welcome to this edition of space works
I'm Lynn Bondurant during this show
we'll see pictures not only relating to
space but aeronautics stories include
dedication of the world's biggest wind
tunnels and how students use school
buses to simulate space shuttle missions
but first let's see computer animation
from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
in California which shows a distant moon
call Miranda that circles the planet
Uranus
you
since the days of the Wright brother's
airplane designers have been using wind
tunnels to check the effect of wind
pressures on the airplane models placed
in the tunnels for our next story we're
going to the NASA Ames Research Center
near in San Francisco where the world's
biggest wind tunnels were dedicated in
December 1987 modification of the
world's largest closed-circuit wind
tunnel the Ames 40 by 80-foot began in
nineteen eighty the tunnel had been used
for decades before then to test
full-scale aircraft but engineers wanted
to increase its capabilities
although an accident in 1982 caused
damage which delayed the project the
goal of making a new test section more
than two times as big as the old one was
accomplished and the old 40 by an 80
foot section though smaller and his
speed increase from 230 to 345 miles per
hour now let's see a videotape prepared
for the December 1987 dedication which
gives us more detail including wind
tunnel link up to computers at Ames
Research Center the world's most
powerful super computing capability is
teamed with state-of-the-art min tunnels
to form the first steps along the
critical path from computation to flight
the national full-scale aerodynamics
complex at the Ames Research Center in
California is the world's largest wind
tunnel this unique facility provides the
United States with the capability of
performing ground-based aerodynamic
experiments on large scale and full
scale aerospace vehicles and components
low speed aerodynamic research is
conducted in related fundamental flow
phenomenon research activities include
investigations of the aerodynamic
performance and control required for
efficient takeoff climb and landing for
all classes of aircraft and the acoustic
implications related to these flight
phases this extraordinary complex
includes the 40 by 80-foot wind tunnel
the new 80 x 120 wind tunnel and the
outdoor aerodynamic research facility
this complex is the crown jewel of an
elaborate system of wind tunnels at Ames
the impact is committed to contributing
to United States aerospace leadership
and to developing technology to keep us
commercial aircraft in a strong
world-class position even by the
mid-1930s the wind tunnels of the
national advisory committee for
aeronautics NACA had helped transform
the wire and rag biplanes of World War
one into metal low-wing monoplane
accelerated wartime research in Europe
spurred NACA to initiate the
construction of a whole new aeronautical
laboratory out west in mountain view
california on December twentieth
nineteen thirty-nine NACA broke ground
on their new laboratory facilities 40
miles south of San Francisco at Moffett
Field which is now the ames research
center of nasa the overriding military
need of the moment was the testing of
new aircraft designs at moderate speeds
in 1941 the mammoth construction task of
this wind tunnel
began at Ames and two and a half years
later in june nineteen forty four the
full-scale wind tunnel went into
operation this 40-foot by 80-foot low
speed wind tunnel was an invaluable
addition to NAC a's array of tunnels
since it was big enough to handle all
but the largest bombers and transports
with their engines operating the
full-scale tests in the 40 x 80 foot
tunnel led to research results that in
time actually made great improvements in
aircraft design and operations in the
early years NACA wind tunnel tests
provided the Douglas X sbd to dive
bomber with a modified wing flap system
that lowered landing speeds from 90 to
84 miles per hour this small game
allowed the use of better
high-performance fighters on our Navy's
carriers thus saving lives and aircraft
in the 50s and 60s the 40 x 80 wind
tunnel contributed significantly to the
development of jet aircraft control
systems and stability the 40 x 80 foot
wind tunnel covered eight acres of land
the air circuit was just over a half
mile long and was operated by six forty
foot diameter fans each powered by a
6,000 horsepower electric motor which
could maintain airflow at speeds up to
230 miles per hour over the years this
tunnel became the primary facility in
the country for investigating the flying
characteristics of large scale and full
scale aircraft and components with the
advent of the jet age the tunnel was
used to explore the landing and takeoff
characteristics of the new aircraft
these two critical periods of flight are
extremely sensitive in terms of lift
drag and stability in more recent years
NASA became the focal point for
extensive research unpowered lift
aircraft rotorcraft and other vertical
takeoff and landing aircraft in the case
of the VTOL aircraft
tunnel tests explored the critical
flight regime where the vehicle makes
the transition from Howard lift at low
forward speeds to wing born left at
higher speeds the 40 by 80 also aided in
the study of structural dynamics of
advanced helicopter rotors and new VTOL
aircraft in many cases these studies led
to successful modifications for their
future design and flight the 40 by 80
was so successful in testing full scale
aircraft that 35 years after its initial
start up the tunnel power was increased
