Industry | Entertainment, Military, Film industry |
---|---|
Founded | 1979 |
Founder | Jean Saint-Germain |
Headquarters | , |
Key people | Ingus Augstkalns Uldis Baumanis Ivars Beitāns Irita Kukoja |
Services | |
Number of employees | 73 |
Website | www |
Aerodium is a designer and producer of vertical wind tunnels based in Riga, Latvia. Its core business is related to sales and rent of wind tunnels for entertainment and military industries, but it also operates different locations under franchise. A second part is connected to organizing shows and performances for brand promotion, festivals and other celebrations around the world.
In 1979 the Canadian inventor Jean Saint-Germain came up with the idea of the first vertical wind tunnel for bodyflight. After accumulating investments of $450,000, he opened the first commercial wind tunnel in Saint-Simon-de-Bagot, 50 miles east of Montreal. Saint-Germain, who was a former parachutist in the army, owned two parachute schools as he came to the idea that an Aerodium would help his students to practice free falling more efficiently. [1] In 1982 Jean Saint-Germain sold the vertical wind tunnel concept to Les Thompson and Marvin Kratter, who went on to build their own wind tunnels in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and Las Vegas, Nevada, respectively. Soon after, Saint-Germain sold the franchising rights to Kratter for $1.5 million. [2] Originally known as the "Aérodium", it was patented as the "Levitationarium" by Jean Saint-Germain in the USA in 1984 and 1994 under Patent Nos. 4,457,509 and 5,318,481, respectively. [3] [4]
In 2003, after meeting François Saint-Germain (son of Jean Saint-Germain), the Latvian entrepreneur Ivars Beitāns decided to elaborate on the Aerodium wind tunnel concept. In summer 2005 the first wind tunnel in Eastern Europe was opened in Sigulda, Latvia. [5] Step by step improving and upgrading the technical solutions, the company started manufacturing commercial wind tunnels in Latvia under the name Aerodium Technologies.
Having a dedicated focus on open-air wind tunnels, Aerodium has over the years become the leading company to participate in different bodyflying shows and performances around the world.
A milestone in vertical wind tunnel history was the 'Wind Machine' at the closing ceremonies of the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics, [6] which was a custom-built unit by Aerodium. Most viewers in the world had never seen a vertical wind tunnel before and were fascinated by the flying humans with no wires. The show included a flying snowboarder (performed by Ivars Beitāns himself) and other visual effects never seen before. [7] [8]
A vertical wind tunnel performance in Moscow's Red Square was shown in 2009 during the presentation of the logotype of 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. [9]
In 2010, a vertical wind tunnel was exhibited at the Latvian pavilion of World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China. Aerodium was the pavilion's general contractor and presented shows to the visitors every 30 minutes for 6 months. It gathered large crowds and even allowed some VIPs to train and fly in the tunnel. The tunnel was the world’s first fully transparent recirculation wind tunnel, allowing spectators to view the performances from all sides. [10]
2013 saw the introduction of a new wind tunnel application when Aerodium built the world's first tunnel suited for indoor BASE jumping at the “Sirius Sport Resort” in Finland. [11] Compared to other models, skydivers could now enter the wind tunnel from the ground or jump into it from a height of 15 meters, simulating jumping down from a building.
In 2016 Aerodium presented a project called “Flying Dream”, which is a unique wind tunnel-amphitheatre. It is located in Dengfeng, in the middle of the Song Mountains, near the famous Shaolin Monastery in China. The wind tunnel is part of a “flight and monks” kung fu show. [12]
The same year Shanghai Disneyland Park, the first one in mainland China, opened in Pudong, China. [13] Aerodium was invited to design a unique permanent wall-less wind tunnel for the live-action Pirates of the Caribbean show: Eye of the Storm: Captain Jack’s Stunt Spectacular. As of 2019, it is the only recirculation type wall-less wind tunnel in the world. [14]
In 2021 Aerodium launched a new type of open-air wind tunnel. Its main upgrade is the reduced noise level (65 dB), which is comparable to indoor tunnels. [15] The first tunnel of the new generation was opened for Riyadh Season in November 2022. [16]
On April 29th 2023 amidst on-going war in Ukraine, Aerodium opened a wind tunnel inside one of the largest shopping centres in Europe, the Respublika mall. [17]
Aerodium's outdoor wind tunnels have also gained interest from the film industry. During Expo 2010 Jackie Chan tried flying in a vertical tunnel of the Latvian pavilion. Two years later, in 2012, he spent 3 weeks training and filming in Latvia for an air fight scene for the movie "Chinese Zodiac". [18]
In 2017 Aerodium built the largest vertical wind tunnel in the world measuring 20 feet by 10 feet, which is four times the size of a typical wind tunnel. It was given the name Peryton and used by Tom Cruise while training for the sixth installment in the Mission: Impossible film series titled "Fallout". To film one of the early scenes of the movie Tom Cruise had to perform over 100 HALO jumps. According to Neil Corbould, the special effects supervisor, “it was quite a lot, but you know, if he hadn’t had the time in the wind tunnel, it would’ve been 250.” [19]
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a period of time, typically between three and six months.
The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 28 to October 27, 1967. It was a category one world's fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most successful World's Fairs of the 20th century with the most attendees to that date and 62 nations participating. It also set the single-day attendance record for a world's fair, with 569,500 visitors on its third day.
Expo 2010, officially the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China, from 1 May to 31 October 2010. It was a major World Expo registered by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), in the tradition of international fairs and expositions, the first since 2005. The theme of the exposition was "Better City – Better Life" and signifies Shanghai's new status in the 21st century as the "next great world city". The Expo emblem features the Chinese character 世 modified to represent three people together with the 2010 date. It had the largest number of countries participating and was the most expensive Expo in the history of the world's fairs. The Shanghai World Expo was also the largest World's Fair site ever at 5.28 square km.
