Originally Posted by
NutLoose
We had a Supersonic one in the UK during the war,
I operated a hypersonic wind tunnel in Bedford as a summer job back in the late 60s. It was a blow down tunnel fed from a very large tank of compressed air. IIRC the working section was a few inches across and it was used to examine hypersonic aerofoils. The process was largely automated. My job was just to sit there while the pressure built then push the warning horn, let the air out and then do it all over again until the boffins had enough data. Not terribly glamorous. Sometimes the release valve would stick which made life a bit more exciting. I see the company is still there but the hypersonic tunnel seems to have gone. Mr Optimistic may know of it.