NACA Sign Had Hung At Entrance To Historic NASA Wind Tunnel

With just a quick glance at the unusual, Art Deco-esque sign, you might not guess that its simple, wing-shaped form was an internationally recognized symbol from an early age of hard fought aeronautical innovation. But it was.

The sign, which once adorned the entrance to an historic NASA wind tunnel, represented the logo for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) formed on March 3, 1915. The NACA became NASA on October 1, 1958.

This particular set of NACA wings is now the official property of the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) in Washington, D.C.

In honor of the NACA centenary, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden formally presented the iconic logo sign to NASM Director Jack Dailey during a March 3 event sponsored by the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics.

"I hope it will entice your guests to experience a little sense of aviation history, and, in the telling of that story, inspire more than a few visitors to become tomorrow's aviation pioneers," Bolden said.

Dailey promised to take good care of the wings, which are on display in the NASM's America by Air gallery. He then presented Bolden with a pair of white gloves, which the NASA administrator can use to inspect the logo sign anytime he desires now that it is an artifact in the national collection, Dailey quipped.

Originally the NACA sign hung over the main entrance of the 8-Foot Transonic Pressure Wind Tunnel, which opened in 1953 at the Langley Research Center in Virginia.

Within its caverns some of the most important concepts in aviation technology were developed, tested and refined. It was in this wind tunnel that the legendary aeronautical engineer Richard Whitcomb came up with the supercritical airfoil, a wing shape that solved some of the problems encountered by an airplane as it flew at higher speeds, especially as it approached the speed of sound.

Today's drag-reducing winglets, seen at the wingtips of all manner of airplanes, also came from tests in this wind tunnel. And it was there that many of the space shuttle's aerodynamic characteristics were first measured years before it ever flew.

Research continued in the wind tunnel until it was finally closed in 1996. "And throughout it all, hanging over the main entrance to greet everyone, was this very sign depicting the N-A-C-A logo – a simple design that became an icon of aeronautical innovation," Bolden said. "For years it graced our buildings, aircraft, technical reports and even employee clothing."

The NACA sign had been on loan to the Smithsonian for several years before ownership was transferred from NASA.

NACA research led to fundamental advances in aeronautics that enabled victory in World War II, spawned a world leading civil aviation manufacturing industry, propelled supersonic flight, supported national security during the Cold War, and laid the foundation for modern air travel and the space age.

(Images provided by NASA)

FMI: www.nasa.gov