Word: laminar
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Perfect Maze. The solution, surprisingly, has long been obvious. But while engineers knew that the laminar (smooth) airflow they wanted could be had by sucking any turbulent air into a wing's inner cavity, putting theory into practice proved a stubborn puzzle. Dr. Pfenninger worked on his LFC (laminar flow control) wing for 23 years before perfecting its closely packed slits that are only a few thousandths of an inch wide. Under each slit, a small chamber gathers the incoming air and channels it through pin-size holes into ducts that lead to streamlined nacelles hanging under each wing...
Northrop engineers, who have run thousands of hours of wind-tunnel tests, say that once the suction is started, there is smooth, laminar flow over both top and bottom of their new wing. Up to 80% of the friction drag is eliminated-and this figure includes compensation for the drag caused by the nacelles and for the power needed to run the turbines. With drag so drastically reduced, an airplane uses much less fuel, thus can fly farther or carry more payload. The null will not have its first flight tests until next month, but Northrop is already making...