May 27, 1931: Wind Tunnel Lets Airplanes ‘Fly’ on Ground

(Wired) 1931: The world’s first full-scale wind tunnel opens at Langley Field near Hampton, Virginia. With a test area 60 feet wide and 30 feet high, aerodynamic testing is performed on everything from World War II fighters and space capsules to submarines and modern jets.
Since the beginning of powered flight, wind tunnels have proven to be a critical part of the aerodynamic research needed to develop new aircraft. The Wright Brothers themselves built a small, 6-foot-long wind tunnel to test scale models of wing sections before their historic first flight in 1903. Continued