NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) 20030059513: Concept to Reality: Contributions of the Langley Research Center to US Civil Aircraft of the 1990s

306 Pages·84.5 MB·English

by  NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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C R :
ONCEPT TO EALITY
C
ONTRIBUTIONS OF THE
NASA L R C
ANGLEY ESEARCH ENTER
U.S. C A 1990
TO IVIL IRCRAFT OF THE S
by
Joseph R. Chambers
NASA SP-2003-4529
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Chambers, Joseph R.
Concept to Reality : Contributions of the Langley Research Center to U.S. Civil Aircraft
of the 1990s / by Joseph R. Chambers.
p. cm. -- (NASA history series)
“SP-2003-4529”
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Langley Research Center. 2. Private planes—United States—Design and construction.
3. Transport planes--United States—Design and construction. I. Title. II. Series.
TL862.L35 C49 2003
629.133’34’0973--dc21
2002026352
A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am sincerely indebted to the dozens of current and retired employees of the NASA
Langley Research Center who consented to be interviewed and submitted their personal
experiences, recollections, and files from which this documentation of Langley contributions
was drawn. The following individuals contributed vital information to this effort:
Dennis W. Bartlett Moses G. Farmer Donald F. Keller Jerry C. South, Jr.
Percy “Bud” Bobbitt Bruce D. Fisher Holly M. Kenney Cary R. Spitzer
Roland L. Bowles Stuart G. Flechner John C. Lin James H. Starnes, Jr.
James S. Bowman, Jr. Neal T. Frink James M. Luckring Harry P. Stough III
Richard L. Campbell George C. Greene Cornelius J. O’Conner James L. Thomas
Michael F. Card Charles E. Harris Donald B. Owens Dan D. Vicroy
Huey D. Carden David A. Hinton Felix L. Pitts Richard A. Wahls
Norman L. Crabill Robert J. Huston Fred H. Proctor Raymond D. Whipple
Robert H. Daugherty Peter F. Jacobs Edward J. Ray Richard T. Whitcomb
John G. Davis, Jr. Joseph L. Johnson, Jr. Wilmer H. Reed III Thomas J. Yager
H. Benson Dexter Lisa E. Jones Dan M. Somers Long P. Yip
Robert V. Doggett, Jr.
The following representatives of the civil aviation sector provided their unique perspec-
tives on the value, timeliness, and significance of the Langley contributions to their respec-
tive organizations and to the Nation: Frank T. Lynch (The Boeing Company—retired),
Douglas N. Ball (Boeing), Robert J. Mills (Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation), and Jay D.
Hardin (Cessna Aircraft Company).
The majority of photographs in this document are taken from NASA files. However, I am
indebted to The Boeing Company, Cessna Aircraft Company, Gulfstream Aerospace Corpora-
tion, Raytheon Aircraft Company, Cirrus Design Corporation, and Lancair Company for per-
mission to use their photographs. In addition, Chris Coduto of ChrisAir Commercial Airline
Photography, William Bunting of the National Weather Service, and Robert Stoyles of
Cathay Airlines (retired) contributed unique photographs that added greatly to the quality of
this publication.
Special thanks to Jerry N. Hefner and Patricia A. West, who provided their superb techni-
cal editing and proofreading skills to the project. Also, I would like to express my special
gratitude to Noel A. Talcott and Darrel R. Tenney, who provided the inspiration and mecha-
nism to undertake this activity.
Thanks also to Percival J. Tesoro for the cover design, Leanna D. Bullock for assistance
with the figures, Peggy S. Overbey for desktop publishing services, Christine R. Williams for
printing coordination, the late Eloise L. Johnson and Denise M. Stefula for editing, Mary
Edwards for proofreading, and Gail S. Langevin for document production coordination.
Ultimately, however, the greatest thanks go to the thousands of current and retired
researchers, technicians, administrators, and support personnel of the NASA Langley
Research Center who provided the personal dedication, expertise, and innovation that
enabled the legendary contributions covered in this work.
Joseph R. Chambers
Yorktown, VA
December 15, 2002
Concept to Reality iii

C
ONTENTS
Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .iii
Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Selected Langley Contributions to Civil Aircraft of the 1990s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Supercritical Wing Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Low-Speed, Medium-Speed, and Natural Laminar Flow Airfoils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Winglets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Area Rule. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Computational Fluid Dynamics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Flow Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Composites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Flutter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Deep-Stall Avoidance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Spin Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Spin Resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Flight Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Lightning Protection and Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Wind Shear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Runway Friction and Tire Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Wake-Vortex Hazard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Crashworthiness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Appendix—Summary of Langley Contributions to Civil Aircraft of the 1990s . . . . . . . . . 249
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
NASA History Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Concept to Reality v