to 130 5,000 horsepower modifications
were begun to incorporate a new leg of
the tunnel with an 80 x 120 foot section
where even large conventional aircraft
rotorcraft and VTOL stl aircraft could
be accommodated modifications of an
existing structure can frequently be
more challenging than building a new one
the central area of concern in this
instance was replacing the original six
6,000 horsepower drive motors with an
enlarged horse power capacity system all
within the original space by using
synchronous motors with controllable
pitch fans at variable frequency speed
controls the new drive system was fitted
into the existing motor support
structure the new fans design was more
efficient and took advantage of the
latest acoustic technology for reduction
of noise during tunnel testing thus the
new 80 x 120 wind tunnel was born there
by tripling the test section area of the
original 40 by 80 foot tunnel in 1958
NACA was reorganized by an act of
Congress and became known as the
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration during the 60s
aeronautical research prospered as never
before although NASA is widely known for
its focus on manned and unmanned
spacecraft the agency has continued to
contribute giant strides to aircraft
technology us subsonic jets captured the
world commercial market and became
indispensable to intercontinental travel
as a result of the research at NASA
mints in the variable sweep wing and the
improved air foils were invaluable to
more efficient flight in the atmosphere
besides these aerospace contributions
NASA's research has provided
advancements in aircraft efficiency and
safety which have resulted in millions
of dollars in savings to the nation in
the later 60s supersonic transports and
fighters were on the drawing board and
there were a great number of assignments
for the wind tunnels in support of space
flight the NASA wind tunnel was able to
answer those unexpected questions that
always arise when testing radically new
designs this pushed the capabilities of
NASA's wind tunnel facilities and staff
and prove the value of wind tunnels for
high priority programs the Ames wind
tunnels played an important part in the
design and development of the space
shuttle the shuttle being a hybrid
spacecraft aircraft of unusual shape
operates under extreme flight conditions
and the wind tunnels were needed to test
the complex flow conditions encountered
from launch to orbit to landing even
though these craft operate at high
speeds they all go through the critical
low-speed takeoff and landing conditions
that can be so uniquely tested in the in
fact for such reasons the Space Shuttle
was one of the biggest challenges for
the whole Ames wind tunnel complex the
wind tunnel work paid off and the
unpowered landing tests confirmed the
tunnel test results NASA's contribution
to swept-wing technology aided in the
design of a diverse range of swept-wing
aircraft the wind tunnels for much of
the testing load for the supersonic
transport in the areas of takeoff and
landing transonic acceleration stability
and control and Inlet performance in
order to continue the research success
of the 40 by 80-foot wind tunnel a major
modification to it and construction of
the new 80 x 120 foot open circuit leg
was undertaken this resulted in an
increase of speed to 350 miles per hour
in the 40 x 80 foot test section which
is an important increase in research
capability because of its size and the
speed of 115 miles per hour in the 80 x
120 it will be possible to investigate
polski
rotor systems and the stall aircraft at
very low forward flight speeds in a
ground-based facility with minimal wind
tunnel wall effects its size even
permits the evaluation of actual
aircraft as large as a Boeing 737 jet
transport in addition to the tunnels the
outdoor aerodynamic research facility is
used to check out and test aircraft and
models in a static environment before
they are installed in the in fact wind
tunnels the facility is an open-air test
area designed to test models and
instrumentation and collect baseline
data this facility includes a model
mounting pad control room and other
support equipment for remote model or
aircraft operations the Ames 40 x 80
foot wind tunnel has seen over 550 tests
and hundreds of different aircraft and
models in its Test section of virtually
every major airframe design all three
areas of the aerodynamics complex have
been updated and equipped for the future
research that will bring us all into a
new technological age the combination of
dedicated people and machines working
together from computation to flight
since the Wright brothers and their
successors will continue on into the
Space Age undoubtedly aerospace vehicles
not even yet conceived will fly in this
NASA wind tunnel before they embark on
their future Aviation destinies in our
atmosphere or perhaps to the planets
beyond the in fact wind tunnels have
carried the burden of technical advances
in aeronautics as well as in space the
years of technical successes result from
a truly innovative direction spearheaded
by an extremely technically competent
staff which continues to have the
expertise in design excellence and
extreme research versatility several
hundred people technicians engineers
designers model fabricators mechanics
and their support personnel are required
to run wind tunnel tests this carefully
assembled team knows how to use the
capabilities of the wind tunnel and use
it wisely our world is shrinking and the
technological advances inspired by our
research here at the National
