Northrop A-17A 36-184 NACA Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory Wing-Duct Cooling System

These are 1/72 scale decals for Northrop A-17A 36-184, evaluated by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) at Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia, wearing natural metal with dark metal panel variations, bold "U.S. ARMY" fuselage and "ARMY" wing undersurface titling, and modex HQ 6.

The A-17A was the production attack variant of the Northrop Gamma-derived light attack monoplane, serving as the USAAC's primary attack aircraft in the mid-to-late 1930s before being supplanted by more modern designs. This example was transferred to NACA Langley for research into a wing-duct cooling system — an experimental approach to engine cooling that routed airflow through internal wing ducts rather than conventional external cowling arrangements, with the goal of reducing aerodynamic drag while maintaining adequate cooling for the radial engine. Research of this type was central to NACA's interwar mission of improving the efficiency and performance of American military and civil aircraft.

NACA Langley — today NASA Langley Research Center — was the oldest and most storied of NACA's research facilities, home to the full-scale tunnel, the variable density tunnel, and the foundational aerodynamic research that underpinned American aviation supremacy in World War II and beyond. The NACA wing insignia and the bold pre-war "ARMY" wing undersurface markings with red center dot national insignia make this a visually distinctive and historically significant research subject. Includes two serial and modex size options.

A great companion to the NACA Ames SB2C-5 listing — showing NACA's broad research reach across attack and bomber types in the prewar and wartime periods. Please allow some time for decal printing and shipping.