Robert T. Jones, (May 28, 1910 – August 11, 1999), was an aerodynamicist and aeronautical engineer for
NACA
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 ...
and later
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
. He was known at NASA as "one of the premier aeronautical engineers of the twentieth century".
Designer
One of Jones' first jobs was with the
Nicholas-Beazley Airplane Company
Nicholas-Beazley Airplane Company was an American aircraft manufacturer of the 1920s and 1930s
History
In 1921, the Nicholas-Beazley Airplane Company was founded by Russell B. (Penny) Nicholas and Howard Beazley. Nicholas started Central Aviati ...
. Jones developed the
Pobjoy Special air racer prior to the company shutting down in the
depression.
Research
Jones was a researcher at NACA's
Langley Research Center
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 fo ...
in
Hampton, Virginia
Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...
. As a self-trained aerodynamicist and mathematician, he had built up a national, if not international, reputation through his perceptive and original work at Langley. For this work he was given the IAS Sylvanus Albert Reed Award in 1946. Jones spent much of his time at Langley working in the Stability Research Division which pioneered many concepts that were incorporated into U.S. aircraft.
In January 1945, Jones developed a theory of the
delta wing
A delta wing is a wing shaped in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta (Δ).
Although long studied, it did not find significant applications until the Jet Age, when it proved suitabl ...
based on thin-airfoil theory. Others at Langley were sceptical until supersonic testing of models was done by
Robert Gilruth
Robert Rowe Gilruth (October 8, 1913 – August 17, 2000) was an American aerospace engineer and an aviation/space pioneer who was the first director of NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center, later renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.
He worked ...
and in April by
Theodore von Karman
Theodore may refer to:
Places
* Theodore, Alabama, United States
* Theodore, Australian Capital Territory
* Theodore, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Banana, Australia
* Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada
* Theodore Reservoir, a lake in Saskatche ...
. Jones's theory was not truly accepted until that summer when Von Karman's team of investigators found that German experts had been working on swept-wing designs for several years. Jones's thin-wing design ultimately proved superior to thick airfoils developed by
Alexander Lippisch
Alexander Martin Lippisch (November 2, 1894 – February 11, 1976) was a German aeronautical engineer, a pioneer of aerodynamics who made important contributions to the understanding of tailless aircraft, delta wings and the ground effect, and a ...
in Germany.
In August 1946, Jones transferred to
Ames
Ames may refer to:
Places United States
* Ames, Arkansas, a place in Arkansas
* Ames, Colorado
* Ames, Illinois
* Ames, Indiana
* Ames, Iowa, the most populous city bearing this name
* Ames, Kansas
* Ames, Nebraska
* Ames, New York
* Ames, Ok ...
. The genius of Bob Jones seemed, in part, to lie in his remarkable ability to extract the essence of a problem and express it in understandable and useful terms. His approach to problems was always of a fundamental character and often yielded results of broad significance. In addition, Jones's wife Doris, an accomplished mathematician, also joined the Ames staff.
Later, still at Ames, Jones promoted the idea of an
oblique wing
An oblique wing (also called a slewed wing) is a variable geometry wing concept. On an aircraft so equipped, the wing is designed to rotate on center pivot, so that one tip is swept forward while the opposite tip is swept aft. By changing its swe ...
. (The first known oblique wing design was Blohm & Voss P202, proposed by Richard Vogt in 1942.) Jones's wind tunnel studies indicated that such a wing design on a
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 ...
might achieve twice the fuel economy of an aircraft with conventional wings. The concept was flight tested successfully on the
NASA AD-1
The NASA AD-1 was both an aircraft and an associated flight test program conducted between 1979 and 1982 at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards California, which successfully demonstrated an aircraft wing that could be pivoted obliqu ...
. This unique aircraft had a wing which pivoted about the fuselage, remaining perpendicular to it during slow flight and rotating to angles up to 60 degrees as aircraft speed increased. Analytical and wind tunnel studies by Jones indicated that a transport-sized oblique-wing aircraft flying at speeds up to
Mach 1.4 (1.4 times the speed of sound) would have substantially better aerodynamic performance than an aircraft with conventional wings at the same speed.
ECN-17954
A current DARPA
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military.
Originally known as the Adv ...
project that has been awarded to Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...
, called the Switchblade
A switchblade (aka switch knife, automatic knife, pushbutton knife, ejector knife, flick knife, Stiletto, flick blade, or spring knife (Sprenger,Benson, Ragnar (1989). ''Switchblade: The Ace of Blades''. Paladin Press. pp. 1–14. . The sw ...
is being developed to provide a more efficient UAV
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...
for the US Air Force.
