Full Scale 30- by 60-Foot Tunnel

Infobox nrhp
name = Full Scale Wind Tunnel
nrhp_type = nhl


caption = Open test section of the Full Scale Wind Tunnel
lat_degrees = 37
lat_minutes = 4
lat_seconds = 51
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 76
long_minutes = 20
long_seconds = 30
long_direction = W
location = Hampton, Virginia
nearest_city =
area =
built = 1929-1931
architect = Smith L. DeFrance
architecture =
designated= October 3, 1985cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1915&ResourceType=Structure
title=Full Scale 30- By 60-Foot Tunnel |accessdate=2008-04-10|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service]
added = October 3 1985cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
established =
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
refnum = 85002796
mpsub =
governing_body = The Full Scale 30- By 60-Foot Tunnel is an active wind tunnel at NASA's Langley Research Center. It is a National Historic Landmark.

In 1929, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics began construction of the nation's and the world's first full-scale wind tunnel. The design team was led by Smith J. De France. The tunnel was completed in 1931 at a cost of $36,900,000. It was a double-return tunnel capable of moving air at speeds up to 118 miles an hour (190 km/h) through its circuit. It had a 30 ft by 60 ft (9.1 m x 18.3 m) open throat, which is capable of testing aircraft with spans of 40 ft (12.2 m).The wind tunnel is a double-return, atmospheric pressure tunnel with two fans powered by 4,000 hp electric motors.

The tunnel was used to test virtually every high-performance aircraft used by the United States in World War II. For much of the war, when it was operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the full-scale tunnel was the only tunnel in the free world large enough to perform these tests.

Since the war, many types of aircraft have been tested in the tunnel including the Harrier Jump Jet fighter, the F-16, the American supersonic transport, the Space Shuttle and Lunar Landing Test Vehicle. The wind tunnel is still in use today, modified to allow new testing procedures, such as free-flight and high angle of attack. [ [http://oea.larc.nasa.gov/PAIS/Landmarks.html#FST NASA Langley's National Historic Landmarks] ]

It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1985.citation|title=PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/85002796.pdf National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: 30- by 60-Foot Tunnel / Full Scale Tunnel] |32 KB|date=May 15, 1984 |author=Harry A. Butowsky |publisher=National Park Service and PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Photos/85002796.pdf "Accompanying nine photos, from 1931, c. 1938, 1950, 1959, 1978, 1981, and 1983"] |32 KB]

References

External links

* [http://www.lfst.com/ Langley Full-Scale Tunnel: The Largest University-Operated Wind Tunnel In The World] , at Old Dominion University
* [http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/aviation/ Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms, a National Park Service "Discover Our Shared Heritage" Travel Itinerary]