The aerodynamics design manager at Red Bull Racing, Shaun Whitehead, happens to be an avid Flexifoil Sabre flyer. Shaun contacted Flexifoil’s R &D team earlier in the year to see if they could help him out with a small problem that Red Bull Racing was experiencing in its newly commissioned wind tunnel. The full story is on https://www.grandprixtimes.com if you want to check out the details of the project.
The amazing 50 million dollar facility is the largest low speed wind tunnel in Europe and is where the Team tests its new Formula 1 car designs. The problem that Red Bull Racing was experiencing was in maintaining a constant temperature in the wind tunnel when the tunnel was not in use. Red Bull Racing asked Flexifoil if it could build some inflatable screens that would fit perfectly in the wind tunnels working section to help maintain a constant ambient temperature. Keeping a more constant temperature means that the Red Bull Racing team no longer has to wait to for the tunnel to cool down, or heat up, before use. The added testing time that the screens enable means that Red Bull Racing can significantly speed up the development of its new cars. The screens – fitted a few days ago and working perfectly – use the same bladder and inflatable tube technology as mastered by Flexifoil for its waterkites.
To find out more about the Red Bull Racing Team, go to https://www.redbullf1.com/
Source: Flexifoil, kiteforum.com