Existing laboratory facilities were inadequate to accomplish the test requirements of the wide-bodied transports. Expansion was required by the size of the structure and the advanced technology of the flight guidance and control system. The Douglas Aircraft Company's test laboratories have been relocated to a new Engineering Development Center providing a large, high-bay test hangar and ready access to an extensive digital and analog computer facility for data reduction and simulation. Additionally, Douglas has designed and built four large test machines with a fatigue loading capability of 1-1/2 million pounds and is applying advanced servo loading techniques to both the airplane structural proof test and fatigue test programs.
