Radical Wings & Wind Tunnels: Advanced Concepts Tested at Nasa Langley - Hardcover

Joseph R. Chambers; Mark A. Chambers

9781580071161: Radical Wings & Wind Tunnels: Advanced Concepts Tested at Nasa Langley

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1580071163 ISBN 13: 9781580071161

Publisher: Specialty Pr Pub & Wholesalers, 2008

Radical Wings and Wind Tunnels presents a behind-the-scenes look at how the NACA, and today s NASA, have used wind tunnels and flight-testing in past and current projects to advance aeronautical science. NASA s Langley Research Center, located in Hampton,Virginia, was established on July 17, 1917, and has played a key role in the research and development of civil and military aviation since its infancy. For over 90 years, Langley s staff has wind-tunnel tested or test flown a wide range of leading-edge aircraft designs including vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, advanced fighters, civil transports, and high-speed supersonic and hypersonic vehicles. Results from the legacy of Langley s pioneering basic and applied aeronautical research have been incorporated into virtually all U.S. civil transports and military aircraft.

This book describes the very unique testing capabilities of several historic Langley wind tunnels, such as the gigantic 30 x 60 ft Full Scale Tunnel, the Vertical Spin Tunnel, and the Free-Flight Tunnel. The major focus of the book is a discussion of the roles these wind tunnels and the NACA and NASA organizations played in R&D activities for more than 60 radical aerospace vehicles that did not, or have not yet entered production. The contents present an illuminating perspective on how the government s research agencies interacted beneficially with the military and civil communities for many of this nation s innovative aeronautical undertakings.

Coverage begins in the 1920s with research on the earliest innovations for monoplanes and extends to current research on tomorrow s aircraft including hypersonic vehicles and aircraft designed to explore the Martian environment. Topics also include previously unpublished details of NACA activities in development of U.S. military aircraft in WWII, Langley s work on parawing vehicles, key activities for V/STOL aircraft, challenges for lifting bodies and reentry vehicles, ongoing research to remove the barriers for economically viable supersonic commercial transport, the latest technology for highly maneuverable fighters, and a look at the future.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author:

Joseph R. Chambers worked as an aeronautical engineer for 36 years, serving as division chief before retiring in 1998. In addition to numerous technical reports, Chambers has written two monographs in aerospace history for the NASA History Office.

Mark A. Chambers has assembled more than 200 images that depict the storied and accomplished history of flight research at the NASA Langley Research Center. Mark, a government and defense contractor and technical writer specializing in aerospace-related subjects, is an avid aviation enthusiast and author of several articles for international aviation magazines and the Virginia Aeronautical Historical Society.

Review:

Whether military or civil designs, the NASA Langley facility has seen a great number of designs move through its wind tunnels, and this book does an excellent job of documenting their testing. ---Internet Modeler, reviewed by Chris Banyai-Riepl, November 2008

This book is well recommended to all that are interested in unique aircraft as well as the science of aeronautics and how it has evolved over the years up to current. ---IPMS, reviewed by Clare Wentzel, December 2008

Radical Wings & Wind Tunnels explores extremely complex subjects in a way that a layman can easily understand...In an era when virtually everything is being 'dumbed down,' Specialty Press deserves congratulations for publishing this book, another in its series of technical books that every aviation library-public or personal-should have. - --Aviation History, reviewed by Walter J. Boyne, March 2009

This book is well recommended to all that are interested in unique aircraft as well as the science of aeronautics and how it has evolved over the years up to current. ---IPMS, reviewed by Clare Wentzel, December 2008

Radical Wings & Wind Tunnels explores extremely complex subjects in a way that a layman can easily understand...In an era when virtually everything is being 'dumbed down,' Specialty Press deserves congratulations for publishing this book, another in its series of technical books that every aviation library-public or personal-should have. ---Aviation History, reviewed by Walter J. Boyne, March 2009

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.