I was trying to avoid this one. We need to build our own supersonic high altitude wind tunnel. I was hoping to do the next wave of research in the live environment, test runs using rockoons with the test articles on the nose. However the number of iteration we need to do is just driving the timeline too long. To keep in the schedule we’ll need to be able to run the bulk of the tests at the shop. We’ll then followup with the rockoon flights.
The wind tunnel needs to run at mach 3 for up to five seconds at a pressure equal to 200,000 feet. The test segment needs to be non conductive. The test section needs to be about 2 inches across. There are tunnels out there that fit the requirement but rental cost is too high.
The rough estimate is about $3500. We won’t be able to start building it until Tandem flies. There just isn’t room for it till then. That’s ok. It will take some time to get the design complete and raise the funds. I expect construction to start in October with the first runs to take place next winter.
$3500 seems low, but I imagine you’ve crunched the numbers. I hope you get to build it.
Building an experimental wind tunnel sounds like a great project, and perhaps useful for more than a few foreseeable purposes. In the immortal words of Commander Scott: I like this place; it’s exciting!
Of course you’ve considered the possibility of reaching out to academia (and maybe even governmental) sources for sponsorship and/or co-research grants/funding?
Given the current interest in hypersonic aeronautics, a well-funded “angel” might be not too difficult to find.