Two low-speed windtunnels that were closed two years ago by NASA amid strong protests from the US rotorcraft industry could be reopened by mid-2006 under new management.
The US Department of Defense has agreed to take responsibility for the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex (NFAC) and has tasked the management function to the US Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC).
Pending approval by Congress, the AEDC will spend $5 million next year to modernise and reopen the facility, which houses two windtunnels measuring 12.2 x 24.4m (40 x 80ft) and 24.2 x 36.6m. These are capable of generating airspeeds of 240kt and 100kt (445km/h and 185km/h).
Spending during the first year will be used to equip the facility with testing instrumentation removed by NASA before the facility was closed.
The US Army is expected to be the complex's largest customer, and the AEDC expects to reopen the facility in mid-2006 with a test involving the control of a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk wide-chord individual blade.
Source: Flight International
