the variable-density version-accurately tested subscale models. By the 1930s, Langley boasted five tunnels: the variable density, propeller (for component testing), spin, full scale, and free flight, all of them described in detail, including their dimensions and operating capabilities. The authors also provide diagrams of the wind tunnels and period photographs of aircraft such as the P-26 Peashooter and P-51 Mustang during their testing.