"We Freeze to Please" - A History of NASA's Icing Research Tunnel and the Quest for Flight Safety (NASA SP-2002-4226)

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Transportation, Aviation, Science & Nature, Science, Physics, Astrophysics & Space Science
Cover of the book "We Freeze to Please" - A History of NASA's Icing Research Tunnel and the Quest for Flight Safety (NASA SP-2002-4226) by Progressive Management, Progressive Management
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Progressive Management ISBN: 9781466110083
Publisher: Progressive Management Publication: February 29, 2012
Imprint: Smashwords Edition Language: English
Author: Progressive Management
ISBN: 9781466110083
Publisher: Progressive Management
Publication: February 29, 2012
Imprint: Smashwords Edition
Language: English

This official NASA history document - converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction - is a comprehensive account of NASA research on aircraft icing, a major threat to air safety.

From the preface: Icing research has received only limited attention from historians. Yet the problem of icing has challenged aviators and aircraft manufacturers since the earliest days of powered flight—and continues to do so. At various times in the past, victory has been declared over the menace of icing, but these claims have always proved premature. Despite more than seven decades of research into the phenomena, much remains to be learned about the nature of icing and how best to respond to it.

In the United States, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and its successor, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), have led the way in investigating the interaction between aircraft and the icing environment, as well as in developing various means to protect fixed- and rotary-wing machines. To be sure, icing research has never been given a high priority. When the NACA began to investigate icing during the 1930s, most of the engineers at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory were far more interested in advances in aerodynamics than they were in icing. When work shifted to the new Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory in Cleveland in the 1940s, icing research represented only a minor interest of a laboratory that was devoted to engine development. Later, the demands of the space age overshadowed NASA's work on aeronautics. Within this limited context, icing investigations usually ranked low on the aeronautical research agenda.

Perhaps because of their lack of status in the NACA/NASA world, icing researchers tended to form a close-knit group. Untroubled by distinctions between fundamental research and practical engineering, they believed that they were doing important work and were making a significant contribution to safety. They found other icing enthusiasts in industry, academia, and government agencies, both in the United States and abroad, and eventually came together in an international "icing community."

In telling the story of NACA/NASA icing research, I have focused on the role of the Icing Research Tunnel (IRT) at the Cleveland laboratory. Because the experiments that were conducted in the IRT formed only part of a broader investigation into icing which encompassed flight research and computer simulation, I have included information about these topics while keeping the tunnel at the center of my study. Also, I have attempted to place the work of the NACA/NASA in the broader context of the icing problems faced by the international aviation community.

The dangers posed by icing rarely concerned aviators during the first two decades of powered flight. Lacking the instruments necessary to fly without visual references, pilots did their best to avoid clouds. As a result, encounters with icing seldom happened and were always inadvertent. The situation changed in the mid-1920s when the intrepid aviators of the U.S. Air Mail Service attempted to maintain scheduled day-and-night operations between New York and Chicago. These instrument-flying pioneers were the first group of flyers to face the icing menace on a regular basis. As one of their pilots noted at the time about the hazards of the New York-Chicago route, "the greatest of all our problems is ice."

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This official NASA history document - converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction - is a comprehensive account of NASA research on aircraft icing, a major threat to air safety.

From the preface: Icing research has received only limited attention from historians. Yet the problem of icing has challenged aviators and aircraft manufacturers since the earliest days of powered flight—and continues to do so. At various times in the past, victory has been declared over the menace of icing, but these claims have always proved premature. Despite more than seven decades of research into the phenomena, much remains to be learned about the nature of icing and how best to respond to it.

In the United States, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and its successor, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), have led the way in investigating the interaction between aircraft and the icing environment, as well as in developing various means to protect fixed- and rotary-wing machines. To be sure, icing research has never been given a high priority. When the NACA began to investigate icing during the 1930s, most of the engineers at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory were far more interested in advances in aerodynamics than they were in icing. When work shifted to the new Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory in Cleveland in the 1940s, icing research represented only a minor interest of a laboratory that was devoted to engine development. Later, the demands of the space age overshadowed NASA's work on aeronautics. Within this limited context, icing investigations usually ranked low on the aeronautical research agenda.

