Technical articles, industry insights, and engineering guides from TunnelTech
Height, span, floor loading, power and noise: what a building needs before it can house an inclined wind tunnel — and when retrofitting beats new construction.
The honest boundary of indoor wingsuit training: what genuinely transfers to a real jump, what doesn't, and why overclaiming the tunnel backfires.
What a ski jumper actually practices in a wind tunnel, why it transfers to the hill, and why such facilities remain rare worldwide.
Why static thrust does not predict flight performance, how advance ratio changes propeller efficiency, and what a thrust stand needs inside a wind tunnel.
Why a long-endurance, high-aspect-ratio wing is a structural problem as much as an aerodynamic one, and what the Helios mishap proved about testing.
What an accredited anemometer calibration wind tunnel must deliver: turbulence and uniformity limits, traceability, uncertainty budget and MEASNET compliance.
How an indoor wingsuit business differs from a vertical tunnel: real price points, throughput limits, the narrow pilot market and where VR changes the model.
Most national ski jumping teams still rent tunnel time or share facilities. What it actually takes for a federation to build and run its own.
The four real audience segments for an inclined wind tunnel — athletes, tourists, corporate groups, defence — and how each shapes schedule and pricing.
Why icing protection on a MALE or HALE aircraft is a full certification problem, not a small-component fix, what a real icing tunnel provides, and what to test.
What a vertical wind tunnel replaces in military freefall training, what it cannot replace, and what a defence-grade training facility has to provide.
The honest risk arithmetic of learning to fly a wingsuit, and exactly which part of that risk an indoor tunnel removes — and which part it doesn't.
Why turboprop and piston-engined MALE UAS bring an integration problem electric drones never face, what real aircraft show, and what to test for.
How boundary layer wind tunnels reproduce atmospheric wind over scale models of towers and bridges, which tests exist, and what ASCE 49-21 requires.
How smoke, tufts, oil film and PIV reveal separation, vortices and wake structure in a wind tunnel, and the optical access a facility needs to support them.
Why HALE aircraft fly in a low Reynolds number regime despite their size, what that does to the airfoil, and what a wind tunnel needs to test it properly.
How flow quality is actually measured at handover, which tolerances are realistically checkable, and what an acceptance protocol needs to protect both sides.
How an inclined wind tunnel works: flow decomposition, working-zone length, turning vanes at non-standard angles, safety systems and what drives the cost.
Why the transition corridor between hover and cruise is its own test problem for tiltrotors and tailsitters, and what the XV-15 programme found.
Fan array wind generators and closed-circuit wind tunnels solve different problems. Compare flow quality, free flight, cost and control for UAV testing.
Why 300-400 km/h FPV interceptor drones need wind tunnel testing: tip compressibility, cube-law drag power, structural loads, and why fan arrays fall short.
The six phases of a custom wind tunnel project, what the client must prepare at each one, where schedules slip and what belongs in the acceptance criteria.
How eVTOL and UAV crosswind, gust and wind shear testing is done in a wind tunnel — what breaks, what regulators expect, and how to size the facility.
Why long-range fixed-wing UAS — MALE, HALE and VTOL platforms — need a different wind tunnel approach than small rotorcraft, and what defines each class.
Compare the three main types of wind tunnels — horizontal, vertical and inclined. Test objects, speeds, building demands, drive power, CAPEX and OPEX explained.
Understand wind tunnel energy consumption and power requirements. Learn how to calculate vertical wind tunnel electricity costs and implement energy-saving cooling.
Understand global wind tunnel safety standards. Learn about indoor skydiving safety regulations, electrical certifications, and passenger safety audits.
Read our latest wind tunnel market report. Explore global indoor skydiving market size, growth statistics, FAI sports popularity, and key trends driving VWT investments.
Discover how to optimize aerodynamic flow quality. Learn how upgrading turning vanes in your wind tunnel results in turbulence reduction and smoother flights.
Compare closed-circuit and open-circuit wind tunnels for research. Learn how return-flow tunnels differ in energy efficiency, flow quality, footprint, and ROI.
Upgrading your wind tunnel cooling system? Learn how to replace drag-heavy mesh heat exchangers with modern hollow turning vane active cooling systems.
Compare an indoor skydiving franchise with an independent wind tunnel project. See iFLY franchise costs, royalty impact, branding, and return-on-investment (ROI) calculations.
Preventive wind tunnel maintenance checklist. Daily, weekly, and operating-hour service protocols for safety and reliability.
Is indoor skydiving profitable? Explore the standard wind tunnel business model, key revenue drivers, average operating margins, and payback periods.
Discover custom vertical wind tunnels for tactical training. Learn how a military freefall simulator optimizes HALO/HAHO jump preparation and cuts costs.
Discover the real cost to build a vertical wind tunnel. Learn about equipment pricing, site construction, utility requirements, and how to optimize your VWT investment.