Altitude Wind Tunnel Historical Documents
This page contains digital versions of various historical documents and resources related to the Altitude Wind Tunnel (AWT). These include technical reports, newspaper articles, floor plans, correspondence, talks, reports, tutorials, and other documents.
AWT General Information
AWT History
- Revolutionary Atmosphere: The Story of the AWT and SPC
- A Tunnel Through Time – History of NASA’s Altitude Wind Tunnel (video)
- AWT—A Tunnel for Engines from Wind Tunnels of NASA (1981)
- The History of a Wind Tunnel (1961): Video / Transcript
- AWT Interactive History (PDF)
- Altitude Wind Tunnel articles (1944)
- AWT Gets New Assignment article (1962)
- Glenn Says Goodbye to Historic Facility (2008)
AWT Description
- AWT Ohio Historic Inventory
- AWT Historic American Engineering Report
- SPC Historic American Engineering Report
- Support Historic American Engineering Report
- AWT Original Website (PDF)
- AWT Display Poster
- SPC Display Poster
Research Activities
Engine Testing
- Log of AWT Investigations (1944-58)
- AWT Test Schedule (1945)
- Altitude Wind Tunnel Projects (1944-45)
- AWT Investigations of Jet Engines (1945)
- NACA Inspection Talks on the AWT (1947)
- Comparison of Turbojet, Afterburner, and Ramjet in AWT (1947)
- Performance of Various Types of Aircraft Engines (1947)
- Full-Scale Engine Research in AWT (1951)
- Summary of NACA Research on Afterburners (1956)
Piston Engines
- Investigation of Cowl for the B-29 Powerplant Installation (1946)
- B-29 Flight Test of Injection Impeller and Ducted Baffles (1945)
- Propeller Study with YP-47M Airplane (1946)
- Oil System Investigation with XTB2D-1 Airplane (1946)
- R-4360 Testing for XR-60 Airplane (1947)
General Electric Centrifugal Engines
- Research Authorization for AWT Test of I-16 Engine (1944)
- AWT Tests of a Jet-Propelled Fighter (1946)
- Plan for GE I-40 Tests in the AWT (1944)
- Windmilling Drag in I-40 Engine (1948)
- I-40 Compressor Performance (1948)
- I-40 Operation Investigation (1948)
- Investigation of Turbine and Tailpipe in I-40 (1948)
General Electric Axial-Flow Engines
- AWT Investigation of TG-180 Thrust Augmentation (1948)
- Analysis of TG-1980 Compressor Performance (1948)
- AWT Investigation of TG-180 Combustion Chamber (1948)
- Altitude Performance of Tailpipe Burner on TG-180 (1950)
- Altitude Starting of J47 Turbojet Engine (1951)
- Investigation of AN-F-58 Fuel in J47 Engine (1949)
- Performance of Tailpipe with Variable Area Nozzle (1950)
- J47D Compressor, Combustor, Turbine Performance (1951)
Westinghouse Turbojets
- Westinghouse 19B and 19XB Operation (1948)
- Westinghouse 19B and 19XB Compressor (1948)
- Operational Characteristics of Westinghouse X24C (1948)
- Performance and Windmilling Drag in X24C (1948)
- Inlet Icing and Hot-Gas Ice Protection of Turbojet (1948)
- Afterburner Operation of Electronic Regulator on XJ34 (1951)
- Investigation of XJ34 Engine without Electronic Controls (1953)
- J40 Performance with Hydrogen and JP-4 Fuels (1956)
- Altitude Operation of J40—WE-8 Turbojet Engine (1953)
- Altitude Investigation of Afterburners for J-40 Engine (1953)
- Effect of Blade Modifications on Compressor for XJ40 (1953)
1950s Jet Engines
- Investigation of High-Velocity Afterburners on J-71 (1954)
- Altitude Performance of J71-A-11 Engine (1956)
- Altitude Performance of J71 with JP-4 (1957)
- Performance Data for J57-P-1 Engine at Altitudes (1954)
- J57-P-1 Turbojet with Fixed-area Nozzle (1954)
- Jet Noise Reduction talk (1957)
- B-57 Hydrogen Flight footage
- Turbojet Performance at Altitude with Hydrogen (1956)
- Hydrogen for Turbojet and Ramjet Powered Flight (1957)
- Altitude Performance of J65 with Hydrogen (1957)
Turboprops
- Altitude Investigation of TG-100A Turboprop Engine (1950)
- AWT Investigation of TG-100A Compressor-Turbine (1947)
- Altitude Performance of a Python Turboprop Engine (1952)
- Dynamic Investigation of Python Engine in AWT (1950)
Ramjets
- Ramjet Propulsion Talk (1947)
- Performance of 20-inch Ramjet at High Altitudes (1947
- Ramjet Combustion Chamber Temperatures (1947)
- Bumblebee Project Semiannual Report (1949)
- Performance of Bumblebee Ramjet with Can Flameholder (1948)
- Comparison of Fuel Types in Bumblebee Ramjet (1948)
- Performance of Solid Propellant at High Altitudes (1959)
Project Mercury Testing
- MASTIF Description (1962)
- Articles re Lewis Big Joe Testing (1959)
- Preliminary Flight Results of Big Joe Capsule (1959)
- MASTIF Operation Video
- Newsletter Articles on MASTIF (1960)
- Pilot Reaction to High-Speed Rotation (1963)
- Gimbal Rig Mercury Astronaut Trainer
- Astronaut Press Conference at Lewis (1960)
- MASTIF Space Progress Report (1959)
