Ira H. Abbott (July 18, 1906 - November 3, 1988) was an American
aerospace engineer
Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...
. After graduating from
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
, Abbott started working for
Langley Aeronautical Laboratory
The Langley Research Center (LaRC or NASA Langley), located in Hampton, Virginia, United States of America, is the oldest of NASA's field centers. It directly borders Langley Air Force Base and the Back River on the Chesapeake Bay. LaRC has foc ...
in 1929.
He contributed significantly to the establishment of high-speed research programs and published numerous technical reports on
aerodynamics
Aerodynamics, from grc, ἀήρ ''aero'' (air) + grc, δυναμική (dynamics), is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dy ...
. He eventually attained the post of assistant chief of research at Langley in 1945.
In 1948, he moved to
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its assets ...
(NACA) Headquarters to work as the assistant director of research (aerodynamics), and in 1959 and 1961 he was elevated to the positions of director of advanced research programs in NASA and director of advanced research and technology.
He was a
Director of Aeronautical and Space Research at
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
between 1959 and 1962. As Assistant Director of NACA, Abbott was decisive in keeping
Ames Research Center
The Ames Research Center (ARC), also known as NASA Ames, is a major NASA research center at Moffett Federal Airfield in California's Silicon Valley. It was founded in 1939 as the second National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) labo ...
focused on research instead of moving into operations during the development of the proposed
Orbiting Astronomical Observatory
The Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO) satellites were a series of four American space observatories launched by NASA between 1966 and 1972, managed by NASA Chief of Astronomy Nancy Grace Roman. These observatories, including the first su ...
in 1960.
Abbott supervised the
X-15
The North American X-15 is a hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft. It was operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as part of the X-plane series of experimental aircraft. The X-15 set spee ...
,
supersonic transport
A supersonic transport (SST) or a supersonic airliner is a civilian supersonic aircraft designed to transport passengers at speeds greater than the speed of sound. To date, the only SSTs to see regular service have been Concorde and the Tupol ...
,
nuclear rocket and
advanced reentry programs.
He retired in 1962.
In recognition for his "outstanding contributions" to airfoil research and his leadership, he was inducted into the first round of the NACA/NASA Hall of Fame on August 13, 2015.
Bibliography
* Abbott co-authored the reference book ''Theory of Wing Sections, including a summary of airfoil data'', with
Albert E. von Doenhoff in 1949.
References
Further reading
*
Test if a Highly Cambered Low-Drag-Airfoil Section with a Lift Control Flap, Special Report" 1942, NASA Technical Report Server.
*
Preliminary Investigation of Certain Laminar-Flow Airfoils for Application at High Speeds and Reynolds Numbers" 1939, NASA Technical Report Server.
*
Summary of Airfoil Data",1945, NASA Technical Report Server
*
Pressure-Distribution Measurements of a Model of a Davis Wing Section with Fowler Flap Submitted by Consolidated Aircraft Corporation,1942, NASA Technical Report Server.
*
The NACA variable-density wind tunnel,1933,NASA Technical Report Server.
*
The design of low-turbulence wind tunnels,1949,NASA Technical Report Server.
*
Fuselage-drag tests in the variable-density wind tunnel: streamline bodies of revolution, fineness ratio of 5,1937, NASA Technical Report Server.
*
Title: Pressure-distribution measurements of two airfoil models with Fowler flaps submitted by Consolidated Aircraft Corporation as alternative wing sections of the XB-32 airplane,1942,NASA Technical Report Server.
*
Tests in the variable-density wind tunnel of the NACA 23012 airfoil with plain and split flaps,1939,NASA Technical Report Server.
*
Experiments with a model water tunnel,1930, NASA Technical Report Server.
*
Aerodynamic characteristics of NACA 23012 and 23021 airfoils with 20-percent-chord external-airfoil flaps of NACA 23012 section,1937,NASA Technical Report Server.
*
Airship model tests in the variable density wind tunnel,1932,NASA Technical Report Server.
*
Airfoil section data obtained in the NACA variable-density tunnel as affected by support interference and other corrections,1939,NASA Technical Report Server.
*
The design of low-turbulence wind tunnels,1949, NASA Technical Report Server.
*
The drag of two streamline bodies as affected by protuberances and appendages,1934,NASA Technical Report Server.
*
Tests of four models representing intermediate sections of the XB-33 airplane including sections with slotted flap and ailerons,1942, NASA Technical Report Server.
*
Interference effects of longitudinal flat plates on low-drag airfoils,1942,NASA Technical Report Server.
*
Flow observations with tufts and lampblack of the stalling of four typical airfoil sections in the NACA variable-density tunnel,1938, NASA Technical Report Server.
*
* "Ira H. Abbott." NASA CRgis. Updated 3 June 2015.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott, Ira H
1906 births
1988 deaths
Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
American aerospace engineers
NASA people
20th-century American engineers