Expo 2000 was a World Expo held in Hanover, Germany from 1 June to 31 October 2000. It was located on the Hanover Fairground, which is the largest exhibition ground in the world. Initially some 40 million people were expected to attend the exhibition over the course of months; however, eventually with less than half of this number, the Expo was a flop and turned out to be a financial failure.
The Montreal Casino, located in Montreal, Quebec, is the largest casino in Canada. Situated on Notre Dame Island, in Jean-Drapeau Park, it consists of two former Expo 67 pavilion buildings. The casino is open to the public seven days a week, operating morning until late night. It first opened on October 9, 1993.
The Closing Ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics took place on 26 February 2006 beginning at 20:00 CET (UTC+1) at the Stadio Olimpico in Turin, Italy.
A vertical wind tunnel (VWT) is a wind tunnel that moves air up in a vertical column. Unlike standard wind tunnels, which have test sections that are oriented horizontally, as experienced in level flight, a vertical orientation enables gravity to be countered by drag instead of lift, as experienced in an aircraft spin or by a skydiver at terminal velocity.
Aerodium Sigulda is a company based in Latvia, which owns and runs the first vertical wind tunnel in Eastern Europe. The wind tunnel is located near Sigulda, the most visited tourist area in Latvia. It is affiliated with Aerodium Technologies, a designer and producer of vertical wind tunnels. While being open to the public, it also serves as a testing base for new technologies and a training place for instructors.
Jean Drapeau Park is the third-largest park in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises two islands, Saint Helen's Island and the artificial island Notre Dame Island, situated off the shore of Old Montreal in the Saint Lawrence River.
Expo '85, officially called the International Exhibition, Tsukuba Japan 1985, was a world's fair held in Tsukuba Science City, Ibaraki, Japan between Sunday, March 17 and Monday, September 16, 1985. The main venue was located in town of Yatabe, and the sub venue was in village of Sakura. The theme of the fair was "Dwellings and surroundings – Science and Technology for Man at Home". Attendance was over 20 million and 48 countries participated, along with several companies.
Expo 2012 was an International Exposition recognised by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) held in Yeosu, South Korea which opened on May 12, 2012 and ran until August 12, 2012. The theme of the Expo was "The Living Ocean and Coast" with subthemes of "Preservation and Sustainable Development of the Ocean and Coast", "New Resources Technology", and "Creative Marine Activities". There were 105 participating countries, international organizations, and 8,203,956 visitors.
Titan the Robot is a robotic costume developed by the British company Cyberstein Robots. It is approximately 8 feet tall and weighs 60 kg (9.4 st) which increases to 350 kg (55 st) including the cart it rides on and onboard equipment. It is enhanced by various actuators and electronic devices, resembling a humanoid robot, that is worn by an actor who moves the appendages of the costume and controls electronic functions like sound effects from the inside of the costume.
This article contains the details of the pavilions at Expo 2010. The 2010 World Expo Shanghai is the largest Expo site ever, covering more than 5.2 square kilometers and containing more than 70 exposition pavilions. More than 190 countries and 50 international organizations registered to participate in the 2010 Shanghai Expo. After the six-month run, the Expo had attracted well over 70 million visitors. The Expo 2010 is also the most expensive fair in the history of the World's Fair, with more than 45 billion US dollars invested by the Chinese Government.
The 2010 Shanghai Expo opening ceremony occurred on April 30, 2010 at the Shanghai World Expo Cultural Center in Shanghai, People's Republic of China, a day before the opening of the Expo 2010.The opening ceremony was planned and designed by ECA2's founder, Yves Pepin.
Singapore's participation in the World Expo 2010 was its largest to date at the World Expo, signifying its strong and close bilateral ties with China. The Singapore pavilion showcased Singapore's achievements in urban planning, water technology and environmental services while promoting closer people-to-people relations between China and Singapore. The pavilion also highlighted Singapore's ability to offer a high-quality and integrated environment to live, work and play within a compact area through sustainable planning and development.
The USA Pavilion was a pavilion at Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China. It represented the United States and was one of the most visited pavilions during the event.
The China pavilion at Expo 2010 in Pudong, Shanghai, colloquially known as the Oriental Crown, was the largest national pavilion at the Shanghai Expo and the largest display in the history of the World Expo. It was also the most expensive pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, having cost an estimated US$220 million. The pavilion showcased China's civilization and modern achievements by combining traditional and contemporary elements in its architecture, landscaping and exhibits. After the end of the Expo 2010, the building was converted to a museum. On October 1, 2012, it was reopened as the China Art Museum, the largest art museum in Asia.
Andris Ozols is a Latvian businessman. He was the director of Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA), a government agency responsible for promoting investments and business development in Latvia. He served as the director of LIAA from October 2004 to December 2019. He also currently serves as deputy chairman of the board of the Liepāja Special Economic Zone.
George P. Johnson or GPJ is an American multinational corporation that specializes in event marketing and brand marketing, with headquarters located in Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States. GPJ operates primarily as a marketing and advertisement firm, providing digital, multimedia and physical marketing interactions, as well as offering brand management services and consulting, however GPJ specializes in more traditional physical event management. GPJ has a wide variety of clients in various industries: automotive, technology, software, food & beverage, entertainment, including over 40 Fortune 500 Companies.
Jean Saint-Germain is a Quebec inventor from Drummondville. In 1953 at the age of 16 he invented an airless baby bottle, which the Playtex company bought for 1,000 USD and sold millions of copies.