AEDC's National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex team celebrates 25th anniversary of the world's largest wind tunnels

  • Published
  • By Philip Lorenz III
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  Twenty five years ago on Dec. 11, 1987, construction of the 80-foot by 120-foot test section addition to the existing 40-foot by 80-foot wind tunnel at NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) in Moffett Field, Calif., was completed.

To honor the grand opening of the facility comprising the world's two largest wind tunnels, NASA Ames Research Center held a dedication ceremony to rename the facility the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex (NFAC).

NASA ARC Aeromechanics Branch Chief Dr. William Warmbrodt worked in the 40x80 tunnel and was there during the dedication ceremony for the NFAC.

Recalling the event, he approached the NFAC Director, Dave Duesterhaus, about a 25-year rededication ceremony to highlight the change of stewardship of the facility to AEDC and to note a quarter century of technical excellence.

Due to his efforts, a rededication ceremony was held Dec. 11, 2012 at the NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.

"This anniversary represents a milestone in providing a quarter century of aeronautical technology to the DOD, NASA, and US industry - to the nation," Warmbrodt said. "There are many people who have contributed during this period, including those who did the original design and construction of the 80- by 120-Foot Wind Tunnel. This celebration is a milestone in all of their lives as well. Perhaps most importantly, the celebration brings attention to the outstanding work done in the facility by the U.S. Air Force for the past six years. The Air Force didn't ask to take this responsibility from NASA. However, the Air Force and AEDC has provided world-class expertise, service, and support to many customers in recent years. A legacy is being established of testing excellence, particularly with the efforts of Jacobs Technology and their staff. The anniversary celebrates these achievements and lets the nation know that the NFAC is here to serve the DOD and others' testing requirements, now and into the future."

During the rededication event, Scott Waltermire, AEDC's new NFAC site director, stated that for the past 25 years, the NFAC has supported and is continually engaged in an active research program to conduct aerodynamic and acoustic noise testing on large or full-scale aircraft, spacecraft, rotorcraft and their components.

He also acknowledged one of the most recent testing highlights at the complex that included the use of the 80-foot by 120-foot test section to help develop and validate the Mars Science Laboratory's full-sized parachute decelerator which was critical to the successful landing of the MSL Curiosity Rover on Mars last August.

"NASA, the Army and other DOD customers bring their projects to both our 40- by 80- and 80- by 120-foot test sections for mission-critical testing," Waltermire said. "This work includes investigating and assessing the aerodynamic characteristics of new configurations with an emphasis on validating computational methods."

Dr. Warmbrodt said the Army has been a frequent customer at the NFAC.

"This rededication ceremony is meant to honor all of those folks at the NFAC who have worked with a range of customers, including the Army, to investigate and explore aeromechanical stability boundaries of advanced rotorcraft and rotor-fuselage interactions in a controlled environment," Warmbrodt said. "The acoustic characteristics of most of the full-scale vehicles are also determined, as well as acoustic research aimed at discovering and reducing aerodynamic sources of noise."

Waltermire spoke of the collaborative nature of the work done at the NFAC.

"Our test team at the NFAC partners with NASA to make state-of-the-art non-intrusive instrumentation, including near and far field acoustic measurements, particle imaging and background oriented Schlieren, and detailed photogrammetric measurements available to our customers," he said. "These tools enable us to help our customers find answers to questions that cannot be found anywhere else in the world."

Although decommissioned by NASA in 2003, the NFAC has been operated by the United States Air Force as a satellite facility of the Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) since 2006.

Future testing in the NFAC wind tunnels will support programs like the Future Theater Heavy Lift, Joint Multi-Role, Mission Adaptive Rotor and Advanced Aerial Scout.