SEARCH SITE

VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL

SEARCHABLE DATABASES

ACROSS SESSIONS

Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.

2008 SESSION


SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 261
Commending the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and its alumni on the occasion of their 12th and final reunion.
 
Agreed to by the Senate, March 6, 2008
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 7, 2008
 

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth was the home of the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory (LMAL) established in Hampton in 1917, the first research facility of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) that was created by Congress on March 3, 1915, with the mission “to supervise and direct the scientific study of the problems of flight with a view to their practical solution”; and

WHEREAS, over the next 43 years, NACA developed technologies that improved the performance and safety of vehicles in all flight regimes for both civil and military aircraft; and

WHEREAS, desiring to end their reunions in Hampton where it all began, the NACA alumni will hold their twelfth and final reunion in Hampton at the former NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC), the current LMAL, during May 2–4, 2008; and

WHEREAS, the LMAL helped to establish important NACA research facilities around the country including what is now the Glenn Research Center in Ohio; the Ames Research Center and Dryden Flight Research Center in California; and the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia; and these NACA facilities laid the groundwork for the space program and became the core organizations in the new National Aeronautics and Space Administration in October 1958; and

WHEREAS, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics made dramatic contributions and was honored with five prestigious Collier trophies for its many contributions to the science and practical applications of flight using wind tunnels and flight tests; and these revolutionary developments included airfoil shapes for wings and propellers that simplified aircraft design, low-drag cowling for radial air-cooled aircraft engines, an efficient wing deicing system, the slotted-throat transonic wind tunnel, the Whitcomb area rule, and the understanding of the physics of supersonic flight that led to the first supersonic flight of the X-1 in 1947; and

WHEREAS, research at NACA developed the foundation for the Space Age, with former NACA engineers establishing the NASA Manned Space Center in Houston, Texas, and leading the United States in the world leadership role of space exploration; and

WHEREAS, the invaluable efforts of NACA have enriched the quality of life for all Americans and created an enduring legacy for future generations; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly commend the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and its alumni for their 43 years of outstanding science and technology contributions that have enabled the United States’ leadership in aeronautics and space; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics during their final reunion in Hampton during May 2–4, 2008, as an expression of the General Assembly’s gratitude for the alumni’s many significant accomplishments and best wishes for success in all of their future endeavors.