NIAR Aircraft Structural Test and Evaluation Center at Wichita State University

The Aircraft Structural Test and Evaluation Center (ASTEC) is part of Wichita State University's National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR). ASTEC is home to NIAR's Full-Scale Structural Test Lab and aging and sustainment programs.
A truly unique facility in many ways, ASTEC is located in the former Kansas Coliseum Britt Brown Arena and Pavilion spaces. Encompassing 500,000 square feet, the facility employs almost 100 staff, including Wichita State University engineering students working in an applied learning atmosphere.
ASTEC has hosted aerospace qualification and/or testing programs for dozens of aircraft and aircraft components including the Learjet 85, MQ-9 Reaper, B-52, KC-135, F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, B1-B Bomber and UH-60 Black Hawk.
ASTEC also includes a Ballistic & Impact Dynamics Lab, large-scale load frames for aircraft component testing, machining facilities, workspace for NIAR’s digital twin programs, client workspace/gym, engineering offices, six conference rooms and two commons areas.
The Kansas Coliseum was an entertainment complex in unincorporated Sedgwick County, Kansas from 1977-2010. It hosted sporting events, concerts, shows, and consisted of four pavilions, an RV park, and the 9,686-seat Britt Brown Arena, named for Harry Britton (Britt) Brown Jr., of Wichita, the former owner of The Wichita Eagle newspaper. Arena capacity could be configured for up to 12,200 people. Two brass plaques (one located on the lower level, by the box office windows and the other up on the main concourse) read: Dedicated September 1978, for the promotion of agricultural, educational, and cultural benefits, on behalf of the people of the world, by the citizens of Sedgwick County, the board of the county commissioners, the Kansas State Park and Resources Authority, the Economic Development Administration and the Ozark Regional Commission of the United States Department of Commerce and the Kansas Coliseum Corporation.

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My dad works at niar