Tests on Thrust Augmenters for Jet Propulsion

This series of tests was undertaken to determine how much the reaction thrust of a jet could be increased by the use of thrust augmenters and thus to give some indication as to the feasibility of jet propulsion for airplanes. The tests were made during the first part of 1927 at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory. A compressed air jet was used in connection with a series of annular guides surrounding the jet to act as thrust augmenters. The results show that, although it is possible to increase the thrust of a jet, the increase is not large enough to affect greatly the status of the problem of the application of jet propulsion to airplanes.