Full Text:
Radical Wings & Wind Tunnels: Advanced Concepts Tested at NASA
Langley by Joseph R. Chambers and Mark A. Chambers. Specialty Press
(http://www.specialtypress.com), 39966 Grand Avenue, North Branch,
Minnesota 55056, 2008, 160 pages, $36.95 (hardcover), ISBN
978-1-58007-116-1.
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 Langley 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.
Numerous aircraft went through evaluation at the Langley facilities
(both wind-tunnel and flight testing), a process that yielded various
aerodynamic discoveries. This portion of the book examines early
aeronautical developments (testing prior to 1958), support to
space-flight, extremely radical wing designs (reflected in the
book's title), and more recent military and civil testing. The
testing of 27 early aircraft led to the development of aeronautical
advances such as low-aspect wing-ratio airfoils, all-movable horizontal
stabilizers, advanced flaps, aircraft cooling, more aerodynamic
cowlings, and laminar-flow airfoils. With the transition of the NACA to
NASA, manned space exploration became the organization's primary
interest, as was the case with the Langley facilities. Researchers
explored such concepts as the parawing, for landing after a visit into
space; lifting bodies; and the lunar-lander training vehicle. The truly
radical wings and aircraft included tilt and tilt-duct wings as well as
vertical-take-off-and-landing and tail-sitter aircraft. The book
concludes by addressing more recent research on the civil and military
fronts, including thrust vectoring and sonic booming.
The authors fill Radical Wings & Wind Tunnels with photographs
of wind tunnels, aircraft, and spacecraft. Despite its technical
orientation, the text is accessible to aviators and nonaviators alike.
Pilots, for example, will immediately recognize the numerous
aeronautical advances produced by Langley's research efforts, but
readers with no flight experience will also find the book fascinating.
One should note, however, that even though the book seeks to document
the "more interesting radical aircraft concepts" tested at the
Langley facilities, the authors' discussion of sources is lacking,
reflected by the absence of a bibliography. Nevertheless, Radical Wings
& Wind Tunnels demonstrates that NASA is more than just spaceflight
and space exploration. Clearly, we have the Langley test facilities to
thank for many of the aviation concepts and innovations that we enjoy
today.
Lt Col Dan Simonsen, USAF, Retired
Ruston, Louisiana