Curved panes installed in French bodyflying complex

A cutting edge bodyflying chamber is under construction in the heart of the French Alps, in Méry between Geneva and Grenoble. The expertise and unique special equipment of Heavydrive was called upon to install the cylindrically and conically curved panes for the round flight tunnel. The panes had radii of between 2,304 and 2,565 millimetres. Some of them were even tapered. Conventional vacuum suction systems had reached the limits of their capability.

The Heavydrive team delivered to France the VSG 1200 KR suction systems for curved panes and the VSG 600 K, as well as the MRK 168 assembly crane in the company’s own truck. The VSG 1200 KR has a carrying capacity of 1,200 kilograms and is able to suction both convex and concave elements with dimensions of up to 4.8 by 2.6 metres. The Heavydrive experts gave the installation engineers and the managing director precise instructions on how to handle the devices on site. The panes with dimensions of up to 3,780 by 1,747 millimetres and weighing up to 1,200 kilograms have to be set within two weeks. The turbines inside the wind tunnel can then go into operation.

Heavydrive has past experience of setting curved panes for wind tunnels in a number of international indoor skydiving complexes. The operator of the Windalps SAS area in France commissioned Heavydrive on the basis of this long-term expertise.