Laboratoire Aerodynamique Eiffel

The Laboratoire Aerodynamique Eiffel sits behind a plain wall on Rue Boileau, marked by a rusted metal wind turbine tower that looms above the surrounding trees. Gustave Eiffel built this low-slung, brick structure in nineteen twelve to test aircraft models after the government dismantled his private wind tunnel on the Champ de Mars. When the wind blows through the central intake, it reaches speeds that allowed early engineers to determine the lift and drag of airplane wings.