- Jerrie Cobb Testing the Gimbal Rig
Centaur Testing
Atlas-Centaur Retrorockets
- Atlas Solid Fuel Rocket Separation Test (1965)
- Separation Dynamics of Atlas-Centaur (1967)
- Improved Ignitor for Atlas-Centaur Separation (1968)
Systems Testing
- Centaur SPC Testing articles (1964)
- Space Simulation in a Converted Facility (1966)
- Flight Simulation Tests of a Centaur Vehicle (1970)
- Centaur Inverter Failure During SPC Test (1967)
Shroud Jettison Tests
- Centaur AC-4 Nose Fairing Jettison (1966)
- Surveyor Nose Fairing Mode Survey (1964)
- Centaur AC-6 Nose Fairing Separation (1967)
- Centaur-OAO Nose Fairing Test (1970)
- Atlas-Centaur Flight Performance for OAO-II (1970)
- Technical Services Reviews of OAO Tests (1971-72)
- Atlas-Centaur Lifts OAO into Orbit article (1972)
- Centaur D-1A Nose Fairing Jettison Test (1976)
Hydrogen Tank Venting
- Management of Cryogenic Propellants in Vehicle (1968)
- Propellant Management System for Atlas-Centaur 8 (1966)
Facility Materials
Design and Construction
- AWT Comparison to Wright Tunnel (1941)
- Knudsen Letter on Need for AWT (1941)
- Costs for Completion of AWT Construction (1943)
- AWT Construction Progress Reports (1941-43)
- AWT Refrigeration Request for Proposal (1942)
- Carrier in Wind Tunnel Air Condition history (1956)
AWT Facility
- AWT Operation Overview (2009)
- Overview of AWT and SPC Facility (2009)
- AWT at the AERL Talk (1943)
- Biermann Lecture on the AWT (c1947)
- AWT Facility Specifications (1957)
- AWT Welding specs (1942)
- Support Ring Diagrams
- AWT Drive Fan drawing (1944)
- AWT Test Section Drawings (1942)
SPC Facility
- SPC Operation Overview (2009)
- SPC Alteration for Space Simulation (c1960)
- Memo Renaming AWT as SPC (1962)
- Overview of SPC Environmental Tests (2009)
- SPC Facility Layout Drawing
- SPC Complex Description (1975)
Support Facilities
- Refrigeration Plant Manual (1944)–extract
- Refrigeration Bldg Specs (1942)–extract
- Shop and Office Building Floor Plans (1956)
- Shop Office Building Overview Chart (2009)
- AWT Air Dryer System Description (2011)
- Small Supersonic Tunnels specs (1957)
Tunnel Rehabilitation Study
- AWT Rehab Articles (1981-85)
- AWT Rehab Description (1985)
- AWT Project Management Report (1985)
- AWT—A Unique Facility for Propulsion Testing (1985)
- Progress in the AWT Modeling Program (1986)
- Cancellation of AWT Rehab Project (1985)
- Facility Demolition
- Demolition to Begin on AWT (2006)
- AWT Demolition Justification (2007)
- AWT Historical Mitigation Agreement (2007)
- AWT Section 106 Report (2008)
- Presentations from Community Meeting (2006)
- Community Awareness Meeting flier (2006)
- AWT Demolition Process and Team
Reference Materials
Historical Reference
- Girding for War chapter from Engines & Innovation (1991)
- Before Pearl Harbor chapter from Model Research (1985)
- Trouble-Shooting: The Wartime Mission from Engines & Innovation (1991)
- The Case for Jet Propulsion chapter from Engineer in Charge
- Jet Engines for War talk by Hugh Dryden (1951)
- NACA Overview
- Wind Tunnels of NASA (NASA SP-440)
- The Birth of NASA: Monographs in Aerospace History # 10
Glenn Reference
- NASA Glenn Name Changes
- General Arnold’s Visit to the AERL (1944)
- Visitor Information Center articles (1977-87)
- Visitor Information Center photos (1970s)
Glenn Facilities
- NASA Glenn’s Current Wind Tunnels
- Icing Research Tunnel
- Space Propulsion Research Facility
- Space Power Facility
- Propulsion Systems Laboratory
- Electric Propulsion Laboratory
- Jet Propulsion Static Laboratory
- Antenna Measurement Facilities at Glenn (2002)
- Manual for Far-Field Antenna Range (1992)
- Overview of the Advanced High Frequency Branch (2015)
Other Centers and Facilities
- Langley Field Historical Resources
- NACA No.1 Wind Tunnel Standardization at Langley
- Variable Density Tunnel at Langley
- Propeller Research Tunnel at Langley
- Full Scale Tunnel at Langley
- 16-Foot High Speed Tunnel at Langley
- NASA Ames Historical Backgrounder
- Space Environment Simulator at GSFC
- 25-Foot Space Environment Facility at JPL
- Space Environment Simulation Laboratory at MSFC
- A Survey of Large Space Chambers (1963)
Technical Terminology
- Nose cone or Shroud
- Ramjets
- Turboprop Engine
- Afterburner
- Flameholders
- Jet Propulsion
- Axial-flow Compressor
- Centrifugal Compressors
- Wind Tunnel Resources
- Beginner’s Guide to Wind Tunnels
NASA Missions
- Project Mercury Chronology (1944-63)
- This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury (1966)
- Project Mercury Archives
- The Mercury – Redstone Project report (1964)
- Project Mercury Familiarization Manual (1959)
- Big Joe Mission
- Surveyor spacecraft
- High Energy Astrophysical Observatories