National Advisory Committee For Aeronautics
The NACA facility was located adjoining the Langley Air Force Base near Hampton, Virginia. This was then the only in-house research arm of NACA and had a highly motivated young staff. The work atmosphere was very informal though competitive, with much open stimulating discussion. However, conditions were rather primitive. For example the library consisted of one small shelf of books. Theodorsen used as his mainstays Hutte Mechanical Engineering Handbook and a set of the 1929 edition of the Handbuch der Physik.
Within a short time Theodorsen was made head of the Physical Research Division, the other research divisions being Engine Research and Aerodynamics. Langley NACA was then in the process of expanding its experimental facilities to include a Full Scale Wind Tunnel and a Hydrodynamic Towing Basin for testing flying boat hulls. It happened that the proposed location of the towing basin had formerly been a bombing range. One of Theodorsen's first activities was the invention of an instrument for detecting buried metals and on its very first use it located a live bomb.
The ensuing years were highly productive ones for Theodorsen in a great variety of experimental and theoretical areas. As an overview Theodorsen improved thin airfoil theory by introducing the angle of best streamlining, went on to develop the now classical and elegant theory of arbitrary wing sections, performed the first in-house noise research, worked on fire prevention in aircraft and on means of icing removal and prevention, contributed to the theory of open, closed and partially open wind-tunnel test sections, developed the basic theory of aircraft flutter and its verification, made early measurements of skin friction at transonic and supersonic speeds, developed the use of freon for experimental aeroelastic work, gave damping properties of structures and expanded general propeller theory. During World War II Theodorsen was called on for the analysis and troubleshooting of many aircraft problems and to help devise necessary modifications.
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