Abstract
PREVIOUS James Forrest lectures summing up the then situation in aeronautics were delivered by Dr. F. W. Lanchester in 1914 and Prof. R. V. Southwell in 1930. It is curious that the scientific development of the aeroplane has fallen into phases that appear to correspond with these dates. From 1914 until 1930, the aero-engine made the more marked progress, but since that date advances in aerodynamic efficiency of aircraft have been the outstanding achievement. General aerodynamic improvement has been compounded of a number of more or less independent steps: better shapes of wings and bodies; smoother surfaces and the elimination of discontinuities in those surfaces; reduction of excrescences; closing over of openings such as cockpits; retraction of undercarriages; and improvements in means of engine cooling.
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Modern Developments in the Design of Aeroplanes: Scientific Research and the Problems of the Future. Nature 137, 930–931 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/137930a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/137930a0