Historic LaRC photos

[DSE]

Found these tunneling down from the NASA Cultural Resources (CRGIS) website.

http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/Langley_Media and under some facilities you can find some old test photos, for instance under http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/Unitary_and_Continuous-Flow_Hypersonic_Tunnels there is this old boost glide configuration: http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/File:1959-06-22_Aviation_Week_Photo.jpg

 

[Matej]

OMG!! F-16 with supersonic cruise wings, F-16XL, F-16ATFI, F-16 forward swept wing, F-16 with variable geometry inlet, B-58, Bell D-188A, X-2, X-20 Dynasoar, Boeing SST, HL-10, Hycat, Lockheed SST, SV-5D, Martin 329, Republic FX (F-15), Space Shuttle variations, AMSA, US/Germany VTOL fighter...

Definitely worth to visit!

 

[Matej]

North American F-15 (with weapons): http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/File:L-69-5222.jpg
Viggen (!) http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/File:L-66-8023.jpg
Pluto/Slam: http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/File:L-61-8324.jpg
Lockheed L-2000: http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/File:L-64-11,701.jpg
F-16XL: http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/File:L-78-775.jpg
F-16FSW: http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/File:L-80-1450.jpg
Unknown Bell fighter: http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/File:LAL_64078.2.jpg
Martin 329: http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/File:LAL_58-752.jpg
Republic F-15: http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/File:L-69-4480.jpg
Space resecue vehicle: http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/File:L-79-8559.jpg

 

[Antonio]

Unknown Bell fighter

Looks like the X-2

 

[robunos]

Looks like the X-2

This picture is reproduced on page 54 of Jay Millers' 'X-Planes - X-1 to X-45', with the caption

"Long before the X-2 was built, it was known that there would be directional stability problems at
high Mach [numbers]. Canards were one of the proposed solutions

This link is a goldmine! Tell me that the 'twin AMSA' isn't really a Tu-22M...........


cheers,
Robin.

 

[aim9xray]

Incredible material. Watch out for misplaced and mis-labled images! These are almost more fun that the correctly ID'd images. Spectacular!

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Indeed!

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Oh boy...

http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/Additional_Photos_for_16-Foot_Transonic_Tunnel_Ordered_by_Tunnel_Test_Log

 

[Matej]

Some of the most interesting (primarily recent UCAVs) are not there But the things such as F-117 with the external stores (!)... Hmmm

 

[aim9xray]

http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/Additional_Photos_for_12-Foot_Low_Speed_Tunnel

http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/Additional_Photos_for_12-Foot_Low_Speed_Tunnel_2

http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/Additional_Photos_for_12-Foot_Low_Speed_Tunnel_3

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Craig - if you go to the main page

http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/Langley_Media

And scroll to the Wind Tunnels section, several of the wind tunnels have photo collections

 

[Matej]

"Senior Project Model": http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/File:95-04376.jpg
"Hyper Agility Platform" - the year is 1998: http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/File:98-00959.jpg
WTF?? http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/File:90-08524.jpg

 

[aim9xray]

Sorry Matej, but "Senior Project" is "NCSU (North Carolina State University) senior project model; July 1995; 644 "

 

[Mark Nankivil]

Check out the tow tanks too:

http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/Tow_Tanks

An F-86 goes skiing!

The spin tunnel is interesting as well:

http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/Free_Spinning_Tunnel

Enjoy the Day! Mark

 

[flateric]

let's help NASA!

I've asked Mary Gainer of NASA if we can expect that some missing photos of experiments will appear one day, that's what she answered:

From: Gainer, Mary E. (LARC-D402C) mary.e.gainer@nasa.gov
Date: 2010/9/21
Subject: RE: NASA Langley Multimedia
To: Grigory Omelchenko <flateric@secretprojects.co.uk>

We have numerous photos that we are currently sorting through and linking with the appropriate tests. Much of this work is being done by an excellent group of student interns. I do not have a date that we will have everything completed. If by any chance you are able to identify photos or provide corrections, please feel free to contact me.

Mary Gainer
Historic Preservation Officer
http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic


NASA Langley Research Center
MS 213
Hampton, VA 23681
757-864-7762
757-864-7728 fax

so if you know that some unnamed photo sets are from specific project, or photo caption is mismatched, I think that you can contact Mary at mary.e.gainer@nasa.gov with corrections.

Logically, you should give link to specific set of photos (or specific unlabelled single photo if it's not in set), explaining what was it.

For example:
http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/Additional_Photos_for_12-Foot_Low_Speed_Tunnel_3#Model_.2369
McDonnell XF-85

 

[mz]

Talk about an odd couple: ???
http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/File:Supersonic_Glider.jpg

 

[Stargazer]

Yeah, and in the same vein:

 

[Retrofit]

http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/Additional_Photos_for_12-Foot_Low_Speed_Tunnel_3#Model_.2369
http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/File:LMAL_55147.jpg

Model#78 corresponds to the (Canadian) National Research Council NRC "Wing" experimental tailless glider designed by Hill.

 

[DSE]

Not sure if this was there before, but a page walking through some of the testing history of the 16-Foot Transonic Tunnel can be found at http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/1146

 

[aim9xray]

I am quite remiss taking so long to recommend the following book published by Specialty Press:

Radical Wings & Wind Tunnels: Advanced Concepts Tested at NASA Langley

Running 160 pages, many now-familiar wind tunnel model concepts are discussed in "technical snapshots", giving some badly needed context to the NASA photography.

I was slightly disappointed that the book did not go deeper into some of the more obscure concepts, but recognize that that something along the lines of "Jane's All The Wind Tunnel Models Ever Tested at Langley" would probably have the size and cost of some of the other current Jane's Group publications!

Short take: Esoteric, but valuable for those interested in this subject.

 

[Stargazer]

something along the lines of "Jane's All The Wind Tunnel Models Ever Tested at Langley" would probably have the size and cost of some of the other current Jane's Group publications!

It would for sure! But a website with regular additions would more than do the trick...