Charles Horton Zimmerman (1908 – May 5, 1996), was an aeronautical engineer, whose work on novel airfoil configurations led to several notable experimental aircraft programs.
The 5 Foot Vertical Wind Tunnel was built to study spinning characteristics of aircraft. It was an open throat tunnel capable of a maximum speed of 80 mph. NACA engineer Charles H. Zimmerman designed the tunnel starting in 1928.
Zimmerman worked at Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory in the 1930s on a variety of research topics, including loads,[2][3][4] airfoils,[5][6] and aircraft stability and design.[7][8] During this time, he was also thinking about much more novel aspects of flight, especially how stability might be maintained. He theorized that the natural balancing reflexes of a person could be adequate to control very small flight vehicles, a concept he called "kinesthetic control". He was also interested in aspects that could lead to Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing aircraft.
Novel Flight VehiclesEdit
Zimmerman's research[5] posited aircraft having flat circular bodies, sans wings, as their lifting surface. In the 1940s, Zimmerman and the Navy began researching this idea, which led to the Vought XF5U, nicknamed the "flying pancake".
In 1953, Hiller Aircraft contracted with the Office of Naval Research to combine several research ideas, including Zimmerman's "kinesthetic" theory, to produce an airworthy "flying platform". The project was classified and conducted at Hiller's Advanced Research Division. In 1954, the prototype model 1031 was delivered. A 1956 Army contract produced the larger VZ-1 Pawnee.
^Saxon, Wolfgang (May 12, 1996). . The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 20, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
^M. J. Bamber and C. H. Zimmerman (1933) Effect of stabilizer location upon pitching and yawing moments in spins as shown by tests with the spinning balance 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, NACA TN-474.
^M. J. Bamber and C. H. Zimmerman (1935) The aerodynamic forces and moments on a spinning model of the F4B-2 airplane as measured by the spinning balance 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, NACA TN-517.
^M. J. Bamber and C. H. Zimmerman (1936) Spinning characteristics of wings I : rectangular Clark Y monoplane wing 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, NACA TN-519.
^ abC. H. Zimmerman (1933) Characteristics of Clark Y airfoils of small aspect ratios, NACA TN-431.
^C. H. Zimmerman (1935) Aerodynamic characteristics of several airfoils of low aspect ratio, NACA TN-539.
^C. H. Zimmerman (1936) An analysis of longitudinal stability in power-off flight with charts for use in design, NACA TN-521.
^C. H. Zimmerman (1936) Effect of changes in tail arrangement upon the spinning of a low-wing monoplane model, NACA TN-570.
^C. H. Zimmerman (1957) Some general considerations concerning VTOL aircraft, Society of Automotive Engineers paper number 570018.
External linksEdit
Flying Pancakes
August 29, 2023
charles, zimmerman, charles, horton, zimmerman, 1908, 1996, aeronautical, engineer, whose, work, novel, airfoil, configurations, several, notable, experimental, aircraft, programs, zimmerman, with, wind, tunnel, modelborn1908olathe, kansas, died, 1996, 1996ham. Charles Horton Zimmerman 1908 May 5 1996 was an aeronautical engineer whose work on novel airfoil configurations led to several notable experimental aircraft programs Charles H ZimmermanZimmerman with a wind tunnel modelBorn1908Olathe Kansas U S Died 1996 05 05 May 5 1996Hampton Virginia U S NationalityAmericanEducationUniversity of Kansas degree in electrical engineering University of Virginia master s in aeronautical engineering 1954 1 OccupationEngineerSpouseBeatriceChildrenCharles H Zimmerman Craig S ZimmermanEngineering careerDisciplineAeronautical engineeringInstitutionsNational Advisory Committee for AeronauticsProjectsVought XF5USignificant designVought V 173AwardsWright Brothers Medal Contents 1 Early work 2 Novel Flight Vehicles 3 Awards 4 References 5 External linksEarly work Edit The 5 Foot Vertical Wind Tunnel was built to study spinning characteristics of aircraft It was an open throat tunnel capable of a maximum speed of 80 mph NACA engineer Charles H Zimmerman designed the tunnel starting in 1928 Zimmerman worked at Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory in the 1930s on a variety of research topics including loads 2 3 4 airfoils 5 6 and aircraft stability and design 7 8 During this time he was also thinking about much more novel aspects of flight especially how stability might be maintained He theorized that the natural balancing reflexes of a person could be adequate to control very small flight vehicles a concept he called kinesthetic control He was also interested in aspects that could lead to Vertical Short Takeoff and Landing aircraft Novel Flight Vehicles EditZimmerman s research 5 posited aircraft having flat circular bodies sans wings as their lifting surface In the 1940s Zimmerman and the Navy began researching this idea which led to the Vought XF5U nicknamed the flying pancake In 1953 Hiller Aircraft contracted with the Office of Naval Research to combine several research ideas including Zimmerman s kinesthetic theory to produce an airworthy flying platform The project was classified and conducted at Hiller s Advanced Research Division In 1954 the prototype model 1031 was delivered A 1956 Army contract produced the larger VZ 1 Pawnee Awards EditWright Brothers Medal in 1956 9 Dr Alexander Klemin Award in 1956 from the American Helicopter SocietyReferences Edit Saxon Wolfgang May 12 1996 Charles Zimmerman 88 Dies Designer of Innovative Aircraft The New York Times Archived from the original on November 20 2021 Retrieved August 13 2021 M J Bamber and C H Zimmerman 1933 Effect of stabilizer location upon pitching and yawing moments in spins as shown by tests with the spinning balance Archived 2016 03 03 at the Wayback Machine NACA TN 474 M J Bamber and C H Zimmerman 1935 The aerodynamic forces and moments on a spinning model of the F4B 2 airplane as measured by the spinning balance Archived 2016 03 03 at the Wayback Machine NACA TN 517 M J Bamber and C H Zimmerman 1936 Spinning characteristics of wings I rectangular Clark Y monoplane wing Archived 2016 03 04 at the Wayback Machine NACA TN 519 a b C H Zimmerman 1933 Characteristics of Clark Y airfoils of small aspect ratios NACA TN 431 C H Zimmerman 1935 Aerodynamic characteristics of several airfoils of low aspect ratio NACA TN 539 C H Zimmerman 1936 An analysis of longitudinal stability in power off flight with charts for use in design NACA TN 521 C H Zimmerman 1936 Effect of changes in tail arrangement upon the spinning of a low wing monoplane model NACA TN 570 C H Zimmerman 1957 Some general considerations concerning VTOL aircraft Society of Automotive Engineers paper number 570018 External links EditFlying Platform at Hillier Aviation Museum Flying Pancakes Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Charles H Zimmerman amp oldid 1137490149, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
