Full-Scale Tunnel, Albacore Submarine, 1950
In 1950 Langley tested the drag characteristics of what was then the world's fastest submarine, the Albacore, in the Full-Scale Tunnel. Water and air are both essentially fluids of different densities. Air traveling at high speed can simulate water traveling at lower speed for many purposes. For eight decades the Full-Scale Tunnel stood as a fixture of NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia. Constructed in 1930, the wind tunnel was 434 ft long, 222 ft wide and 97 ft tall at its highest. Twin four-bladed wood propellers could move air through the entire volume at speeds up to 125 mph with the help of a 4,000 horsepower electric motor. The tunnel was used to test virtually every high-performance aircraft used by the USA in WWII. After the war, many types of aircraft were tested in the tunnel including the Harrier Jump Jet fighter, the F-16, the Space Shuttle and Lunar Landing Test Vehicle. The wind tunnel was in use through the 2000s, modified to allow new testing procedures, such as free-flight and high angle of attack. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1985, but despite this designation and the efforts of some aviation historians, demolition of the tunnel began in 2010.
Size: 3277px × 4200px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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