They invented war, and now even children will use it. Where did the wind tunnel come from and how does it work?

I have always succeeded, because many seemingly complex and highly specialized mechanisms from the industrial sector find their place in the entertainment industry. For example, an escalator, which used to be an attraction, and now has become a staircase in the subway. I have already dealt with this before.

There is also a reverse example: a device that was once used in serious industrial and even military industry, so this tool found application in attractions and entertainment for distribution in society. Today we will look at its history and learn how it works.

Next we will talk about an attraction known to adults and children called a wind tunnel.

How and why wind tunnels were invented

This is what the very first wind tunnel looked like. The fan inside was driven by a steam engine.

The first prototype of a wind tunnel was created by Francis Herbert Wenham. in 1871 in Great Britain. The purpose of creating the tube was to study the behavior of solids in a strong air flow. Wenham was a British engineer and scientist, one of the pioneers of aviation and the founders of the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain.

In the same year, a wind tunnel was created in Russia. It is planned to use it to study the aerodynamic characteristics of artillery environments. The first prototype was created by Russian Army Captain V. A. Pashkevich, a teacher at the Artillery Academy. Later, it was improved and put into use by K. E. Tsiolkovsky.

Industrial wind tunnel designed for aviation research

From 1871 to about 1964, wind tunnels continued to improve and found widespread use in construction. The main focus of wind tunnels was to study the streamlining of aircraft bodies and find ways to reduce air friction to improve flight performance.

This task became especially urgent with the advent of jet aircraft, which develop high speeds and require a balance between speed and maneuverability. By this time, wind tunnels had become exclusively use in vertical formatwhich played a decisive role in their future development.

The first human flight in a wind tunnel, 1964.

However, it was in 1964 that not an airplane part, but a person, was tested in a wind tunnel for the first time. This happened in Ohio at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The pioneer was a skydiver with a lot of experience and experience – Jack Tiffany. He participated in parachute tests and decided to try to fly in a tunnel. This event opened a new era in the use of wind tunnels.

Yet wind tunnels were built for military purposes, and their potential for entertainment remained equally unrealized and unchanged until 1982.

From the military industry to the entertainment industry

In 1982, the first wind tunnel was opened in Las Vegas for various military bases and research institutes.

The first official flight in a wind tunnel, which won in 1964. However, it was not until 1981 that this event became known to the general public.

Gene Germain was the first to see the enormous potential of the wind tunnel as a full-fledged training device for people. He patented the creation of an aerodynamic training device in which people could fly. Based on this patent, a complex was created that began to be used for training all over the world.

The main task of such complexes is a simulator of parachute jumps and a trainer for those who need to learn to jump without fear. However, already in that era, the first step was made towards the commercial use of wind tunnels.

Only a quarter of a century later, flights in a wind tunnel gained worldwide fame. At the closing of the Winter Olympic Games in the Italian city of Turin, a number was organized in which trained “pilots” rose in a wind tunnel and competed in technique, performing acrobatic tricks. The government began to store this simulator in various cities around the world.

Today, wind tunnels are installed in large cities of Russia. Hundreds of different types of tunnels have been simplified in America, Europe, Asia. The flight in the wind tunnel itself has brought millions of people around the world. For some, a flight in a tunnel is an unusual entertainment, for others, it is a real sport and a hobby that you can immerse yourself in.

This is how the first Russian championship in the pipe disciplines of parachute aerosports took place

In 2014, the International Aeronautical Federation (FAI) officially recognized the wind tunnel disciplines. And already in 2015, the first official world championship was held in the wind tunnel.

By 2024, wind tunnels have become part of the entertainment industry.

How a modern wind tunnel works

First, let’s look at what types of wind tunnels there are. In general, they can be divided into two types: suction and boost. Boost pipes, in turn, rise up and close.

▪️ Suction pipes — the most difficult to manufacture and used only for industrial and professional purposes. They work on the principle of sucking air through a screw installed at the top of the pipe.

▪️ In the booster pipes The screw is located below and supplies air upwards through a protective mesh. Open type pipes do not protect the person inside from high temperatures and weather conditions, and there is also a risk of flying out of the pipe if the power is too high.

This is the cheapest and most unsafe type of installation, so they can only be used as small attractions. Closed tubes are slightly higher, but much safer.

A person in such a pipe is mortally dangerous.

The last parameter by which pipes exist is flow rate. subsonic, supersonic and hypersonic sound tubes. Only subsonic ones are accurate for human flights.

The nominal wind tunnel consists of the following elements:

✔️ Engine: machine or diesel, with one or more large-sized fans.
✔️ Glass cup: comes in different shapes, diameters and heights.
✔️ Side shafts and guide grilles.
✔️ Steel mesh
✔️ Pre-flight area or vestibule
✔️ Remote control

The diagram of the stationary wind tunnel is visible

The principle of operation of the pipe is as follows: The engine drives the blades of the rifles, which force air into the working area at high speed. The rising air lifts the person to a certain height.

The process is controlled by a professional operator who regulates the air flow speed for each person individually. There is always an instructor in the flight area to ensure safety.

You should try it, the feeling is incredible

There are many companies in Russia that manufacture, sell and install wind tunnels. As a rule, these same companies provide recreational services involving devices that were once used to test weapons and people using the organization’s weapons.

It is interesting to see how many things change their direction radically over the years, and it is especially pleasant to see that they go in an exclusively peaceful direction. Have a nice day!