Vultee YA–31C Vengeance at the NACA

A Bell P-39 Airacobra in the NACA Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory’s Icing Research Tunnel for a propeller deicing study. The tunnel, which began operation in June 1944, was built to study the formation of ice on aircraft surfaces and methods of preventing or eradicating that ice. Ice buildup adds extra weight to aircraft, effects aerodynamics, and sometimes blocks airflow through engines.

NACA design engineers added the Icing Research Tunnel to the new AERL’s original layout to take advantage of the massive refrigeration system being constructed for the Altitude Wind Tunnel. The Icing Research Tunnel is a closed-loop atmospheric wind tunnel with a 6- by 9-foot test section. The tunnel can produce speeds up to 300 miles per hour and temperatures from about 30 to -45⁰ F.

During World War II AERL researchers analyzed different ice protection systems for propeller, engine inlets, antennae, and wings in the icing tunnel. The P-39 was a vital low-altitude pursuit aircraft of the US during the war. NACA investigators investigated several methods of preventing ice buildup on the P-39’s propeller, including the use of internal and external electrical heaters, alcohol, and hot gases. They found that continual heating of the blades expended more energy than the aircraft could supply, so studies focused on intermittent heating. The results of the wind tunnel investigations were then compared to actual flight tests on aircraft.