The Flight Laboratory Wind Tunnels

This wind tunnel was built in 1988 to dimensional specifications that would allow its use in the x-ray cinematography facility at Harvard University. As large, AC electric motors frequently create large amounts of voltage noise that can be picked up by the sensitive instruments used to measure physiological processes, the tunnel's fan is driven by a 15,000 Watt DC motor running on a series of deep-cycle batteries. With a flight chamber measuring 76x76x91cm, the tunnel will accommodate birds up the size of a magpie, although it is better-suited aerodynamically to birds the size of a parakeet or starling.

Exhaust end of the tunnel.	Flight chamber; mirror provides a dorsal view of the bird.	Think of it as a bird Winnebago. Our Reptile Gardens and Trees of Mystery bumper stickers were lost in a deluge on Route 66.

Our second wind tunnel was built in 2001 and, with a working area of 60 x 60 x 85 cm , it is optimized for studying flight in small birds such as

hummingbirds, finch and warblers as well as insects. The fan is drive using a DC motor and computer-controlled drive.  To minimize unwanted turbulence, the

tunnel features a 6:1 contraction and a 60 x 60 x 85 cm working area.