NASA Langley Research Center, 8-Foot Transonic Pressure Tunnel, 640 Thornell Avenue, Hampton, Hampton, Virginia

Significance: The 8-Foot Transonic Pressure Tunnel was the first of Langley's wind tunnels to be built incorporating the new slotted throat tunnel design from its inception. A significant improvement over its retrofitted predecessors, the new tunnel allowed transonic testing in a more stable environment. In the 1960s, Langley engineer Richard T. Whitcomb and his research team used the tunnel to develop the "supercritical airfoil," which would revolutionize military and civilian aircraft design. The 8-Foot Transonic Pressure Tunnel is significant at a national level because of its role in the early development of transonic tunnels and its later role in testing aircraft designs.
Survey number: HAER VA-118-D
Building/structure dates: 1953 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1981 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1958 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 2011 Demolished