Table Of ContentCover: Pilot and flight-test engineer compare notes on wing of a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt,
famous World War /I fighter (more than 15,000 were built).
NASNSP-2002-4526
MEMOIRS OF AN
A E RO NA UTICAL EN GIN E E R
Flight Testing at Ames Research Center: 1940-1 970
by
Seth B. Anderson
A Joint Publication of
NASA History Office
Office of External Relations
NASA Headquarters
Washington, DC
and
Ames Research Center
Moffett Field, California
Monographs in Aerospace History Series #26
library of Congress Cataloging-in-PublicationD ata
Anderson, Seth B.
Memoirs of an aeronautical engineer : flight testing at Ames Research Center,
1940-1 970 I by Seth B. Anderson
p. cm.-(NASA history series) (Monographs in aerospace history ; #26)
(NASA SP ; 2002-4526)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-9645537-4-0
1. Anderson, Seth B. 2. Aeronautical engineers-United States-Biography.
3. Aeronautics-Research-United States-History. 4. Ames Research
Center-History. I. Title. II. Series. Ill. Monographs in aerospace history ;
no. 26. IV. NASA SP ; 4526.
TL540.A495 A3 2002
629.1 3'9902-dc21
[Bl 2 002 02 95 09
To my wife, Libby,
for sharing memories
Libby Anderson on wing of a Vultee BT- 13 basic trainer that was used in an Ames Research Center test pilot
school (April 1944).
...
111
These memoirs take the reader back to the time when
flight research was the principal activity at Ames Research
Center. That period was made unique and exciting by the
many unknowns that accompanied the early and rapid
expansion of aircraft development. Flight research played an
important role in finding essential answers to crucial aircraft
flight problems.
What has happened to explain the end of an era in
which aircraft flight research, which once had top priority at
Ames, no longer even exists? People have not lost interest in
airplanes, judging from the very large turnout at the annual
convention of the Experimental Aircraft Association in Oshkosh,
Wisconsin. Have all the important flight research areas been
examined in sufficient depth to provide useful and lasting
benefits? Only time will tell.
- Seth Anderson
October, 2000
Ames Research Center
V
Fore word
The words of the prologue are those of our friend and mentor, Seth Anderson, who dedicated his professional
life to flight research. Seth wanted to preserve his personal flight research experiences for the benefit of future
generations of aeronautical engineers and pilots-experiences he accumulated over several decades as a practi-
tioner of the art and as a first-line supervisor of a like-minded and dedicated group. He believed that his recol-
lections of important and exciting aspects of the programs in which he participated-the reasons for undertaking
them, the personalities and conflicting opinions involved in them, the obstacles overcome, the problems solved,
and the key results they produced-would be of interest not only to the aviation community but to the multi-
tudes of aviation enthusiasts who remain fascinated by the extraordinary history of the adventure of flight.
Seth worked over a period of several years to prepare this monograph-collecting information, drafting the text,
and finding and selecting the historic photographs. He describes the beginnings of flight research as he knew it
at Ames Research Center, recalls numerous World War II programs, relates his experiences with powered-lift
aircraft, and concludes with his impressions of two international flight research efforts. His comprehensive
collection of large-format photographs of the airplanes and people involved in the various flight activities related
in the text constitutes a compelling part of his work.
These memoirs were completed as Seth's 60-year career at the NACA and NASA ended with his death in 2001.
As individuals who worked with and for Seth and shared his enthusiasm for airplanes and flight, we commend
his memoirs for their excellence of content and style. Reading them leaves you with the feeling that you have just
left Seth's office after hearing his recounting of the important activities of the day and that, primed by his enthusi-
asm, you are ready for the adventures to come.
