Building F49A Man Carrying Centrifuge Facility

Centrifuge Facility, early 1950s

This is a roughly circular reinforced concrete structure rising to the equivalent of four storeys, with an additional basement for the centrifuge drive motor and bearings. The core building appears as a flat-roofed drum with roof-level additions, though its full height and form are partly obscured by later wings added to the south (buildings F49A, pre-mid 1960s, and F119, post 1967). The main external entrance to the centrifuge chamber on the south elevation is flanked by these later wings. The east elevation includes large sliding doors providing access to the plant room, together with multi-paned metal-framed windows to the second floor. To the north are similar windows on both the first and second floors, lighting internal office and laboratory space. A single-storey addition (F49G) and a linking two-storey building to the north connect the centrifuge to the L-shaped Building F49, the physiological laboratories block. To the west, a later addition in red brick at second-floor level contains further metal-framed windows of a more horizontal style, beneath which are additional sliding doors and tall windows serving the car store and maintenance area.

The building is laid out internally with form following function. The circular centrifuge chamber occupies the majority of the central space, rising to the height of two storeys. It contains the centrifuge itself: a metal arm with cross-bracing over 18 metres in length, rotating on a central shaft. Two end gondolas of aircraft-type cockpit construction for G-testing accommodate passengers and equipment. A central observation station is located at the hub. Above the centrifuge chamber are two 25-ton travelling cranes for the installation and service of machinery. The centrifuge is controlled from an elevated control room with viewing windows overlooking the test area. The control room is notably styled in the manner of the 1950s, though some modern equipment has been added. The centrifuge chamber is flanked by supporting accommodation: on the ground floor, a plant room to the east, a resuscitation laboratory, a car store and workshop for maintenance to the west, and a central northern entrance. A central basement pit, not accessible, houses the centrifuge drive motor and bearings. The first floor contains, above the plant room, an office and conference room, secretary and typist room, records office and ablutions, and an observation room in the central north. A western corridor is flanked by laboratories, the control room and a further observation room. The second floor contains laboratory and workshop space, which is roof-lit, flanking the slip ring room. A third floor, little more than a raised turret, houses the tank room. The interiors are primarily functional rather decorative, though the corridors feature tiled floors with contrast edging and copper wall uplights and hanging lights. An attractive curving staircase with metal balusters displays Art Deco styling. Original plant and machinery remain in place, notably in the plant room, car store and, of course, the centrifuge itself.

Farnborough was the most important research establishment in the country, originating before the First World War as His Majesty's Balloon Factory, subsequently becoming the Royal Aircraft Factory and from 1918 the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE). Many structures were built to answer specific research questions and then demolished when no longer required. Others, such as the centrifuge and the wind tunnel (built in 1936 and redesigned in the 1950s), remain in use.

The RAF Institute of Aviation Medicine (RAF/IAM) was opened in February 1945 on the extreme south-east corner of Farnborough airfield, having previously been located at the Royal Aircraft Establishment main site where it was known as the RAF Physiological Laboratory. The Centrifuge Facility was designed by the Air Ministry in October 1949, with a further drawing of April 1952 indicating plant locations within the facility. The centrifuge itself was made by ML Aviation of White Waltham in Berkshire. The facility was constructed in the early 1950s and was first commissioned on 17 May 1955.

The facility was conceived to scientifically test, under medical supervision, the effects of acceleration and G-forces on airmen and equipment. It has been used to recreate and understand the extreme G-forces experienced by fighter jet pilots, to train personnel and to identify countermeasures to the impacts of G on the human body. The centrifuge is capable of 30 revolutions per minute (equivalent to 9G) for manned experiments and 55 revolutions per minute (30G) for equipment testing. During testing, each gondola is electrically powered through slip rings to allow for medical monitoring and data recording. During live testing, a doctor observes the subject from an observation station at the hub and the subject is also CCTV monitored. All anti-G systems currently used by RAF fast-jet aircrews have been developed and tested here. More recently, the facility has also had aerospace application, simulating launch and re-entry forces, and in 2005 was used to train and assess Dr Greg Olsen in his successful bid to become the third space tourist. The facility remains in active use.

The Farnborough centrifuge is unique in the United Kingdom and is one of only twenty such facilities worldwide. The central core remains remarkably unaltered from its original form, and its continuing operational use testifies to its technological relevance half a century after its design and construction. It is of special interest for its historical and technological significance in the development of the nation's aviation industry, defence, medical and space research.