Applied Aerodynamics Laboratory
The WMU Applied Aerodynamics Laboratory (AAL) houses two wind tunnels and a Cessna 182 Flight Test Aircraft. The Small Wind Tunnel (SWT) is an open loop tunnel. The SWT a 16" x 16" test section capable of producing airspeeds up to 100 ft/sec. This tunnel is primarily used for instruction purposes. the Advanced Design Wind Tunnel (ADWT) is a closed loop research grade tunnel. The ADWT has a 3' by 4' test section capable of producing airspeeds up to 250 ft/sec. The SWT has a three axis balance, hotwire instrumentation and pressure instrumentation. The ADWT has two 6 axis balances, a 3 axis balance, hotwire instrumentation, and pressure instrumentation. Stall Margin and Aircraft Icing research is currently being conducted in the ADWT. The Flight Test Aircraft is fully instrumented and records data on a Dell Laptop run by the Flight Engineer. The aircraft is used for instruction puposes on the Aeronautical Engineering program's Flight Test Engineering course.
Location
The AAL is located on the North end of the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International
Airport. The facility is on Kilgore Road between Portage Road and Sprinkle
Road. For more information about the AAL call 387-2237.
