Naca Collection

The Pitcairn Autogiro
This Pitcairn Pa-1 autogiro was flown at Langley for the NACA investigation of an experimental cantalevered three-bladed rotor

Curtiss Bleeker Helicopter
In June of 1930 this Curtiss Bleeker Helicopter was photographed on the tarmac in front of the Langley hangar. The first successful helicopters, however, appeared in Europe later in the decade

Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny"aircraft with model wing suspended, June 22, 1921
Curtiss JN-4 " Jenny" aircraft with model wing suspended, June 22, 1921. Active aircraft biplane, NACA 29-38131, with model wing suspended during flight

United States Navy - Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat 42874, NACA 158, of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) at Moffett Naval Air Station

Douglas D-588-2 Skyrocket number 3 37875
NACA - Douglas D-588-2 Skyrocket number 3 37875, suspended in the modified bomb bay of its launch aircraft, Boeing P2B-1S 84029 (msn, ex B-29-95-BW 45-21787), circa September 1950. Date: 1950

Douglas D588-1 Skystreak 37972 - NACA 142
Douglas D588-1 Skystreak 37972 / NACA 142 (msn number 3), the third D-558-1 of the NACA Muroc Flight Test Unit. Date: circa 1951

Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp
Curtiss XP-3A No.2 28-189 (msn 10993), fitted with a 410hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340-1 Wasp, in a close fitting NACA cowling

Republic F-84F Thunderstreak 51-1346
Republic F-84F-1-RE Thunderstreak 51-1346, on display at Rickenbacker ANGB, Columbus, Ohio.. Used exclusively for trials and testing, this aircraft was assigned to NASA Dryden Flight Research Center

United States Air Force - Republic YRF-84F Thunderstreak 49-2430 FICON parasite, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, seen with the retractable nose hook extended

United States Air Force North American T-6G Texan 50-1279, buzz-number TA-279, (msn 168-443), at the USAF Museum storage compound at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH

Key members of the XS 1 research team, USA, January 1948. Creator: Unknown
Key members of the XS 1 research team, USA, January 1948. National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics Muroc Flight Test Unit XS-1 Team members and USAF pilots (L-R): Joseph Vensel

President Hoover presents the Collier Trophy, USA, April 10, 1929. Creator: Unknown
President Hoover presents the Collier Trophy, USA, April 10, 1929. President Herbert Hoover presents the The Robert J. Collier Trophy, an annual aviation award, to Joseph Ames

Aviation pioneers at a conference, Langley Field, Virginia, USA, May 23, 1934. Eight of the twelve members of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA)

Dr. Max Munk, chief of aerodynamics, in his office at Langley, Virginia, USA, 1926. German aerospace engineer Max M. Munk (1890-1986) achieved lasting fame by conceiving, developing

Godfrey, Cooper and DeFrance on the Ramp, 1948. Creator: NASA
Godfrey, Cooper and DeFrance on the Ramp, California, USA, 1948. Radio and early television personality Arthur Godfrey, (left) has a discussion with NACA civilian pilot George Cooper

Scott Crossfield Mach 2 flight. Creator: Unknown
Scott Crossfield after the first mach 2 flight, USA, November 20, 1953. Naval officer and test pilot Scott Crossfield piloted the Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket to Mach 2, or more than 1

Amelia Earhart visits NACA, Virginia, USA, Nov. 5, 1928. Creator: Unknown
Amelia Earhart visits NACA, Virginia, USA, Nov. 5, 1928. American pioneer aviator Earhart on the steps of the Langley Research Building, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics

Pilot Joe Walker and the X-1A, California, USA, 1955. Creator: NASA
Pilot Joe Walker and the X-1A, California, USA, 1955. Cowboy Joe (NACA High-Speed Flight Station test pilot Joseph Walker) and his steed (Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1A)

Scott Crossfield... after the first mach 2 flight, USA, November 20, 1953
Scott Crossfield in the cockpit of the D-558-2 after the first mach 2 flight, USA, November 20, 1953. Naval officer and test pilot Scott Crossfield piloted the Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket to Mach 2

Final meeting of National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, USA, August 21, 1958. Left to right: T. Keith Glennan, NASA Administrator; Mr. Preston R

Franklin D. Roosevelt at Langley Research Center, Virginia, USA, July 29, 1940. President Roosevelt in a car inside a hangar at NASA Langley, the wing of a plane is visible in the background

Fred E. Weick, Tom Hamilton and Charles Lindbergh, USA, June 1927. Creator: Unknown
Fred Weick, Tom Hamilton and Charles Lindbergh, USA, June 1927. American aviators visting the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics: Fred E

Boeing YP-29 34-23 (Boeing Model 264). The YP-29 is seen here fitted with an experimental variable-pitch propeller. The aircraft was later delivered to NACA

Douglas YO-31A 31-604 (in the NACA wind tunnel at Langley)
Douglas YO-31A 31-604 (msn 1069), shown mounted in the full-scale National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) wind tunnel at Langley, Virginia

Weick W-1
Fred Weick designed the W-1 with tricycle landing gear. It is shown here in the Full Scale Tunnel in March 1934

Wright Apache
Originally the Wright Apache had a propeller spinner over the hub and a metal jacket covering the crankcase and inner portions of its engine cylinders

Evolution of the Airfoil
The historical evolution of airfoil sections, 1908-1944. The last two shapes are low-drag sections designed to have laminar flow over 60 to 70 percent of chord on both the upper and lower surface

Python engine installed in altitude wind tunnel, Cleveland, Ohio, USA, August 25, 1949. An engine mechanic checks instrumentation prior to an investigation of engine operating characteristics

