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How do you pronounce NACA?
balidey - 24/2/08 at 09:04 PM

I'm doing a presentation on aerodynamics tomorow and part of it will be about NACA ducts.

But is it pronounced like NAKA or NASA? I always thought the C was soft, but aparantly the organisation NACA was renamed NASA. And surely the american government wouldn't spend thousands of dollars on a name change when the company sound stays the same?

So, seriously, any thoughts?


I love speed :-P - 24/2/08 at 09:16 PM

From Wikipedia

quote:

NACA was pronounced as individual letters, rather than as an acronym.


mistergrumpy - 24/2/08 at 09:22 PM

Yep I pronounce it knacker too


coozer - 24/2/08 at 09:41 PM

knacker, with a grin on your face


blakep82 - 24/2/08 at 09:44 PM

knacker, with a grin on your face, then a big exaggerated wink


indykid - 24/2/08 at 10:17 PM

knacker.

it's in the vast majority of books i've read about aerodynamics as being pronounced like that.
tom


RazMan - 24/2/08 at 10:45 PM

Even better, show them a pic of my engine bay with a PAIR of NACAs fitted!


indykid - 24/2/08 at 10:57 PM

quote:
Originally posted by RazMan
Even better, show them a pic of my engine bay with a PAIR of NACAs fitted!




but they won't work there................or if they do, they won't work as they should.

they're designed to be in laminar flow on a wing for example, to create a pressure differential without disturbing the flow rather than in that puddle of turbulent air behind the screen.

tom

[Edited on 24/2/08 by indykid]


balidey - 24/2/08 at 10:58 PM

quote:
Originally posted by indykid
knacker.

it's in the vast majority of books i've read about aerodynamics as being pronounced like that.
tom


pronunciation from a book? thats hard to do, hence my question on how people say it.

quote:
Originally posted by RazMan
Even better, show them a pic of my engine bay with a PAIR of NACAs fitted!



The last thing I want to say in my presentation to my boss is.... 'and heres a picture of a pair of nacas'

Thanks guys, knackers it it then


indykid - 24/2/08 at 11:01 PM

quote:
Originally posted by balidey
quote:
Originally posted by indykid
knacker.

it's in the vast majority of books i've read about aerodynamics as being pronounced like that.
tom


pronunciation from a book? thats hard to do, hence my question on how people say it.

quote:
Originally posted by RazMan
Even better, show them a pic of my engine bay with a PAIR of NACAs fitted!



The last thing I want to say in my presentation to my boss is.... 'and heres a picture of a pair of nacas'

Thanks guys, knackers it it then


as in it's stated "NACA duct, pronounced knacker" i'll have to go try get you a proper quote
tom


only quote i could find, though i'm sure it's referenced elsewhere, 'this may be a suitable moment to more formally introduce the NACA duct - often pronounced "knacker".' race and rally car sourcebook - allan staniforth

[Edited on 24/2/08 by indykid]


RazMan - 24/2/08 at 11:05 PM

quote:
Originally posted by indykid

but they won't work there................or if they do, they won't work as they should.




No worries Tom - they are there for water drainage and heat venting from the engine bay at standstill


britishtrident - 25/2/08 at 07:45 AM

NACA prounounced Nacka

NACA is not the same as NASA.

NACA was the acronym for National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics a fairly small research establishment based at Langley which was founded in WW1. NACA did a lot of fundemental research in the efficiency of aerofoil sections and sections for jet engine compresor and turbine blades.

In 1958 following the Sputnik mass hysteria in the US it was absorbed into to NASA.

[Edited on 25/2/08 by britishtrident]