Dr. Richard Whitcomb

In the years after World War II, military aviators found it so hard to fly faster than sound that they referred to the problem as the "sound barrier." It wasn't until Whitcomb, at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, invented the special streamlining techniques needed at such high speeds that the sound barrier was broken for good. The solution, which subsequently came to be known as the "area rule," redirected the air over the wings through a more streamlined aircraft fuselage and eventually allowed for a supersonic Air Force.

Following the concept of the "area rule," Whitcomb designed a new aircraft wing that increased the range, speed and fuel efficiency of the jet. A uniquely shaped airfoil yielded weaker shock waves and created less drag for more efficiency. This supercritical wing was successfully tested with the NASA Dryden TF-8A Crusader in 1971, and today, it is common on modern transport airplanes. In the mid-1970s, Whitcomb invented the winglet, which are small, wing-like surfaces located at the end of aircraft wings that provide for greater efficiency.

Far Electrograph Ultraviolet Camera
Satellite Servicing Techniques
Hydroaeroplane
Space Capsule Design
Retractable Landing Gear; Folding Wing
Rotor Control Mechanism for Rotary Aircraft
Altimeter
Link Trainer/Simulator
Ethyl Gasoline
Flying Wing plane; All-Metal High-Wing Monocoque Airplane (Vega)
Communications Satellite
Spin Stabilized Synchronous Communications Satellite
Turbo Jet
Jet Engine
Supercritical Wing
Small Fan-Jet Engine
Aircraft Propulsion System - Jet Engine