The wind channels Windkanal (“Supersonic Wind Tunnel”) and Trudelkanal (“Vertical Spin Tunnel”) were both built in the early 30ies, as part of Berlin – Johannisthal, the first German airport, that used powered aeroplanes. The massive constructions were used for aerodynamic studies in aircurrents at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour.The whole site of the German Research Institute for Aviation became more famous by the work of architects Hermann Brenner and Werner Deutschmann.

2005 the tunnels were used as settings for the Sci-Fi award-winning Film Æon Flux.

The Windkanal (“supersonic wind tunnel”)  was constructed  between 1932 and 1934, using the Zeiss-Dywidag System, that had originally been developed for building lightweight planetarium domes. The walls of  the supersonic wind tunnel are therefore only 8cm thick. Parts of an aircraft and models were placed inside the long chamber to measure their performance in a speed of over 200 km/h (124mph).

The Trudelturm (“Vertical Spin Tunnel”) was built between 1934 and 1936 and is a type of wind tunnel, used for the research on spins of aircraft models.  This study enables  improvement of more resistant aircraft designs and is still used in similar structures, for example NASA’s 20 Foot Vertical Spin Tunnel (1941).

If  you are interested in joining the evening event, please register at least a few days in advance, as we only have limited spots.