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UPDATE #37 - October 16, 1998 PART 1: Upcoming Chats UPCOMING CHATS Tuesday, October 20, 1998, 9:30 AM Pacific Time: Russ Claus, aerospace engineer Russ researches how to design gas turbine engines more efficiently. A gas turbine engine (like those on commercial jets) can require up to 7 years to design and test. This means that it can take a long time to design a new aircraft. Read Russ' autobiography prior to joining this chat. http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/aero/team/claus.html Registration information at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/aero/chats/#chatting Tuesday, October 20, at 12:00 p.m. Noon, Pacific Time, 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Linda Bangert, an Aerospace Technologist at Langely Research Center, will discuss her work on propulsion systems with aircraft. Her extensive knowledge in this area comes from a variety of work including military fighter and attack airplanes in the transonic speed range and supersonic passenger airliners, and being a private pilot herself. Linda's complete profile can be found at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/women/bios/lsb.html Registration for the chat is required and can be done by going to the Women of NASA calendar page at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/women/won-chat.html Wednesday, October 28, 1998, 9 AM Pacific Time: Roxana Greenman, aerospace Roxana researches the field of computational fluid dynamics (CFD). CFD is the process of using computers to solve complex equations associated with aircraft flight. She is trying to learn the benefits of combining technology based on our biological nervous systems with special computer programs. Read Roxana Greenman's autobiography http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/aero/team/greenman.html and view her CFD video prior to joining this chat. http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/aero/wright/tunnels/rm2.html Registration information at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/aero/chats/#chatting PROJECT NEWS
Logo Contest Winners Announced! Our wind tunnel test engineers and the Wright Flyer Online project managers have decided that three entries tied for first place (see below). We will be combining elements of each logo into one design. Watch this space! See their designs at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/aero/wright/kids/work.html Congratulations!! Andy Woo, Age 12, Barret Traditional Middle School Chris Woo, Age 12, Barret Traditional Middle School Amanda Woo, Age 13, Barret Traditional Middle School These winners will receive some NASA Publications including the Exploring Aeronautics CD! Collaborative Events To Begin! Several new aeronautics projects will have students working collaboratively online. One activity is targeted for elementary and middle school classes. Two others will be for high school or junior high school kids. These higher end activities might not be done as an entire class; other users may include science clubs, GATE kids or science fair folk. The ELEMENTARY / MIDDLE SCHOOL - Right Flying on-line collaborative activity is now online. http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/aero/events/collaborative/elem-mid.html The HIGH SCHOOL / JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL - Free Flight Analysis: an "in-flight" movie" and HIGH SCHOOL / JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL - Wind tunnel building activities will be online next week. For more information go to http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/aero/events/collaborative/index.html All of us at Quest hope you will consider joining us for this online festival of learning. Wright Flyer Coloring Contest Entries due October 31, 1998 Which category will you choose for your entry "Most Realistic" or "Most Patriotic"? Check out all the categories and join the fun. Hey those of you who are good a graphics programs, let's see what you come up with!! To find the details go to http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/aero/wright/events/contest/coloring.html [Editor's Note: The NASA Research and Wind Tunnel team is meeting every two weeks at this point to prepare for the upcoming test. Susan Lee is the Project Manager for Aerospace Team Online, not an engineer as you will note by her choice of words.] PLANNING FOR THE WIND TUNNEL TEST by Susan Lee October 16, 1998 I have been able to attend the planning meetings for the upcoming wind tunnel test and I would like to share some of the concerns and preparations that are being addressed by the engineers planning for the test. In some ways this test is very simple compared to many of the tests done here at Ames Research Center and that is good because it means a little less work, but it surprisingly presents several challenges as well. One concern is that the model is made of wood and cloth. Since the 80' by 120' wind tunnel draws air in from the marshlands of San Francisco Bay, and since March is frequently rainy, the air in that tunnel might be wet. Chances are good that the untreated model would get wet and that would affect the data. Presently we are planning to hold the test in the 40' by 80' tunnel. This air will be drier and nice for another reason, you don't have to climb 3 flights of stairs to get there! Some of you may have seen the photos of the model in the hangar. Did you know that this hangar once was the home of a huge dirigible. Since its a historic hangar, it's a good safe place to keep a bit of history, the model of the 1903 Wright Flyer. In the photos you can see that there is a dummy on the model, or did we fool you into thinking that was really Wilbur Wright? Do you think the dummy will sit on the model in the wind tunnel? It will. This will simulate how a person lying on the plane will effect the airflow. I asked if the dummy weighed as much as a real person and found out it doesn't. To simulate the weight of a real person Pete Zell the test engineer told me they would throw a sack of potatoes on the model. At first I wasn't sure if he was kidding but he was. They will use some weights that will produce the proper weight for the test. Since there won't be a real person flying the plane, the engine and the wings, and the canard and the rudder will have to be controlled remotely. The AIAA members have built a console that will control them for the test. They decided to use an electric motor for this model (You know that the Wright brothers engine was a gasoline engine.) The instrumentation engineers are trying to plan for this. They think the engine might make noise. Not the kind you hear but the kind that will effect the data from the test. At you house if someone runs the blender or the vacuum does the TV picture get fuzzy? Well that's similar to the effect the engine might have on the data. Of course they will find a solution to this problem if they need to. Meanwhile the balance is in the calibration lab. It will be tested to make sure its measurements are accurate and can be used at the most extreme measurements that will be taken. When they take the Wright Flyer back off the sting, they will remove the sensors that will be used to make measurements during the test. These will be calibrated too. I hope to share more with you about the preparations going on. The engineers and researchers working on this job have signed up because of their interest but in the meanwhile they are all working on four or five other projects. When they are too busy to share some of their stories I'll do my best to fill in. SUBSCRIBING AND UNSUBSCRIBING
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