Sep 15 1981
From The Space Library
LaRC said that it was conducting, under contract with McDonnell Douglas Corporation, a test program on widebody commercial DC-10 aircraft to measure the effect on fuel efficiency of winglets, small structures attached to the tips of airplane wings perpendicular to the wing surfaces. Winglets would reduce fuel-consuming drag by lessening the effect of vortices, turbulent air swirls forming during flight at tips of all aircraft wings.
Developed by aeronautical designer Dr. Richard T. Whitcomb, recently retired from LaRC, the concept had been tested on several types of small aircraft but not on a plane as large as the DC-10. Winglets were already in use on the Gates Learjet 55 and Grumman's Gulfstream 111. Wind-tunnel tests showed a drop of about 3 % in fuel use, which would mean an annual saving per plane of about 250,000 gallons of fuel, now priced at more than $1 a gallon.
LaRC said that it was also working on the prevention of stall and spin in light aircraft by using the canard, a miniature wing sprouting from an aircraft's nose area, first used by the Wright brothers at the turn of the century but neglected since then because of patent and flight-handling considerations. LaRC found that home-built airplane kits that used the canard to increase fuel efficiency also had impressive records of stall-spin safety. Tests of a model in LaRC's spin tunnel showed that with proper loading the plane was "virtually impossible to spin." Current tests would document the plane's aerodynamic efficiency without trying to improve it. Although the canard did reduce a pilot's area of vision in takeoff and landing, the tunnel data should show whether it could be relocated without sacrificing its safety features.
NASA's aircraft energy-efficiency program was seeking ways to reduce fuel consumption and improve safety. Four NASA centers were focused on aeronautical research: LaRC, LeRC. ARC, and DFRC. (NASA Releases 81-145, 81-155; LaRC Releases 81-68, 8175)
NASA officials began a "tanking exercise" of the Shuttle on its KSC launch pad to see if newly installed water-pressure systems would prevent recurrence of shockwaves produced by booster exhaust during the April 12 liftoff. The New York Times quoted officials as saying that shockwave reduction was "mandatory" before Columbia could head for space again. Columbia, already erected on the pad for its second mission, contained a payload of five experiments and a 50-foot mechanical arm put aboard in June when the cargo bay was "closed out," the New York Times said. NASA might remove a package of scientific experiments rather than risk damaging it during liftoff. (NY Times, Sept 15/81. C-2)
MSFC said September 8 that the Shuttle's external tank was "successfully filled with liquid propellants" in a cryo-loading test at KSC designed to check out ground and vehicle systems. The success was "a major milestone" toward the second Shuttle flight, now scheduled for October 9. (MSFC Release 81-117)
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