ch2-2

WIND TUNNELS OF NASA

Chapter 2 - A Heritage Lost and Regained

The Wind Tunnel Comes of Age

[9] The Europeans designed and built their aerial fleets with the help of at least a dozen major wind tunnels. In contrast, wind tunnel facilities in the United States prior to World War I were almost nonexistent, as shown in the table. As might be expected, it was in Europe that many of the technical foundations for modern wind tunnels were laid.

Post- Wright Brothers Wind Tunnels

Date	Size	Individual	Location
1901	16 x 16 in.	Wright Bros.	Dayton, Ohio
1901	6 x 6 ft	Zahm	Catholic University, USA
1903	2 ft diameter	Stanton	National Physical Laboratory, England
1903	1 x 1 m	Crocco	Rome, Italy
1904	1.2 m diameter	Riabouchinsky	Koutchino, Moscow, Russia
1908	2 x 2 m	Prandtl	Gottingen, Germany
1909	1.5 m diameter	Eiffel	Champ de Mars, France
1910	4 x 4 ft	n/a	National Physical Laboratory, England
1912	7 x 7 ft	n/a	National Physical Laboratory, England
1912	2 m diameter	Eiffel	Auteuil, France
1912	Junkers	Aachen, Germany	n/a
1913	8 x 8 ft	Zahm	Washington Navy Yard, USA
1914	4 x 4 ft	Hunsaker	MIT, USA
1916	2.2 x 2.2 m	Prandtl	Gottingen, Germany
1917	5.5 ft diameter	Durand	Stanford University, USA
1917	7 ft diameter	Curtiss	Hempstead, New York, USA
1918	7 x 14 ft	n/a	National Physical Laboratory, England
1918	4.5 ft octagon	n/a	Bureau of Standards, USA
1919	4 x 4 ft	Ober	MIT, USA
1919	7.5 ft diameter	Durand	Stanford University, USA