Visitors enjoy the rush of the Maryland Wind Tunnel.
The university is full of secrets, and while some of them are the source of gossip within the student body or over Yik Yak, many of the ones hiding around College Park are not actively hidden. With a campus this large, it’s easy to miss some of the more fascinating hidden treasures at the university, simply because you never have a reason to encounter them.
If you are not a science major — more specifically, if you aren’t an engineering major — there is a chance you have only heard rumors about one of the most fascinating scientific facilities on the campus: the wind tunnel.
Looking at the building from the outside, the Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel is highly unimpressive. Tucked between Paint Branch Drive and the Computer Science Instructional Center, the building blends in with its surroundings. If it weren’t for the sign outside, it would appear just like any other brick campus building. If you go inside, though, you’ll see scientific history happening in your own backyard.
The wind tunnel is used to conduct low-speed aerodynamics and hydrodynamics research on vehicles, such as airplanes, cars and submarines. This means the air resistance of various objects can be tested within the giant tunnel. The tunnel’s most notable feature is its giant propeller, which appears like a spaceship engine from a science-fiction movie.
The tunnel’s speed ranges from 2 to 230 mph. While it reaches impressive speeds compared to most cars, at its fastest, the tunnel only reaches Mach 0.3 — nowhere near the speed needed to break the sound barrier (though given its location on the campus, that is probably for the best).
The Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel predates many university buildings. Constructed in the late 1940s as a gift to the university, it has been operating since 1949. Since then, it has been updated to ensure it has the technology needed to stay on the cutting edge of scientific progress.
The tunnel has been used to test jet fighters, award-winning sailboat designs, aircraft carriers, cruise missiles, apartment buildings, and even telephone and power lines, among its countless other functions.
According to Michael Shindledecker, a senior civil engineering major who worked as a student co-op at the tunnel in 2013, the tunnel serves many famous clients, including the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, aircraft manufacturer Sikorsky and Ford Motor Co.
However, if you want to view the wind tunnel in action, prepare to pay: The wind tunnel charges visitors to use its facilities, and testing out the tunnel’s power is not cheap. Use of the tunnel costs $950 per hour.
Though aerospace engineering majors are allowed to take tours of facilities occasionally, access to the building is limited throughout most of the year. The wind tunnel is open to the general public every Maryland Day, giving students and other members of the campus community a chance to see the legendary tunnel in person.
“Maryland Day is the best time to see the facility as we have it open and operational for all to see,” Shindledecker said.
No matter what you study at this university, if you are interested in learning more about the critical scientific research being performed on the campus, visiting the tunnel on Maryland Day is a must.
Senior communication and government and politics major Jonathan Lee is one of the many campus visitors who got a chance to explore the facility last Maryland Day.
“I loved it,” he said. “It was one of the things on my bucket list and I’m glad I could cross it off!”
Lee said standing in the tunnel allowed him to “be in touch with my inner kite.”
