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Aviation History
1923
1923 - 0307.PDF
JUNE 7, 1923 * v'<^v •; '- - '-.:\-~- - :'"". - V ' • '" •' "•' ' •'•./•-•• --' " RELATION BETWEEN AERONAUTICAL RESEARCH AND AIRCRAFT DESIGN By JOSEPH S. AMES, Professor of Physics, The Johns Hopkins University ; Chairman, Executive Committee, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (U.S.A.).THIS year's Wilbur Wright Memorial Lecture before the Royal Aeronautical Society was delivered by Professor Joseph Ames on May 31. Unfortunately, we have not the space to reproduce all the illustrations which were thrown on the screen, but have had to content ourselves with a selection of a few of the more interesting. We would refer those desiring to read the complete paper to the Journal of the Society, forthcoming issues of which will contain the unabridged paper and all the illustrations. Professor Bairstow was in the chair, and in a few words introduced the lecturer. Professor Ames, he said, was developed by the N.P.L.; another tunnel in which the air maybe compressed to twenty atmosphere or more ; excellent facilities for the design and construction of instruments ; anda large fleet of aeroplanes equipped for scientific purposes. In addition, we are able to engage the services of competentmathematical physicists familiar with aerodynamics. What we would like to do would be to give free scope to these latter,and to conduct the laboratory tests under their direction, so that theory and knowledge of facts could make progresstogether. But this is not possible in an establishment whose primary purpose is to give advice to other Governmental Lift of wings of M.B.3 at 70 m.p.h. and 1,600 r.p.m. Professor of Physics at the Johns Hopkins University, and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the American National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Dr. Ames thus occupied a position very similar to that of Sir Richard Glazebrook in this country. It might perhaps be said that Dr. Ames was at a slight advantage—and possibly not so slight as might be imagined—in that his committee reported direct to the American President. He then called .upon Dr. Ames to read his paper. After a brief introduction, stating how he came to choose the title for his lecture, and an expression of appreciation of services, especially advice concerning questions raised by these services. It is true that we can often inspire these questions, and we can always, in the process of obtaining the answers, learn more than is required for the specific purpose. It follows, that while we are conducting practical tests we are also doing fundamental scientific work continuously, exactly as a justice of a high court expresses his deepest thoughts as obiter dicta. As it has happened, two problems of a general nature have come to us this year from both the Army and the Navy, which, while not new at all, have led to new methods and to 40, Lift of wings in a vertical bank at 150 m.p.h. and 1,900 r.p.m. Acceleration 4-2 g. Elevator pulled up 12l. the honour shown him, Dr. Ames read his paper, of which the following is a report :— The aerodynamic laboratory with which I am connected is the Langley Memorial Laboratory, not far from Old Point Comfort, Virginia, which has been developed since 1915 by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics of the United States. This Committee is an independent Government agency, not under any of the Departments, but reporting directly to the President. We have a laboratory for power plant investigations; a large wind tunnel of the type new knowledge. Both have an immediate bearing upon the design of aircraft; and it was for these reasons that I selected my rather indefinite title for this lecture. The first problem stated generally was to learn more about the distribution of forces on the parts of aircraft. It came to us in three questions :—(a) How is the distribution of load over^a wing tip and aileron modified by changing the plan form of the wing of an aeroplane ? (b) Why are high-speed pursuit aeroplanes subject to certain types of accident, such as the ripping off of the linen envelope of the wings ? (c) What. 307
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