Perhaps because of their lack of status in the NACA/NASA world, icing researchers tended to form a close-knit group. Untroubled by distinctions between fundamental research and practical engineering, they believed that they were doing important work and were making a significant contribution to safety. They found other icing enthusiasts in industry, academia, and government agencies, both in the United States and abroad, and eventually came together in an international "icing community."

In telling the story of NACA/NASA icing research, I have focused on the role of the Icing Research Tunnel (IRT) at the Cleveland laboratory. Because the experiments that were conducted in the IRT formed only part of a broader investigation into icing which encompassed flight research and computer simulation, I have included information about these topics while keeping the tunnel at the center of my study. Also, I have attempted to place the work of the NACA/NASA in the broader context of the icing problems faced by the international aviation community.

The dangers posed by icing rarely concerned aviators during the first two decades of powered flight. Lacking the instruments necessary to fly without visual references, pilots did their best to avoid clouds. As a result, encounters with icing seldom happened and were always inadvertent. The situation changed in the mid-1920s when the intrepid aviators of the U.S. Air Mail Service attempted to maintain scheduled day-and-night operations between New York and Chicago. These instrument-flying pioneers were the first group of flyers to face the icing menace on a regular basis. As one of their pilots noted at the time about the hazards of the New York-Chicago route, "the greatest of all our problems is ice."

More books from Progressive Management

Cover of the book Are We Prepared? Four WMD Crises That Could Transform U.S. Security: Failed WMD-armed State, Collapse of Nonproliferation Regime, Biological Terror Campaign, Nuclear Detonation in American City by Progressive Management
Cover of the book The Air Force Role in Developing International Outer Space Law: Space Law Debates, Project West Ford, Legal Concepts by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Remembering the Space Age: Proceedings of the 50th Anniversary Conference - Germans and Nazis, Mythmaking in Russia, American Culture and Music, Heinlein Influence, Apollo, Chinese Program by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century Understanding Cancer Toolkit: Complete Guide to Clinical Trials - Finding Trials, Benefits and Risks, Protocols, Drugs and Therapies, In-Depth Workbooks and Guides for Outreach by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Essential Guide to Military Ethics: Army Professionalism, The Military Ethic, and Officership in the 21st Century - McMaster Speeches – Fort Leavenworth Symposium, Professional Ethic and the State by Progressive Management
Cover of the book The Innate Insurgent Advantage: Can Training and Planning Bridge the Gap? Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan, Terrorism, Casualties and Chaos, COIN Counterinsurgency, MRAP Vehicles, Kits by Progressive Management
Cover of the book FEMA Document Series: Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Public Law 93-288 (Stafford Act) by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Hoover Dam: The Boulder Canyon Project - Historic Setting, Construction History, Design, Boulder City, Post Construction History, Settlement of Project Lands, Uses of Project Water by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Ideas, Concepts, Doctrine: Basic Thinking in the United States Air Force 1961-1984 - Volume Two, Air Power, Tactical Air Command, Air Mobility, Space, MOL, Manned Space Flight, Strategy by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and Joseph Kony: American Efforts to Counter the LRA in Central Africa, Uganda, Central African Republic (CAR), Congo, and South Sudan by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Operational Level Air Commanders: A Search for the Elements of Genius - Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding, Admiral Raymond Spruance, and General George Kenney, Battle of Britain, Midway, Papua Campaign by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century U.S. Military Manuals: U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) Marine Corps Values: A User's Guide for Discussion Leaders (Value-Added Professional Format Series) by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Secret Weapon: High-value Target Teams as an Organizational Innovation - Iraq, Afghanistan, Taliban, al-Qaeda, Petraeus, Odierno, The Surge in Iraq, SOF, Tommy Franks, Task Force Freedom in Mosul by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Space Shuttle Orbiter Approach and Landing Test (ALT) Program Final Evaluation Report - Complete Details on the 1977 Captive and Free Flight Tests on the 747 STS Carrier Aircraft by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 2014 International Workshop on Research and Operational Considerations for Artificial Gravity Countermeasures: Mars Missions, Astronaut Performance, Long Duration Space Flight, Centrifugal Force by Progressive Management
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy