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Aviation History
1943
1943 - 1088.PDF
433 FLIGHT APRIL 29TH, 1943 E AND THE New U.S. Council A NATIONAL Aircraft ProductionCouncil has been formed in Los Angeles, the purpose of which is to increase production and co-ordinate facili- ties of the United States aircraft in- dustry. The sixteen aircraft and engine manu- facturers represented in the Council will pool their resources for production and repairs at home and at the front. Mustang is No. 1 GIVING evidence before a sub-com-mittee of the Appropriations Com- mittee of the House of Representatives recently, Dr. George Lewis, director of research for the American National Ad- visory Committee for Aeronautics, stated that the North American P-51 is now the best U.S. fighter. Referring to the thin wing of the Mustang, which was de- veloped by the N.A.C.A., Dr. Lewis said " it has many possibilities, especially for high-speed aircraft. " Development indicates that in many cases it is possible to design a wing form or shape that will reduce the drag by as much as 50 per cent, of the drag of the normal wing." Honour for Dutch Commander THE Dutch Air Commander, Maj. Gen.L. H. Van Oven, has been appointed an Honorary Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath for his ability and determination in commanding the Allied Air "Forces taking part in the defence of Java. Air Comdre. Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands and various officers of the Royal Netherlands forces and the R.A.F. were present when the insignia was handed to Maj. Gen. Van Oven by Sir Archibald Sinclair on behalf of His Majesty the King. Bumps A NOTHER item of new construction " is a gust tunnel at Langley Memorial laboratory, Virginia. This will cost 60,000 dollars and will replace the present gust tunnel, built in 1936. The new tunnel will be built of wood and will have a larger air jet than the exist- ing tunnel so as to enable larger and heavier models to be tested in stronger gusts. The tunnel speed will be 80 m.p.h New Equipment EQUIPMENT recently completed atLangley Field includes: a 16ft., 500 m.p.h. wind tunnel; a new seaplane test- ing channel; a seaplane impact basin ; a new low-turbulence, variable-density wind tunnel; and a new stability wind tunnel. When completed, Moffett Field will have a 16ft. high-speed tunnel, two 7ft. by 10ft. low-turbulence tunnels, a full-scale tunnel measuring 40ft. by Soft., a 12ft. high-speed variable-density tunnel, and a supersonic wind tunnel. In addition to all this, there is the engine research laboratory at Cleveland, Ohio, to which the power plant engineei- ing group has been transferred from Langley Field. At Cleveland it will Im- possible to test engines of far greater power than any so far contemplated, at speeds above present fighter speeds and in density and temperature conditions corresponding to sub-stratosphere flight. University Research TO assist in the research work, the.N.A.C.A. has " sub-contracted " to 30 university laboratories more than 80 research problems. In its report to Congress the N.A.C.A. states that this farming-out to the universities h;<s resulted in " many valuable contribu- tions to aeronautics." The subjects covered aerodynamics, power plants, aircraft materials and aircraft structures Contracts to schools achieved improved methods in spot-welding aluminium alloys, a time-saving substitute for rivet- ing, improved materials for turbo-super- chargers, improvement of heat ex- changers, studies of flutter, and develop- ment of super-fuels. New Programme TOURING the next 18 months the -L' N.A.C.A. expects to investigate the following problems: Stability and con- trol ; cowling and cooling; increased airscrew performance,; factors affecting aircraft speed; aircraft wing develop- AMERICA'S AXIS ENEMY No. 1 : As related in a paragraph above, the North American Mustang (P-51 in the U.S. Army At'. Force) has been officially acknowledged to be the best U.S. fighter. This picture gives a fine impression of an Allison-engined Mustang, with its mixed armament of 0.5m. and 0.303m. machine guns, as used by Army Co-operation Command. The fitting of the Packard-built Merlin XXVIII engine should improve its already good performance still further.
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