HISTORY
of
the walter h. beech memorial wind tunnel

Since its initial construction in 1948, the Walter H. Beech Memorial Wind Tunnel has seen many changes and updates in order to maintain quality and efficiency. The idea to build the tunnel was proposed in 1946 by Walter H. Beech, former president of Beech Aircraft Company and Dwane L. Wallace, former president of Cessna Aircraft Company, who needed a place to do aeronautical research in Wichita.

The project, directed by Ken Razak, former director of the School of Engineering at the University of Wichita, cost $165,000 and took two years to construct. At this time it was the largest wind tunnel of its kind in the Midwest.

One of the first tests conducted in the tunnel tested the aerodynamic properties of all 10 of the 1949 American automobile styles.

The tunnel experienced its first major change only four years after it was finished when the fleet of surplus aircraft engines that served as the tunnel's motor was replaced by a 1500-horsepower, 2300-volt electric motor. At this time, a liquid rheostat was also installed for speed control, and the original propeller was replaced by an 11-foot diameter, 4-bladed adjustable-pitch Curtiss Electric propeller.

Significant changes came again ten years later when the mechanical systems of measuring aerodynamic forces were replaced with load cells on the balance. The tunnel also began to utilize computer technology. An IBM punch-card machine was installed to record measurements of balance data, tunnel dynamic pressure, strain gage information, tunnel temperature, angle of attack, angle of yaw, barometric pressure, run number and other data. Each punched card was carried across campus to the university's IBM 1620 computer for data reduction.

The next year, Professor Ken Razak, the "Man Who Built the Tunnel," retired from his position as wind tunnel director, and the University of Wichita became Wichita State University.

The tunnel remained mostly unchanged until 1977 when Wallace Hall was constructed. The project included the Wallace Hall Annex, which was built to enclose the tunnel. The workshop, control room and data room were also remodeled in provide more work, storage and office space. Another computer upgrade occurred in 1977 when the punch-card system was replaced with a Hewlett Packard 9603 Data Acquisition and Control System with 2112-series minicomputer.

Few technological changes were made to the tunnel in the 1980s, but many software and procedural upgrades made tunnel testing more efficient. Due to the upgrades, many changes occurred in the way data was obtained, organized and stored, and more tunnel variables could be measured by the computer.

In 1992, NIAR received grants from Wichita State and the National Science Foundation totaling $500,000, and made three improvements to the wind tunnel. A roof was constructed over the tunnel in order to reduce heat in the summer and protect the tunnel from rain and snow. A Toshiba 2300-volt motor control center and grid resistor system was installed to provide better, safer control to the tunnel's motor. The final 1992 upgrade improved the computer system that greatly enhanced the data storage and processing capabilities.

This system was upgraded again in 1998, and the wind tunnel computers were fully networked. For the first time, tunnel clients could obtain data, put it through data reduction and analyze it in real-time.

The most substantial upgrade to the tunnel was finished in January of 2005. It cost $6 million and involved a complete transformation of the wind tunnel. This upgrade and modernization project featured the installation of new flow conditioning equipment, including a stainless-steel honeycomb flow straightener and anti-turbulence screen and the removal of the old 1,000 horsepower fan and motor unit and the installation of a new 2,500 horsepower electric variable frequency drive unit in the back leg of the tunnel. Other improvements were the addition of a new heat exchange system that limits temperature rise in the tunnel at maximum operating velocities, a completely rebuilt steel, aluminum, and glass test section, and the addition of new external balance with the highest measurement resolution available in the world today for this application! In addition, new data acquisition, control and reduction computer systems and programs were added.

The Walter H. Beech Memorial Wind Tunnel was constructed in order to meet the needs of local aviation research. Today the tunnel is still a state-of-the art facility serving clients nationwide in aviation and other industries.