Piper J-3L50 Cub, USA, April 16, 1942. Creator: Unknown
Piper J-3L50 Cub, USA, April 16, 1942. The Piper J-3 Cub was evaluated at Langley Research Center by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in late 1939 to early 1940

Hartley Soule with Fairchild 22, Langley Field, Virginia, USA, April 25, 1932. American aerospace engineer Hartley Soule stands in front of a Fairchild 22 monoplane with a leading edge high lift

XP-82 (XF-82) Twin Mustang, Langley Research Center, Virginia, USA, 5 May 1951. In the early 1950s, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics used this XP-82 Twin Mustang for its drop-body

D-558-2 being mounted to P2B 1S launch aircraft, USA, 1953. Creator: Unknown
D-558-2 being mounted to P2B 1S launch aircraft, USA, 1953. The Douglas D-558-2 2 Skyrocket (NACA 144), prior to flight, being towed under the P2B-1S (Navy designation for the Air Force B-29)

Wright WF3W-1 Apache, USA, May 19, 1927. Creator: Unknown
Wright WF3W-1 Apache, USA, May 19, 1927. In its seaplane configuration, a National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics crew prepares the Wright XF3W-1 Apache for take off from the Little Back River

D-558-1 in flight, USA, May 1952. Creator: NACA
D-558-1 in flight, USA, May 1952. The Douglas D-558-1 Skystreak was a single-engine turbojet-powered research aircraft used by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics

Evolution of the airfoil, 1908-1944. Creator: Unknown
Evolution of the airfoil, 1908-1944. Diagrams showing the historical evolution of airfoil sections. The last two shapes are low-drag sections designed to have laminar flow over 60 to 70 percent of

Effect of twinjet exhausts in simulation take-off, USA, July 7, 1949. Creator: Unknown
Effect of twinjet exhausts in simulation take-off, USA, July 7, 1949. Study of effect of twin-jet exhausts inclined toward the ground in simulation of take-off conditions for certain engine

The worlds largest wind tunnel, Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, Moffett Field, California, USA, 1947. 40 x 80 foot wind tunnel which, when built, was the worlds largest

Flying boat construction, Virginia, USA, April 24, 1946. Creator: Unknown
Flying boat construction, Virginia, USA, April 24, 1946. Male and female technicians at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory (now NASAs Langley Research Center)

Engineers check body revolution model, Ohio, USA, July 31, 1957. Creator: Unknown
Engineers check body revolution model, Ohio, USA, July 31, 1957. Engineers at the Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory making a check on the body of a model of a supersonic aircraft before a test run

Fairchild FC-2W2
The first aircraft purchased by the NACA was this Fairchild FC-2W2. Marked as " NACA 26, " this aircraft was the first to be flown in a NACA paint scheme

Amelia Earhart
Group photo on steps of Langley Research Building in 1928. front row, left to right: E.A. Meyers, Elton Miller, Amelia Earhart, Henry Reid, and Lt. Col. Jacob W.S. Wuest

Curtiss Hawk with NACA Cowling in 1928

Curtiss JN-4 Jenny Aircraft With Model Wing Suspended
Active aircraft biplane, NACA 29-38131, with model wing suspended during flight

Langley First Wind Tunnel
The honeycombed, screened center of this open-circuit air intake for Langleys first wind tunnel insured a steady, nonturbulent flow of air

Molded Astronaut Couches
Molded astronaut couches line the NASA Langley Research Centers model shop wall. The names of the test subjects (Langley employees) are written on the back

RM-10 Research Model
Technician Durwood Dereng measures elevation of double Deacon booster prior to launch of RM-10 research model at Wallops, February 6, 1951

North American XP-51 Mustang
The North American XP-51 Mustang was the first aircraft to incorporate an NACA laminar-flow airfoil. This is the second XP-51, which arrived at Langley in March 1943

Mitsubishi A6M2
Captured at Akutan Island, Alaska, in August 1942. This Mitsubishi A6M2 fighter was the first " Zero" to fall intact into Allied hands during WW II

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"NACA: Pioneering Aviation Research and Innovation" Step into the world of aviation history with NACA, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. From groundbreaking autogiros to revolutionary rockets, it has played a pivotal role in shaping the skies we know today. One of their notable achievements was The Pitcairn Autogiro, an aircraft that defied conventional flight mechanics. With its unique rotor system, it paved the way for vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. Another remarkable invention was the Curtiss Bleeker Helicopter, which showcased advancements in rotary-wing technology. This helicopter pushed boundaries by providing enhanced maneuverability and versatility in aerial operations. NACA's contributions extended beyond helicopters as they ventured into supersonic territory with the Douglas D-588-2 Skyrocket number 3 37875. This rocket-powered aircraft broke speed records and propelled mankind closer to exploring space. The Skystreak series also left an indelible mark on aviation history. Notably, Douglas D588-1 Skystreak 37972 - NACA 142 set new speed records while utilizing innovative aerodynamic designs developed by NACA's chief of aerodynamics, Dr. Max Munk. Powering these incredible machines were engines like Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp – a true marvel of engineering that provided exceptional performance and reliability throughout countless flights. Not limited to experimental aircraft alone, NACA worked closely with military forces on projects such as Republic F-84F Thunderstreak 51-1346 and United States Air Force North American T-6G Texan 50-1279. These collaborations ensured cutting-edge technologies reached both civilian and defense sectors alike. Behind every success story are dedicated individuals who push boundaries relentlessly. Key members of the XS 1 research team embodied this spirit as they pursued breakthroughs in high-speed flight during January 1948.