BL Harbert Awarded NASA Flight Dynamics Research Facility at Langley Research Center
BL Harbert International (BLHI) was recently awarded a design-build contract by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) for the design and construction of NASA’s new Flight Dynamics Research Facility (FDRF) at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
Working in partnership with Mason & Hanger (Richmond, Virginia), and Calspan Aero Systems Engineering, Inc. (Saint Paul, Minnesota), the design development of the $43.2 Million project will begin in the fall of 2021.
The new vertical wind tunnel (VWT) research facility will replace two aging existing facilities and consolidate their functions into a new single state-of-the-art center for aerodynamic testing of developmental aircraft. At a maximum height of approximately 130 feet, the new FDRF will house the first wind tunnel of any kind built at Langley in over 40 years and the first VWT built in 80 years. It will be visible across the Langley campus and beyond.
“BL Harbert International is thrilled to be the Design-Build Contractor for the new Flight Dynamics Research Facility at Langley,” said Mike Waller, Vice President of the Federal Division at BL Harbert International. “The program development and approval process for the project was several years in the making. We’re excited to see it come to fruition.”
The project is slated for completion in September of 2024.