Wednesday, December 23, 2009

And More Aerodynamics

More pictures of aerodynamic testing anyway. I added some shots of the Calspan model in its various configurations to "MLAS Photos" along with some pics taken during tests in the University of Washington Aeronautical Laboratory (UWAL) tunnel and the NASA Langley Research Center Vertical Spin Tunnel (VST). The UWAL model was a 7.4% aluminum reproduction of the FF and CM used to test separation dynamics, while the VST model was a 3.5% plastic model of the FF we used to test free-flight, turnaround, and drogue chute characteristics. The video below is of the VST model under test.



And on the subject of videos, several MLAS flight videos were posted within the last couple of days at the NESC website. You'll find a link here and to the right. The videos taken by the various on-board cameras are posted there along with a single-screen, time-correlated composite of all the key flight and ground-based cameras. Those files are enormous but well worth the time it takes to download ... just be patient.

8 comments:

High Power Rocketry said...

The video wont load : (

Tim Wilson said...

Which one(s) are you having trouble with ... the spin tunnel clip posted in the blog, or the flight videos on the NESC site?

Nando said...

Tim, I'm an Italian paper modeler and I admired the beautiful work you are doing to the NESC with MLAs and especially with
your model. So I used the drawings of your model that you have kindly made
available in your site and I first created a model using Google Sketchup and then I have derived a model of paper that I am completing. I would ask permission to publish the model that would be free anyway, and cite your Blog and the work you are doing when it becomes available. I apologize for my English. If you want to know more details about my model, let me know how I can send you some pictures or the link at the forum where I'm publishing about my designing and building process. Thanks for Your attention, Nando

Tim Wilson said...

Hi Nando! Glad you found the drawings and reference materials here useful. Feel free to use them as you see fit. If you'll send me a link when your completed model is ready, I'll post it here.

Nando said...

Thank You Tim.
I have to do much work to complete the model, but I have completed the design process and now I have to refine the details making some prototype. Here the link at my Album on PICASA (http://picasaweb.google.it/Ferdinando.Santandrea/PaperMLAS196#) where I published some screen capture of the designing process and of the first prototypes that I made. I'm using Google Sketchup to design the 3D model and Pepakura to unroll the surfaces, plus some image editor like Paint.net: all free softwares.

I hope that You appreciate the work that I did using all the resources that You gave available for free about the MLAS project. I'll keep You informed of my slow progresses.

Thanks again, Nando

rstaff said...

Knock,knock, anyone home?

This site really needs an update. Hope the inactivity is because you are busy at work and not something else.

Tim Wilson said...

You're absolutely right! Work has swallowed up everything else the last couple of months. But there's light at the end of the tunnel. Updates coming soon ...

High Power Rocketry said...

I see it now, very nice!