Arnold Engineering Development Center offers tours

  • Published
  • By Shawn Jacobs
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  With the start of school just around the corner, AEDC officials are encouraging people around the community and across the country to visit Arnold Air Force Base.

As the world's most advanced and largest complex of flight simulation test facilities, AEDC has hosted distinguished visitors from all over the world, but this opportunity is also available to the general public and students in at least third grade.

The visit includes a center briefing followed by a tour of various facilities, such as the 16-foot supersonic wind tunnel, the world's largest jet turbine engine test facility or the large rocket motor test facility.

"Tours here at AEDC are a great opportunity for the local community to experience a part of our nation's flight history as well as keeping informed about the latest technology in defense systems," said Raquel March, ATA senior public affairs specialist who is in charge of tours. "Many teachers utilize the technical aspects of the tour to enforce mathematical applications from their calculus, algebra, computer or CAD classes."

AEDC has developed two initiatives designed to expose students to science, technology, engineering and mathematics and get them excited and thinking about a future in this critical field. Spark is designed for third, fourth and fifth grades, while Minds in Motion is for eighth grade students. Both programs involve a tour of AEDC's facilities and interaction with the scientists and engineers who work in those facilities.

"Our Spark program brings students to the center for a hands-on demonstration and teaches them an aspect of flight tied directly to the work done at AEDC," said Darbie Sizemore, ATA senior public affairs specialist. "Then the students tour a couple of the facilities to see the size and magnitude of the infrastructure, all on a level that they easily understand. For eighth graders, we have teamed with the University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI) to give students a taste of the kind of work accomplished at both locations."

Public and educational tours are free and available Monday through Friday at 9 a.m. or 1 p.m., except holidays. Tours are available for small groups of 12 to 35 or for individuals who will be combined with other tour groups. Larger groups will be considered, and all tours are scheduled on a first-come, first-serve basis. Reservations should be made at least two weeks in advance.

In the event of a conflict with Air Force operations, registrants will be informed in advance if a tour will be canceled.

Visitors should arrive at least 15 minutes before the tour is scheduled to begin.

As a large industrial complex, most of the facilities are not equipped for mobility-impaired persons, but special arrangements may be made with advanced notice.

Tours involve walking, some on steel grating and up stairs, so comfortable shoes should be worn. Do not wear open-toed shoes or shoes with high or narrow heels. AEDC welcomes young children if they are under strict adult supervision.

Video, still and motion picture cameras or cell phones are not permitted. Tours last approximately two hours.

Those interested in touring AEDC should contact March at (931) 454-3396. Educators who are interested in participating in Spark or Minds in Motion should contact Sizemore at (931) 454-5942.

AEDC is the world's most diverse complex of aerospace test facilities. Since it opened in 1951, its engineers, technicians, craftsmen and support personnel have been involved in the development of nearly all U.S. military and NASA high-performance jets, missiles and space systems. The center's propulsion test cells, aerodynamic and propulsion wind tunnels, space chambers and ballistic missile ranger can simulate virtually every aspect of flight from ground level to deep space.

Ground testing reduces risks and saves lives, equipment and money in operational testing. For more information on AEDC, visit the website at www.arnold.af.mil.