Tests of the Landing on Water of a Model of a High-Speed Airplane: Langley Tank Model 229

A n investigation was made at Langley tank no. 2 monorail of the landing on smooth water of a 12-size dynamic model of a hypothetical jetand rocket-propelled airplane deaigned to fly at trasonic speeds.The model skipped out of the water and experienced msximum normal accelerations up to 7.4g and maximum longitudinal accelerations up to k.5g.A slight modification which broke the transverse curvature of the rem of the fuselage bottom reduced the suction forces there, elfminated the resultant skipping, and reduced the maximum noma1 accelerationsThe test is past of an investigation of the feasibility of the operatiou f'rom water of high-speed airplanes, and the results of this test form a basis f o r evaluating the improvemmts in hydrodynamic characteristics obtained by various types of modifications to the basic model.Contemporary airplanes designed to fly at transonic and supersonic speeds usually have very high landing speeds, caused by the m e of high wing loadingst sweepback of the wing, thin airfoil sections, and flam that are not of the extremely high-lift types.geasa of such airplanes not only add to the weight but must be completely retracted in flight, thereby occupying valuable space in an already crowded airplane.High l a n d k g speeds lead to the necessity for long, mnooth runways and make more difficult the design of landing gears, wheels, and brakes.Similar disadvantages obtain during take-off.Full size &bitel Wingspan,feet 0 0 e e .0 .e e e e e e 0 .0 2 5 2 .0 8