National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics

The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States agency started on March 3, 1915. Its job was to study airplanes and other aircraft to make flying safer and better.

NACA helped aviation in many ways. It created the NACA duct, a special air opening used in cars. It also made the NACA cowling, which improved engine design. NACA developed several types of NACA airfoils, shapes used in airplane wings that are still used today.

During World War II, NACA helped the United States stay strong in the air. It worked on parts for high-altitude bombers and designed special wing shapes for the North American P-51 Mustang. NACA’s research helped create the area rule, a design used in all modern supersonic aircraft. Its studies were important for the Bell X-1 to break the sound barrier, a big moment in flight history.

In 1958, NACA was closed, and its work and team joined the new National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA continues the important work that NACA started in both the sky and space.

Origins

The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) began on March 3, 1915. The U.S. government created it to study and improve flying. This happened during World War I. The group brought together ideas from industry, schools, and the government. They looked at similar groups in other countries for guidance.

Earlier tries to start this group had failed. But it was added to a bigger money bill for the navy. President Woodrow Wilson signed the law that same day. This officially started the committee. They had a small budget and twelve members who worked without pay. Their job was to guide the scientific study of flight to find useful solutions.

Research

On January 29, 1920, President Wilson chose Orville Wright to join NACA’s board. By the early 1920s, NACA had a new goal: to help both military and civilian aviation with research. NACA used special tools like wind tunnels and test stands to study airplanes. Both businesses and the military could rent these tools.

NACA had many places to work, such as the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory in Hampton, Virginia and the Ames Aeronautical Laboratory at Moffett Field. They started with 100 workers in 1922 and grew to 426 by 1938. Staff were allowed to explore new ideas, which led to important discoveries like "thin airfoil theory", the "NACA engine cowl", the "NACA airfoil", and the "area rule" for fast airplanes.

NACA’s first wind tunnel opened at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory on June 11, 1920. It was the first of many NACA and NASA wind tunnels. It helped engineers test new ideas in aerodynamics and improve wind tunnel design.

1. Atmospheric 5-ft wind tunnel (1920)
2. Variable Density Tunnel (1922)
3. Propeller Research Tunnel (1927)
4. High-speed 11-in wind tunnel (1928)
5. Vertical 5-ft wind tunnel (1929)
6. Atmospheric 7- by 10-ft wind tunnel (1930)
7. Full-scale 30- by 60-ft tunnel (1931)

Further information: Subsonic and transonic wind tunnel

Influence on World War II technology

Before World War II, NACA helped solve important problems for airplane engines. Engineers needed to make sure airplanes could still have strong power when flying very high. NACA’s team created better designs and testing ways that made this possible. This helped the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress airplane, which became very important in the war. The ideas from NACA were used in almost every big airplane engine made by the United States during the war. Because of this, U.S. airplanes could fly well above 15,000 feet, which gave them an edge.

Later, when the war started, Britain asked for new fighter airplanes. The P-40 Tomahawk was not modern enough, so a new plane was made. The British chose a design idea from NACA for this new fighter, which made it fly much better than older planes. This airplane was called the P-51 Mustang.

Supersonic research

After early experiments with rocket planes, the United States started working on supersonic aircraft in the 1940s. The Bell X-1 was an important aircraft that broke the sound barrier. The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) managed much of the testing and research for this project. Engineers like John Stack shared important data and ideas that helped design these fast aircraft.

Later, Richard Whitcomb found a way to improve airplane shapes so they could fly faster, called the area rule. This idea helped create faster planes like the B-58 Hustler, which could travel twice the speed of sound. NACA’s work laid the groundwork for future aviation research and helped shape how airplanes are designed today.

Chairmen

The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a special group that helped study and improve airplane designs in the United States. It started on March 3, 1915, and worked for many years to make flying safer and better. In 1958, NACA was replaced by a new group called the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, which took over all of NACA’s work.

Transformation into NASA

Main article: Creation of NASA

On November 21, 1957, Hugh Dryden, the director of NACA, made a special group to help start a space program. This group was called the Special Committee on Space Technology, or the Stever Committee after its chairman Guyford Stever. The group brought together parts of the U.S. government, private companies, and universities.

After the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 in October 1957, it was clear the U.S. needed to act fast. On January 14, 1958, Dryden shared a report asking for a strong program to explore space. He thought a new national civilian agency, working with military groups, should do this research.

By March 5, 1958, James Killian, who gave advice to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, suggested making a new agency using NACA. He said NACA already had many workers and buildings that could help start a civil space program quickly.