full scale aerodynamics complex will
promote safer faster and more efficient
means of travel and thereby build closer
communications contribute to
international understanding and perhaps
world peace through technological
advances from the biplanes of World War
1 and pioneering rocket free aerospace
technology has progressed to supersonic
transports spanning the globe space
probes to the planets and manned
landings on the moon winged aerospace
vehicles may someday routinely return
from orbit to a precision landing here
on earth because of this our facilities
and the dedication of our staff promised
a future generation of flight that truly
challenges the imagination now let's go
back to nineteen seventy nine to see
aircraft spin tests at NASA's Wallops
Flight Facility in Virginia for men like
wanly Bill Mims and the rest of the
ground crew it's a job they've done many
times in the past even so it's a job
they don't rush to finish above all what
they do is thorough the data that will
be gathered in today's test flight and
safety of the man who will fly the plane
are dependent on how well they prepare
the plane and its instrumentation before
flight the place is NASA's Wallops
Island Virginia blame the ground crew
has been working on since 530am is a
typical general aviation wide aircraft
and this is the man who will fly it 50
year old engineering research pilot Jim
Patton
when Jim Patton takes the plane up for a
spin that's exactly what he'll be doing
making the plane spin on purpose the
research is being done because about
thirty percent of all general aviation
fatalities can be traced to stall spin
problems
repeatedly patent noses the aircraft
skyward till the small plane stalls it
then pitches over and the spins begin
for this mistake very steep five
that's stable seven recovering units
responding slowly a typical slight lasts
about an hour and a half occasionally
when he can't recover from a spins a
parachute mounted in the tail is prompt
to stabilize the spinning plane much of
the data that may one day help
researchers find better ways to design
stall proof aircraft returns to this
telemetry station on the ground here
Paul style and his team of engineers
monitor and record results of the day's
spins research pilot Jim patent pointed
out some of the many modifications that
have been tested on the plane this half
to use live straight the so-called soda
straws under the edges of the fuselage
and the fairing back here which acts as
a ventral we're all sized and located on
the airplane in the spin tunnel on
models
we investigate these singly and in
combination and full-scale flight
the full-scale testing is only one part
of the overall effort at the Langley
Research Center engineers test models in
a spin tunnel and several other
Windtunnel facilities there
on an unused runway in West Point
Virginia south of Richmond another group
of Langley engineers and technicians fly
radio-controlled models of the same
general aviation plane results of these
tests are correlated with results from
both the spin tunnel studies and the
full-scale flight tests
stall spin research an intensive program
aimed at improving stall and spin
characteristics of both presently flying
aircraft and four planes designed in the
future our final story comes from here
at the NASA Lewis Research Center in
Cleveland in April 1987 our educational
services office worked with some of the
Cleveland area schools to create a
special education event a simulated
shuttle mission school children pretend
they are instruments the youngsters
learned through their play during
simulated space shuttle missions nine
elementary and two high schools are
involved in the Space Shuttle simulation
on april eighth 1987 besides science and
math student use art music dance and
many other subject areas to carry out
the project
more than 5,000 students participate
during the project students are many
emails about the u.s. space program
students are preparing for early morning
launches from the participating schools
students suit up for lunch
experiments in cargo are loaded
volunteers helped to convert ordinary
school buses to chatter
students train for upcoming missions
it's april eight 1987 in cleveland
launched in a day when nasa Lewis
research center is part of a simulated
shuttle program with the nine area
schools and student answering
the students design uniforms and crew
patches study launch and landing 15 and
plan experiments now we're going to see
another experiment by John Roman John
what's the problem of this experiment
well the movement of the shuttle affect
the absorbent rate of colored water and
what's the hypothesis I think the color
of the water is the color that salary
will turn what equipment or materials
are you using drinking glass water
celery stock red food coloring in
o'clock they establish mission control
rooms of their space centers and prepare
flight plans further eventual trip
through the galaxy where they are to
land and explore alien planets the
astronauts use onboard computers and
two-way radios to communicate with other
shuttle crews and mission control room
the night before liftoff each crew
enjoys a sleepover and a pre-flight
breakfast is prepared to and then last
all six five four three two one liftoff
all right and we have liftoff perfect
during their travels there is a
rendezvous at the NASA Lewis research
center but point the alien with one
another
you
that's it for this edition of space
works this is lynn Bondurant saying
goodbye from the NASA Lewis Research
Center in Cleveland
you