| NASA Center: |
Langley Research Center |
|---|
| Image # : |
NACA-4655 |
|---|
| Date : |
08/01/1930
|
|---|
|
Title
Construction of the 30 x 60 Foot Wind Tunnel at Langley
Full Description
This photograph from 1930 shows the 30 x 60 Foot Tunnel during
construction. Smith J. de France, a NACA engineer, was in charge of
the design team for the new tunnel. Planning involved the construction
of a 1/5 scale model of the tunnel.
In 1929, the NACA received congresional approval and two year
appropriation of $900,000 for construction. The tunnel was built by
the J.A. Jones Construction Company. The framework is solid steel.
Like many early wind tunnels, the 30 x 60 foot tunnel featured "inside-
out" construction, with structual supports on the outside. The circular
frames indicate where the two 35 foot propellers are located today.
Built to test full-scale models or actual aircraft, the 30 x 60 foot
tunnel was an innovative concept in wind tunnel design. It proved
especially valuable during World War II as a majority of the nation's
bombers and fighters (as well as several foreign aircraft) were tested
in this tunnel.
Since the 1970s, one of the unique test techinques used in the 30 x
60 was free flight of dynamically scaled models in the test section.
This technique allowed researchers to measure and assess flight
characteristics as well as control options. The 30 x 60 is an example
of a major facility adapted to serve a multitude of uses that its designers
did
not initially visualize.
The 30 x 60 remained as one of NASA's largest wind tunnels until its
closing in September 1995. In 1985 the 30 x 60 foot wind tunnel was
designated a National Historic Landmark.
Keywords
30 x 60 Foot Tunnel Smith de France NACA J.A. Jones Construction Company Langley Center
Subject Category
Wind Tunnels-Exterior, NACA-ARC,
Reference Numbers
- Center:
LARC
- Center Number:
NACA-4655
- GRIN DataBase Number:
GPN-2000-001532
Source Information
- Creator/Photographer: NACA
- Original Source: DIGITAL
| Resolution | Format | Width
(Pixels) | Height
(Pixels) | Size
(KBytes) |
Thumbnail |
.jpg |
87 |
70 |
8 |
Small |
.jpg |
622 |
497 |
220 |
Medium |
.jpg |
1458 |
1164 |
873 |
Large |
.jpg |
1 |
2327 |
3,022 |
Other relevant NASA Web sites:
• NASA Headquarters
• NASA History Office
• NASA Image eXchange (NIX)
• NASA Multimedia Gallery
• NASA Human Spaceflight
Updated October 31, 2002
• History Questions: NASA History Office
• Responsible NASA Official: Steve Garber
• Author: Michael Hahn. Editor: Dwayne A. Day
• Curator & Technical Questions: Erin Needham
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