File:First Test Program in the NACA’s Altitude Wind Tunnel (GRC-1944-C-04312).jpg
![File:First Test Program in the NACA’s Altitude Wind Tunnel (GRC-1944-C-04312).jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/First_Test_Program_in_the_NACA%E2%80%99s_Altitude_Wind_Tunnel_%28GRC-1944-C-04312%29.jpg/800px-First_Test_Program_in_the_NACA%E2%80%99s_Altitude_Wind_Tunnel_%28GRC-1944-C-04312%29.jpg?20240623020541)
Original file (2,048 × 1,536 pixels, file size: 428 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)
Captions
Captions
Summary
editDescriptionFirst Test Program in the NACA’s Altitude Wind Tunnel (GRC-1944-C-04312).jpg |
English: The Altitude Wind Tunnel (AWT) was the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory’s largest and most important test facility in the 1940s. The AWT employed massive cooling and exhaust systems to simulate conditions found at high altitudes. The facility was originally designed to test large piston engines in a simulated flight environment. The introduction of the turbojet during the tunnel’s construction, however, changed the facility’s focus before it became operational. Its first test program was a study of the Bell YP–59A Airacomet and its General Electric I–16 turbojets. The Airacomet was the United States’ first attempt to build a jet aircraft. 1600-horsepower centrifugal engines based on an early design by British engineer Frank Whittle were incorporated into an existing Bell airframe. In October 1942 the Airacomet was secretly test flown in the California desert. The aircraft’s performance was limited, however, and the NACA was asked to study the engines in the AWT. The wind tunnel’s 20-foot-diameter test section was large enough to accommodate entire aircraft with its wing tips and tail removed. The I-16 engines were studied exhaustively in early 1944. They first analyzed the engines in their original configuration and then implemented a boundary layer removal duct, a new nacelle inlet, and new cooling seals. Tests of the modified version showed that the improved distribution of airflow increased the I–16’s performance by 25 percent. The Airacomet never overcame some of its inherent design issues, but the AWT went on to study nearly every emerging US turbojet model during the next decade. |
||
Date | Taken on 21 March 1944 | ||
Source |
|
||
Author | NASA Glenn Research Center |
Licensing
editPublic domainPublic domainfalsefalse |
![]() |
This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.) | ![]() |
![]() |
Warnings:
|
File history
Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.
Date/Time | Thumbnail | Dimensions | User | Comment | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
current | 02:05, 23 June 2024 | ![]() | 2,048 × 1,536 (428 KB) | OptimusPrimeBot (talk | contribs) | #Spacemedia - Upload of http://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GRC-1944-C-04312/GRC-1944-C-04312~orig.jpg via Commons:Spacemedia |
You cannot overwrite this file.
File usage on Commons
There are no pages that use this file.
Metadata
This file contains additional information such as Exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully reflect those of the original file. The timestamp is only as accurate as the clock in the camera, and it may be completely wrong.
Copyright status | Copyright status not set |
---|---|
Unique ID of original document | 50F2E2D4E6A32522AF3F17795465F50C |
Software used | Adobe Photoshop CS6 Macintosh |