"Most useful in working with wing sections and methods for using section
data to predict wing characteristics . . . much detailed geometric and
aerodynamic data." -- *Mechanical Engineering
*The first edition of this work has been corrected and republished in
answer to the continuing demand for a concise compilation of the
subsonic aerodynamics characteristics of modern NASA wing sections
together with a description of their geometry and associated theory.
These wing sections, or their derivatives, continue to be the ones most
commonly used for airplanes designed for both subsonic and supersonic
speeds, and for helicopter rotor blades, propeller blades, and high
performance fans.
Intended to be primarily a reference work for engineers and students,
the book devotes over 300 pages to theoretical and experimental
considerations. The theoretical treatment progresses from elementary
considerations to methods used for the design of NACA low-drag airfoils.
Methods and data are presented for using wingsection data to predict
wing characteristics, and judiciously selected plots and cross-plots of
experimental data are presented for readily useful correlation of
certain simplifying assumptions made in the analyses. The chapters on
theory of thin wings and airfoils are particularly valuable, as is the
complete summary of the NACA's experimental observations and system of
constructing families of airfoils. Mathematics has been kept to a
minimum, but it is assumed that the reader has a knowledge of
differential and integral calculus, and elementary mechanics.
The appendix of over 350 pages contains these tables: Basic Thickness
Forms, Mean Lines, Airfoil Ordinates, and Aerodynamic Characteristics of
Wing Sections.
