Tag Archives: National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
Recalling the Great NACA Fact-Finding Trip to Germany in 1936, and its Results
Eighty years ago a great adventure took place. In the first part of 1936 John J. Ide, the NACA’s European representative since 1921, fired off an alarming report on the state of aeronautical science on that continent. Ide, the sometime … Continue reading
The Beginnings of the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory
We are approaching in 2017 the centennial of the founding of the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory (LMAL) by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), at Hampton, Virginia. Now NASA’s Langley Research Center this facility transformed aeronautics in the United States … Continue reading
A Short History of the Birth of the NACA in Less Than 1,000 Words
On March 3, 2015, we will commemorate the birth of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) that took place in 1915. This organization was very much a product of its time and place and circumstance. For the first twelve years … Continue reading
The NACA and the National Unitary Wind Tunnel Plan
During World War II it became obvious that the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) required new tools to pursue a high-speed/high altitude research program. The National Unitary Wind Tunnel Act of 1949 addressed these needs, providing NACA funds to … Continue reading
Edward P. Warner and the Transformation of Aeronautics in America
I have been researching the history of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and compiling biographical information on several of the early leaders of the organization. Edward Pearson Warner (1894-1958) is one of those key people. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, … Continue reading
The NACA, World War II Aircraft, and Drag Clean-Up
I have often wondered just what research took place at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) during World War II in relation to “drag clean-up.” John F. Victory, NACA’s secretary boasted in 1942 that “The employees of the NACA … Continue reading
Wednesday’s Book Review: “The Economic Laws of Scientific Research”
The Economic Laws of Scientific Research. By Terence Kealey. New York: Palgrave Macmillan/St. Martin’s Press, 1996. Illustrations, figures, notes, index. 382 pages. ISBN: 978-0312128470. $51.00 paperback. Terence Kealey is a clinical biochemist, his profession at Cambridge University, who journeys out … Continue reading
The Mythology of the Lone Genius and American Aeronautics Policy
Since December 17, 1903, the dates of the first flight at Kitty Hawk, the Wright brothers have been celebrated as lone geniuses who succeeded when all others had failed. They have been interpreted to represent the very best American civilization has … Continue reading
What Is the Legacy of the NACA?
March 3, 2015, was the centenary of the birth of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). This has sparked a measure of investigation and analysis about the place of the NACA in the history of flight in the twentieth … Continue reading
Jerome C. Hunsaker and the Development of Aviation in America
I gained a new appreciation for Jerome Clarke Hunsaker (1886-1984) at the recent NACA Centenary Symposium held in Washington on March 3 and 4, 2015. His fingerprints are all over the history of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and … Continue reading
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