the No. 1 11.5' and 4' x 3' tunnels respectively. The former remains in operation at the University of Southampton. R52 building also previously contained a 5' open jet low-speed tunnel, originally built as a sub-scale prototype for the larger 24' tunnel, but subsequently modified for use as a noise measurement facility. Both Q121 and R133 are now Grade I listed buildings. To the west of the Farnborough site is the 5-metre pressurised low-speed wind tunnel, which was commissioned in the late 1970s. This facility remains in operation by QinetiQ, primarily for the development and testing of aircraft high lift systems. Fictional appearance The hero of Nevil Shute's 1948 novel No Highway is an eccentric "boffin" at Farnborough who predicts metal fatigue in Britain's new airliner, the fictional "Rutland Reindeer". The Comets failed for just this reason in 1954, although in the case of the Comet I the problem was in the metal structure around the squared windows, while the point of failure in the Reindeer aircraft was in the structure of the rear empennage/fuselage joints. A film version of the novel, No Highway in the Sky, appeared in 1951, starring James Stewart as the protagonist. Stewart prepared for the role by shadowing Fred Jones OBE, a co-founder of the RAE Accident Section. Jones later was head of Structures Section (formerly Airworthiness Section) from 1957 to 1980. See also FAST aviation museum on the site of the RAE RAE Bedford, Farnborough's sister site at former RAF Thurleigh, Bedford Seaplane Experimental Station, Felixstowe National Gas Turbine Establishment, a branch of the RAE used for design and testing of gas turbine engines Arnold Alexander Hall Rhys Probert RAE code References External links Risky Buildings: Farnborough wind tunnels Royal Engineers Museum Royal Engineers and Aeronautics RAE Ex-Apprentices Association 1908 establishments in the United Kingdom Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United Kingdom Defunct aircraft engine manufacturers of the United Kingdom Farnborough, Hampshire Grade I listed buildings in Hampshire Grade I listed industrial buildings History of Hampshire Military history of Hampshire Military research establishments of the United Kingdom Research institutes in Hampshire