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Aerodium builds world's largest wind tunnel, trains Tom Cruise for Mission: Impossible - Fallout

BC, Riga, 06.08.2018.Print version
The team of Latvian vertical wind tunnel maker Aerodium has built the world’s largest wind tunnel and trained Hollywood actor Tom Cruise to fly in it for the 2018 Hollywood action spy movie Mission: Impossible - Fallout, the company’s representatives told LETA.

Aerodium CEO Ivars Beitans said that the client, film studio Warner Brothers, approached the Latvian company in the fall of 2016. Cruise wanted to surprise the film’s audience with something yet unseen. “Initially, they tried flying an average-sized tunnel. Tom liked it, but he asked if we could build something bigger for him. So gradually we arrived at the idea of building the world’s largest wind tunnel specially for this project,” Beitans said.


Aerodium built the world’s largest wind tunnel which was used to shoot the film’s flying scenes.


Although normally, building such a structure would take at least a year, Warner Brothers needed it ready in five months. “We accepted this challenge and our team managed to meet the deadline. The tunnel is perfect and flying in it is pure pleasure. This is a new chapter in the wind tunnel industry and an extremely significant achievement for the Aerodium team,” said Beitans.


The wind tunnel has a 6.5 x 3.5 meters large flying zone easily accommodating up to seven people simultaneously flying in the tunnel. The tunnel can also be used for horizontal flying, the closest experience to parachuting.


Although the shooting of the film’s flying scenes only took three days, training for them lasted nearly a year at the Warner Brothers studio in London. Aerodium expert Eriks Osmanis, who was Cruise’s main flying coach, regarded the opportunity to work with the Hollywood star as a great honor. “He learned flying quickly. As a result, we could put complicated flying maneuvers and stunts in the choreography,” said Osmanis.


According to Aerodium representatives, their participation in the film’s creation was confidential.

Aerodium makes vertical wind tunnels for entertainment, show business and military needs. The wind tunnels made by the company have been used in more than 40 countries of the world.

Action film star Jackie Chan used a wind tunnel in Latvia for shooting some scenes for his 2012 movie Armour of God - Chinese Zodiac.






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