Experiments with an Airfoil from which the Boundary Layer Is Removed by Suction

Our attempts to improve the properties of airfoils by removing the boundary layer by suction, go back to 1922. The object of the suction is chiefly to prevent the detachment of the boundary layer from the surface of the airfoil. At large angles of attack, such detachment prevents the attainment of the great lift promised by the theory, besides greatly increasing the drag, especially of thick airfoils. This report gives results of those experiments