The Drag of Streamline Wires

Preliminary results are given of drag tests of streamline wires. Full-size wires were tested over a wide range of speeds in the N.A.C.A. high speed tunnel. The results are thus directly applicable to full-scale problems and include any compressibility effects encountered at the higher speeds. The results show how protuberances may be employed on conventional streamline wires to reduce the drag, and also show how the conventional wires compare with others having sections more like strut or symmetrical airfoil sections. Because the new wire sections developed are markedly superior aerodynamically to conventional wires, it is recommended that some of them be tested in service in order to investigate their relative susceptibility to vibration and to fatigue failure.