Traveling Around The World To Fly In Wind Tunnels
Weembi - Lille, France
There is not much a typical tourist can do at Lille. That's what we found after our first stroll through this picturesque little town. A nice central square with open air cafés, a couple churches. Yes, all beautifull. But I bet most of the millions of tourist who visit France every year simply bypass Lille.
For us tunnel flyers a technological jewel sits about 30 minutes from the historical center. The Weembi tunnel is (at the time of my visit) the largest diameter wind tunnel in the world, and I came here to indulge in it's generous space.
The 17ft (5.2m) flight chamber built by the Czech company Strojirna Litvinov boosts a few other niceties: silent operation, super powerfull and smooth airflow, the possibility of going in and out of the tunnel while it is running (not possible in some tunnels).
At the time I write this I have flown in three 17ft tunnels by Strojirna Litvinov and in my opinion they are the best, hands down!
The facilities are good for first timers but there is no special areas for Sport Flyers. We had to use the same changing area as the (many!) first timers, and there was no debriefing rooms for us. Since the tunnel is located a bit far from Lille in a somewhat remote area we had to wait more than we liked for an Uber.
Well, at least the bar is excellent! Pumping music and a friendly crew made these few bad details seem insignificant.
The Weembi tunnel is located in the small town of Lille,
north of France at the border with Belgium.
A bit distant for the typical international tourist.
The facility is a bit far from the city center, about 30 minutes by taxi ou Uber
The interior is very confortable but there is no special area for Sport Flyiers.
We had to use the same small changing rooms as the first timers.
For Sport Flyiers the tunnel is the main attraction!
A 17ft (5.2m) double recirculating powerfull machine by
Czechs company Strojirna Litvinov.
At the time of my visit this was the largest diameter wind tunnel in the world.
The tunnel is beautifull, the antechamber is huge with a couple video screens,
and the technology allows for going in and out anytime
(not possible on some tunnels)
The bar is excellent, snacks and dinks with pumping music and a enthusiastic crew.
I just love belgium beer!
Our coach, the super professional Lenka Hyncicová