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• Working in the 40x80 test section

• Sting Spool and Pitch Actuator

• The Sting

• Balance Calibration Body

• Weight Cart

• Working in mid-air

• Balance pin-out box

• Wingtip sensor installation

• Orville and motor

• Propeller

• Teachers and the wind speed sensor

A view of the 40x80 test section. The gigantic sting mechanism is mounted in the middle of the test section and the model is resting on the floor in front of the sting.

The thick vertical cylinder that enters the floor is called the sting spool. The sting pitch actuator is mounted on the sting spool. The actuator allows the sting to be tilted (or "pitched") up and down. George Fenton can be seen in the background.

The sting itself is mounted on the sting actuator mechanism. The sting is not parallel with the ground - it is pitched +10 degrees. At the end of the sting is the "dog leg". At the end of the dog leg is the balance. The sting is pitched up and the end of the sting has a dog leg so that the balance is the only mounting hardware that touches the model. The model does not touch the sting. After we mount the model onto the balance, we will have a photo of the connection. The cable hanging from the balance mounting carries the electronic signals from the balance to the computer.

Ruben stands in front of the balance which is housed, for now, in the calibration body. Weights are hung from the calibration body to calibrate the balance.

Here are the weights that will be hung from the calibration body to calibrate the balance.

How do we work on the balance in mid-air? Very carefully!! Ruben and Phil Luan use a person-lift to reach the balance.

This is the "balance pin-out box". This box is mounted on the sting pitch actuator. The cables hanging down from the box will be bundled together and snaked through the sting to reach the balance. The thick cable coming out from the top of the box leads to the computers. The box and the cables will look much neater by the time the test begins!!

Joe works on installing the wingtip angle sensor. This sensor will help measure the wing warping on the model. The cable for the sensor was threaded between the top and bottom layers of fabric that cover the wing. The fabric had to be cut at the wingtip so that the sensor could be installed. It will be sewn back together before the test starts.

A mannequin that is approximately the same height and the same weight as Orville is mounted just to the left of the center of the model. (Yes! Orville really did fly in that position!) To Orville's right is the motor that turns the propellers. The motor is a 45 horsepower, three phase, variable frequency motor. You can see cables and tubing curled up next to the motor, waiting to be connected.

This is one of the two propellers on the model. It is a "push me" propeller because it is mounted on the back of the wings, not the front. The propeller is made of the wood from a Douglas Fir and it is stained. The propeller rotates at 340 revolutions per minute.

Some lucky teachers happened to attend a NASA workshop at just the right time to see Wright Flyer in the tunnel! The tall teacher is standing next to a wind speed sensor. The normal wind velocity measuring devices that are used in the 40x80 would not work for this test - the wind speed is too slow! (maximum 30 mph) So, two ultrasonic sensors are mounted in front of the model (one to the left, which you see in the photo, and one to the right) to measure the speed of the air as it enters the test section.