European wind tunnels

摘要

Aerodynamic efficiency has been crucial for the achievement of safe flight since the birth of fixed-wing aviation. Wind tunnels have long played a central part in helping to achieve that efficiency without unnecessary risk to life or aircraft. Today, wind tunnels of many shapes, sizes, and types proliferate across the world and are a vital tool for the aerospace designer and engineer. What was probably the first aeronautical wind tunnel was built at a time when determined amateurs were still experimenting with gliders. It was created in Britain by Francis Wenham in 1871, 32 years before the Wrights found powered flight success at Kittyhawk, and was comprised of a simple box through which a steam-powered fan blew air. It may have been crude but it was the right formula, the basics of which have endured to this day. The pioneering Wright brothers also built a wind tunnel using a box and fan driven by a gasoline engine.