Even before the Boeing Co. delivers its new 787 Dreamliner, its next all-new airplane is doing some flying of its own.
Inside a wind tunnel in south Seattle, that is.
For Boeing’s Wendy Lacy, testing new products is the best part of the job. Lacy, 42, oversees some of the technical aspects of how wind is forced over a jet, a car or some other test object.
“Developing the next generation of airplanes is really my passion,” Lacy said.
Boeing has 11 wind tunnels, but not all are located here in the Puget Sound region. Different wind tunnels support different kinds of tests, Lacy said.
“The wind tunnels are pretty unique,” she added.
For instance, some tunnels run a slower flow of air, similar to what a jet experiences during takeoff or landing. Others, like the Transonic Wind Tunnel in south Seattle, are used to test how a jet would respond at cruising speed. Yet another wind tunnel creates higher-than-cruise speeds, which were used when Boeing tested a Supersonic jet that it scrapped in favor of the Dreamliner.
Boeing also tests how new aircraft will respond to icy conditions in its wind tunnels. Additionally, at least one wind tunnel is used for acoustical testing, to find out how much noise will be created around airports during the takeoff and landing of an aircraft.
“The wind tunnel tends to be a workhorse,” she said.
To test a proposed aircraft’s aerodynamics, Boeing builds a model that’s about 3 percent to 4 percent of the actual size of the airplane.
The model is placed in the tunnel, which then is set up with the desired conditions. For instance, Boeing replicates the winds that a 777 would experience at cruise speed, or Mach 0.84. The model is held in place and a weight below the floors measures forces being applied to the model.
“It basically tells us what the model is feeling,” Lacy said.
Then Boeing engineers compare that data to their predictions. The information, which includes how fast a new plane will fly and how fuel-efficient it will be, ultimately is used by Boeing’s sales team when it markets the new aircraft.
When Boeing isn’t putting its wind tunnels to use, it rents them to other companies. That includes other aviation companies, mainly those based in the United States. But automobile makers will use them to test new models, and NASA occasionally uses them to test new technology, such as a space suit.
But a lot of Lacy’s work deals with products that are in development at Boeing.
“We see more things that never come to fruition than those that do,” she said.
Boeing employs about 340 people in its wind tunnel operations. Most are engineers with varying levels of experience or skilled technical workers. And the wind tunnel has its own model shop, where Machinists build the aircraft models to scale.
Due to the highly secretive nature of their work, everyone at the wind tunnel signs an agreement not to talk about new projects.
Because Lacy’s husband works in product development in Everett, she’s able to discuss some of her work with him. The couple, who live in Bothell, have four children. Lacy used to work in the product development department, where she was able to experience the wind tunnel when products she worked on were being tested.
“Testing has always been my love,” said Lacy, who has worked for Boeing for 19 years.
Those tests that Lacy helps conduct can help Boeing identify issues before the company gets too far into production. “We’re looking right now at the next plane,” she said.
Computer simulations have helped Boeing to better predict the aerodynamics of an airplane. However, Lacy doesn’t foresee a day when the wind tunnel will become obsolete.
“We validate the designs,” she said.
Without its own wind tunnels, Boeing would be dependent on other sources, similar to competitor Airbus in Europe.
“Boeing really does have the best wind tunnel expertise in the world,” Lacy said.
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