Ames Research Center Jack Franklin
Moffett Field, California Dallas Denery
Vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE BEGINNING YEARS ............................................................................................................................. 1
Site Selection ............................................................................................................................................ 1
Locating the Facilities ............................................................................................................................... 1
Need for Flight Research .......................................................................................................................... 1
Purpose .................................................................................................................................................... 2
The Heritage ............................................................................................................................................. 2
The Scope ................................................................................................................................................ 2
BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................................................... 3
Career Shaping ......................................................................................................................................... 3
Making the Right Choice .......................................................................................................................... 3
FLIGHT RESEARCH FACILITIES AND RELATED EVENTS .............................................................................. 5
Ames Status in the Very Early Years ........................................................................................................... 5
Shadows of WW II .................................................................................................................................... 6
Early Flight Research Programs ................................................................................................................. 6
Need to Determine Handling Qualities .................................................................................................... 7
Helping the War Effort .............................................................................................................................. 7
Utility Aircraft ........................................................................................................................................... 8
Start of the Right Stuff ............................................................................................................................... 8
Taste of Desert Flight Testing ..................................................................................................................... 9
A Dead-stick Landing on Sand ................................................................................................................ 11
An Unexpected Close Look at the Southern Pacific Railroad Tracks ........................................................ 11
Measuring the Correct Airspeed .............................................................................................................. 12
Going the Speed Limit ............................................................................................................................ 13
Orchard Tree Pruning the Hard Way ....................................................................................................... 13
Lighter-than-air Episode .......................................................................................................................... 14
Testing WW II Aircraft ............................................................................................................................. 15
A Popular War Bird ................................................................................................................................. 15
North American B-25D .......................................................................................................................... 16
Grumman FM-2 ...................................................................................................................................... 17
General Motors P-75A ............................................................................................................................ 17
Need for a Stronger Vertical Tail .............................................................................................................. 18
Diving Out of Control ............................................................................................................................. 18
Further Efforts to Alleviate Diving Tendencies ......................................................................................... 19
Aerodynamic Braking Using the Propeller .............................................................................................. 19
ix
Improving a New Navy Carrier Aircraft ................................................................................................... 20
Search for Satisfactory Stall Characteristics ............................................................................................. 21
Pitch Behavior Differences ..................................................................................................................... 22
Solving Flight Stall Problems ................................................................................................................... 22
Creating Super Booms ............................................................................................................................ 22
Taming the Boundary Layer .................................................................................................................... 23
Effect of Aircraft Size-The Large ............................................................................................................ 24
Effect of Aircraft Size-The Small ............................................................................................................ 24
Helping Improve Navy Aircraft ............................................................................................................... 25
Encounter With Free-Air Balloons ........................................................................................................... 25
A Hurried Look at Flying Qualities ......................................................................................................... 25
Reducing Landing Ground Roll .............................................................................................................. 26
Aid for Crosswind Takeoffs ...................................................................................................................... 27
Flying Saucers Are for Real ..................................................................................................................... 27
SHORTTAKEOFF AND LANDING AIRCRAFT ........................................................................................... 29
YC-134A ................................................................................................................................................ 29
C-1 30B ................................................................................................................................................... 29
Convair Model 48 .................................................................................................................................. 30
Boeing 367-80 ........................................................................................................................................ 30
A Personal Evaluation of the First U.S. Jet Transport ................................................................................ 31
Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) Aircraft .......................................................................................... 31
Curving the Slipstream for High Lift ........................................................................................................ 33
Tilting the Thrust Vector .......................................................................................................................... 33
A Lift Fan System .............................................................. .................................................................. 34
MISCELLANEOUS AIRCRAFT PROGRAMS ................................................................................................ 37
An Unusual Wing Planform .................................................................................................................... 37
Comparison of Engine Air Inlets .............................................................................................................. 38
Increased Lift with Boundary-Layer Control ............................................................................................ 38
North American F-86 ........................................................................................................................ 39
North American F-I OOA ................................................................................................................... 39
Grumman F9F-4 ............................................................................................................................... 40
North American FJ-3. ........................................................................................................................ 40
Summary of BLC Use .............................................................................................................................. 40
INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT RESEARCH PROGRAMS .................................................................................. 41
Improving the Handling of a Japanese Seaplane ..................................................................................... 41
A French Connection for STOL Aircraft ................................................................................................... 41
X
Ach du Lieber Senkrechtstarter (VTOL Transport) .................................................................................... 42
MY CLOSING DAYS OF FLIGHT RESEARCH ............................................................................................. 45
The End of an Era .................................................................................................................................... 45
A PICTURE STORY OF EARLY AMES FLIGHT RESEARCH .......................................................................... 47
GLOSSARY .............................................................................................................................................. 157
INDEX ...................................................................................................................................................... 159
ABOUT THE AUTHOR ............................................................................................................................ 163
MONOGRAPHS IN AEROSPACE HISTORY ............................................................................................. 165
xi
