Full-Scale Wind Tunnel
wind tunnel at Langley Research Center
The Full-Scale Tunnel (abbreviated FST, also known as the 30-by 60-Foot Tunnel) was a wind tunnel at NASA's Langley Research Center. It was a National Historic Landmark.
In 1929, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics began construction of the world's first full-scale wind tunnel, where high-performance airplane would be tested. The design team was led by Smith J. DeFrance. The tunnel was completed in 1931 (dedicated 27 May) at a cost just under $900,000. It was a double-return tunnel capable of moving air at speeds up to 118 miles/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 was a double-return, atmospheric pressure tunnel with two fans powered by 4,000 hp electric motors.
The Vought O3U-1 biplane observation airplane was the first complete airplane tested in the tunnel. After that, it 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.
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