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Wright Field Five-Foot Wind Tunnel The American Society of Mechanical Engineers WRIGHT FIELD FIVE-FOOT WIND TUNNEL A National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark United States Air Force Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Dayton, Ohio March 22, 1995 Introduction Area B at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base dur- ing the 1928-1929 time period. The Wright Field Five-Foot Wind Tunnel is an outstanding example of an early aerodynamic The five-foot wind tunnel was conceived by Air testing facility that remains active today. The 5ft Service Engineering Division personnel at (1.52m) dimension refers to the diameter of the McCook Field based partially upon contacts test section where the model to be tested is they had with National Advisory Committee for located. The tunnel was well known from the Aeronautics (NACA) personnel in the early early 1920s to the late 1950s for its aerodynamic 1920s, their earlier constructed high speed 14 in testing, contributions to aeronautical research (35.6 cm) tunnel, and their general knowledge of and the development of nearly every major air- other facilities. The 14-in tunnel had been craft and associated hardware used by the U.S. designed using the tunnel in the laboratory of Air Force and its predecessor the Army Air Ser- Orville Wright as a basis for size and other char- vice. It was conceived, designed, and built when acteristics. Prior to initiating the design of the very little aerodynamic theory or test data was five-foot tunnel, they had numerous contracts available that could be used as a baseline for its design. The wind tunnel is a remarkable wood- working job and was considered an important money-saving device guiding the construction of early aircraft. It is a unique specimen of a highly sophisticated wind tunnel and is one that remains today. In a sense, it represents an exten- sion of the Wright brothers’ principle of apply- ing wind tunnel testing as a technique to develop aerodynamic parameters and as a vital step in the airplane development cycle. Early wind tunnels showed the way for the first successful powered flights. They enabled the establishment of aero- nautics as an exact science by allowing the mea- surement of lift and drag coefficients. Airplane development would have been more costly, dan- Five-Foot Wind Tunnel Test (Early 1920's) gerous, and slow if the five-foot wind tunnel had McCook Field not been available for use prior to flight testing. The Air Force Institute of Technology today with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology maintains and uses this facility as a teaching and (MIT) for testing models of early aircraft research tool, and it remains a part of aviation designs in the MIT 4-foot tunnel. Engineers at history. McCook Field originally designed an 8 ft (2.44 m) diameter tunnel but compromised to a 5 ft one due to air flow requirements and characteris- Facility History and Signifi- tics, speed range, cost, and portability require- cance ments. It was projected during design that the tunnel would move to a permanent location at The five-foot wind tunnel was constructed at Wright Field in the near future. McCook Field in Dayton Ohio during the 1921- 1922 time period and was housed in a standard The design and technical specifications leading steel hanger. It was moved to its current site, to the construction of the tunnel were prepared by personnel of the Engineering Division, Air The Wright Field Five-Foot Wind Tunnel is cur- Service. The tunnel components were planned rently operational. It is supervised by the Air and fabricated by McCook Field workmen. It Force Institute of Technology. It is not generally was completed in 1922, and the final inspection open or available to the public. However, spe- team included Orville Wright. cial arrangements can be made to tour the tunnel area by calling the AFIT Office of Public Affairs The tunnel is the oldest operating wind tunnel in (513) 255-2216 or 9314. the country and represents a significant part of aviation history. It is an early example of a mod- Technical Background and ern wind tunnel as well as a rare artifact that Description remains from McCook Field which was the pre- decessor of Wright Field. The tunnel is now The five-foot wind tunnel can test models with located in Building 19, Area B, Wright Field wings spans up to 40 in (1.02m). It is a semi- which is a historically significant structure due open-circuit-type tunnel: room air is mixed with to its age and that the building has not changed discharged air and drawn through the air since it was built (Ref 8). The tunnel was straightener into the rounded 10 ft (3.05m) planned as a research tool and also for