Pilot Transonic Wind Tunnel. Technician operating the Pilot Transonic Wind Tunnel (blue) at the Italian Aerospace Research Centre (CIRA). Properly known as the CIRA PT-1 Transonic Wind Tunnel, this is a wind tunnel that generates subsonic, transonic and supersonic wind speeds to test models of aircraft. Wind speeds of up to Mach 1.4 can be obtained. The equipment seen at right surrounds the wind tunnel itself, which is only 0.6 metres long. The results from the small models used are scaled up (extrapolated) to replicate flight conditions. CIRA, founded in 1984, is in Capua, Italy.