P
REFACE
The Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory was established in 1917 as the Nation’s
first civil aeronautics research laboratory under the charter of the National Advisory Com-
mittee for Aeronautics (NACA). With a primary mission to identify and solve the problems of
flight, the highly productive laboratory utilized an extensive array of wind tunnels, labora-
tory equipment, and flight research aircraft to conceive and mature new aeronautical con-
cepts and provide databases and design methodology for critical technical disciplines in
aircraft design. Prior to World War II (WWII), research at Langley on such diverse topics as
airfoils, aircraft structures, engine cowlings and cooling, gust alleviation, and flying qualities
was widely disseminated within the civil aviation community, and well-known applications
of the technology to civil aircraft were commonplace. During WWII, however, the facilities
and personnel of Langley were necessarily focused on support of the Nation’s military efforts.
Following WWII, aeronautical research at Langley was stimulated by the challenges of high-
speed flight and the associated problems that were exhibited by high-speed aircraft configu-
rations operating at relatively low speeds, such as those used for takeoff and landing. Much
of Langley’s research during that time would ultimately be useful to both the civil and mili-
tary aviation industries. With the emergence of the new National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) in 1958, Langley retained its vital role in aeronautical research and
assumed a leading position as NASA Langley Research Center, along with Ames Research
Center, Lewis Research Center (now Glenn Research Center), and Dryden Flight Research
Center.
Langley’s legacy of critical contributions to the civil aviation industry includes a wide
variety of activities ranging from fundamental physics to applied engineering disciplines.
Through the mechanisms of NASA technical reports, technical symposia, meetings with
industry, and cooperative projects, the staff of Langley Research Center has maintained an
awareness of the unique problems and challenges facing the U.S. civil aviation industry.
With a sensitivity toward these unique requirements, Langley researchers have conceived
and conducted extremely relevant research that has been applied directly to civil aircraft.
These applications have resulted in increased mission performance, enhanced safety, and
improved competitiveness.
This document is intended to be a companion to NASA SP-2000-4519, Partners in
Freedom: Contributions of the Langley Research Center to U.S. Military Aircraft of the 1990s. Mate-
rial included in the combined set of volumes provides informative and significant examples
of the impact of Langley’s research on U.S. civil and military aircraft of the 1990s. As world-
wide advances in aeronautics and aviation continue at a breathtaking pace, documenting
the significant activities, individuals, and events that have shaped the destinies of U.S. civil
and military aviation has become increasingly important. In the research and development
communities, many instances have occurred where fundamental, groundbreaking efforts
have been forgotten or confused because of turnover of staffs, loss of technical records, and
lack of documentation.
This volume, Concept to Reality: Contributions of the NASA Langley Research Center to U.S.
Civil Aircraft of the 1990s, highlights significant Langley contributions to safety, cruise perfor-
mance, takeoff and landing capabilities, structural integrity, crashworthiness, flight deck
Concept to Reality vii
PREFACE
technologies, pilot-vehicle interfaces, flight characteristics, stall and spin behavior, computa-
tional design methods, and other challenging technical areas for civil aviation. The contents
of this volume include descriptions of some of the more important applications of Langley
research to current civil fixed-wing aircraft (rotary-wing aircraft are not included), including
commercial airliners, business aircraft, and small personal-owner aircraft. In addition to dis-
cussions of specific aircraft applications, the document also covers contributions of Langley
research to the operation of civil aircraft, which includes operating problems. NASA’s role in
the dissemination of research information and partnerships with the civil aircraft industry
differs considerably from its relationship with the military. Competitive pressures in the mar-
ketplace, the sensitivity of proprietary information, and even international trade agreements
can constrain NASA’s interactive role for civil aircraft research and development. These con-
straints become especially visible during the startup and development of commercial aircraft
involving huge industry investments and sensitivities. Nonetheless, the extremely valuable
technologies provided by NASA’s fundamental generic research, general guidelines for
advanced design, unique facilities, and specialized expertise have been valued and applied
by industry to a large number of current civil aircraft.
This document is organized according to disciplinary technologies, for example, aerody-
namics, structures, materials, and flight systems. Within each discussion, examples are cited
where industry applied Langley technologies to specific aircraft that were in operational ser-
vice during the 1990s and the early years of the new millennium. This document is intended
to serve as a key reference for national policy makers, internal NASA policy makers,
Congressional committees, the media, and the general public. Therefore, it has been written
for a broad general audience and does not presume any significant technical expertise. An
extensive bibliography is provided for technical specialists and others who desire a more in-
depth discussion of the contributions.
viii Concept to Reality