Focke wind tunnel

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Wind tunnel 1998
Wind tunnel 2005
Memorial plaque on the Focke wind tunnel to recognize the flight laboratory as a "Vertical Flight Heritage Site"

The Focke wind tunnel is a fully functional wind tunnel in the last private laboratory of the aviation pioneer Henrich Focke (1890–1979), co-founder of Focke-Wulf and designer of the first fully controllable helicopter ( Fw 61 ). Henrich Focke built this flight laboratory himself in 1960 at the age of 70 in downtown Bremen .

discovery

The laboratory was discovered in 1997 by Kai Steffen . The idea of looking for the lost wind tunnel came to the then doctoral student after he had read Henrich Focke's memoirs. He got in touch with the Focke family and finally found the laboratory in a backyard shed in downtown Bremen near the main train station , which no one had entered for about 20 years.

Focke had carried out aerodynamic studies here until shortly before his death in 1979 . He was interested in the slow flight characteristics and the stability problem of helicopters. The rediscovery of the aerodynamic laboratory and its wind tunnel was considered a sensation for science.

The historical laboratory

The functional wind tunnel, a closed circulating wind tunnel from Göttingen for the subsonic speed range , generated wind speeds of around 70 km / h. Kitchen scales were used to measure the forces acting in the wind tunnel, stove pipes steered and curtain layers swirled the air flow. Inventiveness and improvisation led to significant scientific results. Everything in this laboratory was still in its place, as if 85-year-old Henrich Focke had only just left it, but the building was in very poor condition.

restoration

After the renovation of the building and the restoration of the wind tunnel, the laboratory is now set up in the same way as Henrich Focke used it for his research until the mid-1970s. The development association Focke Wind Tunnel e. V. takes care of the estate. The laboratory with the wind tunnel has been recognized as a cultural monument since 2004 and has been converted into a small museum . Schools and universities can carry out scientific experiments here. Guided tours for small groups of up to six people are offered on the first Sunday of each month.

For the maintenance of the flight laboratory of the aviation pioneer, the Focke-Windkanal e. V. and its chairman Kai Steffen received the highest national award in the field of monument protection , the German Prize for Monument Protection 2005.

Historical laboratory as a modern research facility

After the museum opened in 2005, the aerodynamic system was completely repaired by autumn 2008. In addition, modern measuring technology such as a positioning device and electronic pressure cells were procured. The wind machine can be controlled either in the old-fashioned way using a 10-step resistor cascade or continuously using a frequency inverter control. With an electrical connection power of 14 kW, wind speeds of up to 16 m / second can be generated.

The friends' association tries to cover the running costs by renting the test facility and donations in order to ensure the permanent preservation of the cultural monument.

In the meantime, new types of wind turbines are also being optimized in the historical facility, and experiments are being carried out by schoolchildren and students.

End of laboratory and museum operations

The wind tunnel has to close in March 2017, because Focke's daughter, after the termination of the user agreement without notice in 2012, does not want to offer the association any future prospects for the operation of her father's flight laboratory. The historical research facility is therefore neither a museum nor a laboratory for schoolchildren and students. It was feared that the internationally recognized cultural monument would deteriorate again.

In 2019, a trust foundation was established to manage the museum and maintain it permanently.

Appointment as "Vertical Flight Heritage Site"

On September 15, 2019, the plaque for nomination to the 11th Vertical Flight Society (VFS) "Vertical Flight Heritage Site" was unveiled at the Focke wind tunnel. This honor underlines the international importance of this place for the development of the helicopter.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Monument database of the LfD
  2. ↑ focke-windkanal.de: Henrich Fockes wind tunnel
  3. ↑ Calm in the wind tunnel . In: www.kreiszeitung.de . March 18, 2017 ( Kreiszeitung.de [accessed March 21, 2017]).
  4. ↑ Justus Randt: The wind tunnel is saved. weser-kurier.de, May 23, 2019, accessed on September 16, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Detlev Scheil: Helicopter Association honors Bremen research facility. weser-kurier.de, September 15, 2019, accessed on September 16, 2019 .

Coordinates: 53 ° 4 ′ 50 "  N , 8 ° 48 ′ 57.6"  E