Discovered During Dismantling Of Supersonic Wind Tunnel

Back in the 1950s Boeing was in the forefront of research for supersonic aircraft. The built a wind tunnel that could simulate wind speeds of up to 3,000 miles per hour to test supersonic aircraft designs.

The system operated on compressed air that was stored in two 38-foot-diameter steel spheres, which have become something of a time capsule of the beer and soft drink culture of the time.

How does that work? Mynorthwest.com reports that the spheres were filled with 3 million new lidless tin cans that were part of the temperature control system for the wind tunnel. The cans helped keep the air from freezing the nozzles of the wind tunnel as it was expelled at a high rate of speed. Think of the canned air that is used to clean computer components, and you get the idea.

But the cans are not just bare tin cans. They have been decorated with the labels of many of the region's popular beers, softdrinks and other canned products of the time. They include Rainier Beer, Olympia Ber, Shasta soda, Nehi, Mobil Oil, and others.

Can collectors from around the world are hoping to take home part of the collection.

The wind tunnel was originally build for Boeing's Dyna-Soar program, also known as the X-20, an aircraft best described as a smaller version of the space shuttle. It was also used for testing of the Supersonic Transport, and later Boeing's High-Speed Civil Transport, an SST that was being developed in the 1990s.

(Image: NASA artist's concept of the Boeing Dyna-Soar X-20 Aircraft)

FMI: Original Story