Evening star., 1940-04-18
Anniversary

Anniversary
The National Advisory Committee
for Aeronautics, today celebrating
the twenty-fifth anniversary of its
creation by the Federal Government,
finds itself in the midst of what per-
haps is its outstanding period of
usefulness and real service to the
American people.
War pressure abroad has made i'm
perative the most rapid possible de-
velopment of all the weapons of war.
particularly of the military airplane.
The increasing demands of air trans
portation and private flying in our
own haven of peace necessitate con-
tinued Improvement of aircraft and
aircraft engines and accessories.
To the N. A. c. A. the Federal Gov
ernment has entrusted virtually all
OF the Nations basic aeronautical
research work. Upon the fundamen-
tai findings of the N. A. c. A.
scientists in the Langley Memorial
Laboratories, Langley Field, Virginia,
much of our aeronautical progress
during the last quarter-century has
been based.
Since the outbreak of hostilities in
Europe-or, rather, since the threat
OF hostilities which came with the
casting off by Germany of the
shackles of the Versailles treaty
European nations have poured
millions of dollars into funda-
mental areonautical research. De-
spite a lack of increased appropri-
atlons, the N. A. c. A. worked nobly
to keep abreast of the developments
abroad. Last year, however, the sit
uation became alarming and Con-
gress moved to create a second
aeronautical research establishment
for this country. The new labora-
tories are being constructed by the
N. A. c. A. at Sunnyvale, California.
The N. A. c. A. during the last
twenty-five years has been respon-
sible for an impressive series of fun
damental Improvements in aircraft
and engine design which have kept
this Nation in the forefront of aero
nautical development. The fact that
American airrlanes and engines are
to be found on the airlines of the
world, under the flags of a score of
nations, and that they are playing
more and more important role in the
European war is not due to chance
but to the basic excellence OF their
design.
Among the outstanding develop
ments fathered by the N. A. C. A.
laboratories are the modern cowling
for radial air-cooled engines, a de-
velopment which enormously in
creased the speed and efficiency OF
American airplanes and which won
for the N. A. c. A. the coveted Collier
Trophy; the proper location of
engines with relation to the airplane
wing, which revolutionized the design
OF large bombardment and transport
alrplanes; constant improvement in
wing shapes, indispensable to the
design OF the modern high-speed air.
plane; the design of cooling fins for
airplane engines to permit the most
efficient location and operation of
aircraft power plants; the aerody-
manic stressing of airplane wings
and structural members to obtain
requisite strength without undue
weight; the application of wing
flaps and other devices to reduce
airplane landing speeds; the i'm
provement of control at low speeds
to increase landing and takeoff
safety; improvement of aircraft sta
bility at all speeds, preventing un-
controlled spins and other undesir-
able characteristics.
These developments have affected
profoundly the design and perform
ance of American aircraft. Research
projects now in progress hold PROM
Use OF further gains of as great i'm
portance. Creation and maintenance
OF the N. A. C. A. has paid rich
returns to the American people dur
ing the last quarter century. Con-
tinuance and expansion of this vital
research agency promise even more
valuable returns in the future.