Awards
*1946 Sylvanus Albert Reed Award (Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences)
*1955 Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of ...
*1971 Honorary PhD-Science, University of Colorado
The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...
*1973 Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
*1973 Member, National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...
*1975 W. Rupert Turnbull Lecture, Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute
*1978 Ludwig-Prandtl-Ring
The Ludwig Prandtl Ring is the highest award of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Luft- und Raumfahrt (German Society for Aeronautics and Astronautics), awarded "for outstanding contribution in the field of aerospace engineering". The award is named ...
, Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Luft- und Raumfahrt
*1979 Honorary Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of ...
*1981 Langley Gold Medal
The Langley Gold Medal, or Samuel P. Langley Medal for Aerodromics, is an award given by the Smithsonian Institution for outstanding contributions to the sciences of aeronautics and astronautics. Named in honor of Samuel P. Langley, the Smithsonia ...
, Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
*1981 President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service
Established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on 27 June 1957 by , the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service was created to allow the President to recognize civilian officers or employees of the federal government who have ...
*1986 Fluid Dynamics Prize
The Fluid Dynamics Prize is a prize that has been awarded annually by the American Physical Society (APS) since 1979. The recipient is chosen for "outstanding achievement in fluid dynamics research". The prize is currently valued at . In 2004, the ...
, (American Physical Society
The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...
)
*1990 NAS Award in Aeronautical Engineering
The NAS Award in Aeronautical Engineering, also known as the J.C. Hunsaker Award in Aeronautical Engineering, is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "for excellence in the field of aeronautical engineering." Established by Jerome C. ...
from the National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
*1998 NASA Superstars of Modern Aeronautics
Bibliography
*''Properties of Low-Aspect-Ratio Pointed Wings at Speeds Below and Above the Speed of Sound. NACA Report Nº 835, 1946''
*''The Minimum Drag of Thin Wings in Frictionless Flow,'' Journal of the Aeronautical Sciences, Feb. 1951
*''Theoretical Determination of the Minimum Drag of Airfoils at Supersonic Speeds,'' Journal of the Aeronautical Sciences, Dec. 1952
*''Possibilities of Efficient High Speed Transport Airplanes,'' Proceedings of the Conference on High-Speed Aeronautics, Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, Jan. 1955
*''Aerodynamic Design for Supersonic Speed,'' Advances in Aeronautical Sciences, Vol.1, Pergammon Press, 1959
*With Cohen, D., ''High Speed Wing Theory'', Princeton University Press, 1960
*''New Design Goals and a New Shape for the SST,'' Astronautics and Aeronautics, Dec. 1972
*With Graham, A., and Boltz, F., ''An Experimental Investigation of an Oblique Wing and Body Combination at Mach Numbers Between .6 and 1.4,'' NASA TM X-62207, Dec. 1972
*With Graham, A., and Boltz, F., ''An Experimental Investigation of Three Oblique Wing and Body Combinations at Mach Numbers Between .6 and 1.4,'' NASA TM X-62256, April 1973
*With Graham, A., and Summers, J., ''Wind Tunnel Test of an F-8 Airplane Model Equipped with an Oblique Wing,'' NASA TM X-62273, June 1973
*With Nisbet, J., ''Transonic Transport Wings -- Oblique or Swept?'' Astronautics and Aeronautics, Jan. 1974
*With Smith, R., and Summers, J., ''Transonic Wind Tunnel Tests of an F-8 Airplane Model Equipped with 12 and 14-percent Thick Oblique Wings,'' NASA TM X-62478, Oct. 1975
*With Smith, R., and Summers, J., ''Transonic Longitudinal and Lateral Control Characteristics of an F-8 Airplane Model Equipped with an Oblique Wing,'' NASA TM X-73103, March 1976
*''The Oblique Wing — Aircraft Design for Transonic and Low Supersonic Speeds,'' Acta Astronautica, Vol. 4, Pergammon Press, 1977
*With Nisbet, J., ''Aeroelastic Stability and Control of an Oblique Wing,'' The Aeronautical Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, Aug. 1986
*''The Flying Wing Supersonic Transport,'' Aeronautical Journal, March 1991.
*''Wing Theory'', Princeton University Press, 1990.
References
External links
NASA Ames Award Winners
Oblique Flying Wings: An Introduction and White Paper Desktop Aeronautics, Inc. June 2005
Walter G. Vincenti, "Robert Thomas Jones", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2005)
Introduction to Collected Works of Robert T. Jones (1976), by William R. Sears
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Robert T.
American aerospace engineers
Aerodynamicists
NASA people
1910 births
1999 deaths
Ludwig-Prandtl-Ring recipients
20th-century American engineers
Recipients of the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service