IF IT LOOKS LIKE A DUCT…

THE NACA duct was a high efficiency, low drag air intake developed at the Ames Aeronautical Laboratory at Moffett Field, California in 1945 by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) which in later years metamorphosed into the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The submerged inlet they pioneered was later to become universally known as the NACA duct. It was extraordinarily effective, offering pressure recovery of over 90 per cent under optimal conditions and incurred very little drag penalty. In 1951 the original NACA report on it was declassified, and the design of the duct became public information. In 1956, Frank Costin’s (the ‘Cos’ in Cosworth) Vanwall was the first car to exploit the technology. Costin had a background in aircraft aerodynamics and once prayed in frustration, “Save me, oh Lord, from the statement: ‘What looks right is right.’” Applying solid engineering practice, he revolutionised Vanwall’s aerodynamic efficiency. Soon every F1 team had a version of the NACA duct on their cars, or rather facsimiles of the tech aid. In order to work, the duct needed to be situated in an area of laminar airflow with a thin boundary layer, it had to be aligned accurately with the airstream, the ramp angle needed to be restricted to a maximum of 10 degrees, sharp, cleanly defined edges were required for energetic vortex generation, with the terminating edge carefully terminated. Costin’s pet hate was the triumph of aesthetics over functionality, so it’s an irony that this Lister, the engine of which was developed by Cosworth, features ducts that are a simulacrum of the NACA’s work of over 70 years ago.