Synopsis
Have you ever wondered how aircraft are designed? Aerodynamics, and its use in the development and optimisation of military aircraft, is vital to the success of NATO air missions. Here to explain more is Kerstin Huber, Project Aerodynamicist at German-Dutch Wind Tunnels (DNW).
DNW is one of the most advanced wind tunnel testing organisations in Europe. It provides critical infrastructure to NATO nations, accelerating their developments of capabilities in the field of military aircraft. Scientists from DNW take part in international research groups of NATO’s Science and Technology Organization (STO), providing valuable scientific expertise and experimental data that help the Alliance adapt and prepare for future security challenges.
Footage includes various shots of wind tunnels and aerodynamicists demonstrating how the wind tunnel works on model aircraft.
Transcript
—SOUNDBITE—
Kerstin Huber, Project Aerodynamicist
“Have you ever wondered how aircraft are designed?
“Well, I’m Kerstin and I’m here to tell you.
“I’m an aerodynamicist, so basically I’m a scientist.
“I work here at the German-Dutch Wind Tunnels, which are part of the German Aerospace Center.
“And the work we do here improves NATO’s ability to conduct air missions.
“A wind tunnel is a tunnel where air is driven by a big fan. But this fan isn’t just any fan. It can generate flows more than twice the speed of sound. This enables us to test the designs of future military aircraft.
—PACE TO CAMERA (ENGLISH)—
Kerstin Huber, Project Aerodynamicist
“Although the laws of aerodynamics are universal, there’s a huge difference between transport aircraft like this one and a modern military fighter aircraft. Here to tell you more is my colleague Andreas.”
—SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH)—
Andreas Schütte, Project Aerodynamicist
“When we look at normal transport aircraft, we have a widespan wing with a moderate sweep angle of the wing. If we want to go supersonic, with a military aircraft, like double the speed, we need a slender wing and a much higher sweep angle.”
—SOUNDBITE—
Kerstin Huber, Project Aerodynamicist
“Obviously you can’t see wind or airflow, so we use lasers and smoke to make it visible.
“During wind tunnel testing we record forces and moments and pressures around the aircraft, which helps us to analyse how the aircraft actually behaves when it flies, so this information is then used for optimisation or the design of new aircraft. Without understanding the aerodynamics we wouldn’t be able to fly.”
