Richard T. Whitcomb (1921- ) was born in Evanston, Illinois. His family later moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, where Whitcomb attended public schools. He received a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1943. Following graduation he accepted a position with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA, the forerunner of NASA) at Langley Laboratories, Virginia. Whitcomb devoted much of his career to research in the problems of supersonic flight. In the early 1950s Whitcomb discovered the transonic area rule concept. This rule amounts to a sensitive balance of fuselage and wing volume, which minimizes drag at transonic speeds. This concept was applied to post World War II fighters and resulted in operational military aircraft capable of supersonic flight. Whitcomb earned international acclaim through his accomplishments with the area rule concept and the supercritical wing. Until his retirement from NASA he worked on aircraft energy efficiency and new winglet configurations.

NASM.XXXX.0104

National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Langley Research Center

1964-1972

NASA, gift, 1984, XXXX-0104, unknown

5.85 Cubic feet (13 boxes)

The supercritical wing concept was developed by Dr. Richard T. Whitcomb of the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Whitcomb's airfoil was designed to delay formation of shock waves at high speeds.

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Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Reports

Drawings

Manuscripts

Correspondence

Notes

Photographs

Publications

This collection contains documents gathered from Langley Research Center on the development of the supercritical wing concept and the F-8 test bed program. The material primarily consists of notes and reports covering the wind tunnel development, flight testing, and evaluation of the concept. The collection also includes general and press information about the program.

Reports

Drawings

Manuscripts

Correspondence

Notes

Photographs

Publications

Permissions Requests

National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Langley Research Center

North American Aviation, Inc.

Whitcomb, Richard, 1921-

NASA F-8 Supercritical Wing Collection, Acc. XXXX-0104, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

National Air and Space Museum Archives