When Wichita thought of tearing down a former concert and sports arena on the north end of town, John Tomblin, executive director of the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR), told city leaders there was a good reason to save the 56,000-sq.-ft. structure. Its domed roofline and big flat floor were just what the institute needed for an aircraft test center. So out came the concert seats and in went a hangar door. When the conversion was completed last February, NIAR already had its first client. Learjet, one of the institute's early backers among Wichita's diverse aviation manufacturing community, brought in the static test article for its first composite aircraft, the Learjet 85. Composites are one of NIAR's main research subjects and the new 8-place mid-sized business jet offers an early chance to test the fatigue life of an unusual set of wings.
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