Wind Tunnel Heritage Continues Under SDASM Banner

(April 19, 2006) - The San Diego Air & Space Museum has entered a new age, expanding its horizons into the field of research and technology! In March, the Museum acquired the former Allied Aerospace Low Speed Wind Tunnel (LSWT) at San Diego's Lindbergh Field. The facility will be called the San Diego Air & Space Technology and Research Center Wind Tunnel Operations, creating another first in the Museum's unique history.

"Not only is this a sound business decision," said Bill Lennartz, SDASM's President & CEO. "It brings a great amount of prestige to the Museum. The San Diego Air & Space Museum now holds the distinction of being the only aviation museum with an operational research wind tunnel. The Regional Airport Authority helped facilitate this effort and we're grateful for their assistance with this new venture."

The LSWT, located at 3050 Pacific Highway, originally began operations under the direction of Consolidated Vultee (Convair) in May 1947. General Dynamics assumed operations in 1961 when the company acquired Convair. General Dynamics' Convair Division (and later Lockheed) operated the facility until a private company took over in 1994. The LWST remains the only privately held low-speed aeronautical wind tunnel in the United States.

"We are thrilled to be a part of the San Diego Air & Space Museum family," stated David Sanford, LSWT Aerotest Engineering Manager. "The historical contribution of this facility to the local and national aviation industry over the past 60 years has been significant."

Led by General Manager Donna Simon, the LSWT operation staff holds a combined 125-years experience in wind tunnel testing.

"Bill Lennartz is an exceptional visionary and tremendous leader," Simon said. "Through Bill's direction, we have an opportunity to encourage and inspire the young engineers of tomorrow. The wind tunnel has held a critical role in the development of aircraft and I am honored to add to that achievement the chance to expand the operation of the facility to include educational tours, aerospace camps and testing programs for today's students."

To date, the LSWT has conducted nearly 100,000 hours of testing and has been used extensively in numerous military and civil aerospace development programs, including the F-106, B-58, F-111, F-16, Global Hawk UAV, Tomahawk Cruise Missile, and Advanced Cruise Missile. It has recently served the testing needs of Cessna, Boeing, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Gulfstream, and Northrop Grumman. As the only wind tunnel in the nation capable of performing low-speed flutter testing, Boeing has used the facility extensively to test all its commercial airliners, from the 707 to the new 787 Dreamliner. The facility has also provided testing for nearly 150 professional and amateur bicyclists including Lance Armstrong and the Discovery Cycling Team. In addition, every member of the 2006 US Olympic Luge Team was tested in the wind tunnel.