engineer- intake bell. The cutaway view of the tunnel ing development. The tunnel was also used for (inside front cover) shows the air straightener various types of testing in the 1920s, 1930s, pulled back from the tunnel air inlet, for illustra- through World War II and beyond. In 1958, the tion only, to show the tunnel inlet shape. The management of the facility was turned over to tunnel then tapers in diameter to the 5 ft test sec- the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) tion. After the test section, the diffuser gradually where it is still used as a teaching and research increases in diameter to its maximum of 12 ft tool. (3.66 m). At this point, the air enters the first Five-Foot Wind Tunnel in Bldg 19, Wright Field fan, then passes through the counter-rotating GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS second fan before being discharged into the room. The two-fan design was developed for FIVE-FOOT WIND TUNNEL economic considerations. The tandem fan arrangement was a compromise between power, Type Operation Continuous fan diameter and fan speed available (Ref 2). Stagnation Pressure 1 ATM (1.01 x 105N/m2) Four Sprague dynamometers, rewired as electric motors, were available as surplus from another Power (4 Motors) 1600 HP (1193 KW) program. Conserving electric power and low initial costs were considered important design Mach No. Range 0 - 0.3 (Approx) goals. Maximum Reynolds No. 1 X 106 Considerable effort was expended in conducting model tests to achieve smooth, efficient air flow. lar manner to produce smooth air flow. The tun- The diffuser allows an interchange of potential nel centerline was elevated above the floor such and kinetic energy of the fluid flow. One goal that the volume above and below the tunnel cen- was to develop a diffuser design where the total terline were in the optimum relationship to max- energy of air moving at the downstream end of imize return air. the diffuser end was within ten per cent of its value at the inlet end. No thorough analysis of A honeycomb type of structure was inserted into the aerodynamic characteristics of this inter- the throat of the intake bell for low speed tests. change of energy had been previously perfected, The air-flow straightener is on rails to facilitate and the design of the five-foot tunnel was based the installation or removal of this honeycomb upon model tests. When built, it was considered (Ref 7). It was also necessary to generate uni- the most efficient wind tunnel in the world (Ref form air flow in the test section to add an aero- 1). Other tunnel components such as the intake dynamic fairing in front of the fan hub. A bell and air straightener were designed in a simi- protective screen and air diversion cone were also placed before the first fan. Air diversion fins were located radially around a cylindrical core corresponding to the hub size and extending between the fans. The air passageway in the annular space has a constantly increasing area and air flow reaches its minimum velocity just before entering the first fan. The intake bell, cylindrical tube, and diffuser sections of the tunnel were constructed from wood. Outer rings were built up by gluing together a number of segments to a thickness of about four inches and a depth of about six inches. To make the individually curved seg- ments, large square boards were first glued together and the segments cut out to the proper curvature. Narrow staves of seasoned Port Arthur cedar were cut in a four-sided molder Five-Foot Tunnel Air Flow Straightener with tongue-and-grove joints. These were then DESIGN GENERAL DIMENSIONS E. N. Fales was an aeronautical engineer, Air Corps, Materiel Division, Dayton, Ohio. He FIVE-FOOT WIND TUNNEL researched many of the existing aerodynamic Length Diameter testing facilities available after World War I both in the United States and Europe, and it is Section Ft M Ft M believed that this information was used to Tunnel Proper 96 29.26 Max at Fans 12 3.66 develop the characteristics and design of the Intake Bell 5 1.52 Lip 10 3.05 five-foot tunnel. Many of the early technical reports and literature written describing the five- Throat 5 1.52 foot tunnel, its performance, design, and impact Test Section 18 5.49 5 1.52 upon airplane development were authored by Diffuser 48 14.63 Entrance 5 1.52 Fales. Exit 12 3.66 CONSTRUCTION Fan Section 25 7.62 Intake 12 3.66 Construction of the tunnel was under the direct Fan 12 Blades 11.92 3.63 supervision of R. J. Myers, Foreman of the Hub 8.67 2.64 Wood Shops and a 40 year wood working vet- Longitudinal Axis 9.92 ft (3.02m) above floor eran. He came to McCook Field during World War I and was one of the very early personnel of the Engineering Division.
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