DURHAM, N.H. -- Airbus Americas has donated an A320 elevator (section of an aircraft wing) valued at $500,000 to the University of New Hampshire. The 20-foot-long part designed for flight control on the aircraft's tail will be used to support education and research in the university's Flow Physics Facility, the largest wind tunnel of its type in the world.

At 300 feet long, the facility is the world's largest scientific quality boundary-layer wind tunnel facility. It helps engineers and scientists better understand the dynamics of turbulent boundary layers, informing the aerodynamics of situations such as atmospheric wind over the ocean, the flow of air over a commercial airplane or of sea water over a submarine.

According to Joe Klewicki, professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Center for Fluid Physics at UNH, the wing section will initially be used for demonstration and eventually incorporated into experiments. "For a department like ours that does not have an aeronautics component, this is a great opportunity for our students who have an interest to learn more about aircraft aerodynamics. A wing component from an actual airplane will be a very useful learning tool in both undergraduate and graduate classes."  

"Airbus is happy to donate this A320 elevator to the University of New Hampshire," said Barry Eccleston, president of Airbus Americas. "With this donation, we hope to help give the students hands-on experience with the new materials used in aerospace. It's an investment in the aerospace industry's future, and in the future of the manufacturing industry in New Hampshire and the U.S."

"New Hampshire has a growing demand for workers who are skilled in the STEM fields," said U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.). "By receiving this generous donation from Airbus Americas, UNH will have access to coveted technology and can use this aircraft elevator to better train their students, and help meet our state's increasing need for a high-skilled workforce. In turn, the Granite State will continue to make important contributions to modernize our air traffic system, while growing our economy and creating jobs within our state's dedicated aviation infrastructure workforce."

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 13,000 undergraduate and 2,500 graduate students.

Photo for download: /unhtoday/news/releases/2015/10/images/img-8wing.jpg
Caption: UNH researchers inspect a section of an aircraft wing donated by Airbus Americas to the university to support education and research.