Lt. Col. Ashley C. McKinley, because of his experiences in ferrying aircraft to the Soviet Union, suggested in 1943Torture Chamber | Military Aviation | Air & Space Magazine . Airspacemag.com (2006-05-01). Retrieved on 2011-10-31. that all aircraft and equipment be operable at temperatures as low as −65 °F (−54 °C) and that a refrigerated hangar be erected at Eglin AFB to produce such an environment under controlled conditions. Since testing in Alaska was expensive and had produced only meager results, Col. McKinley reasoned that testing under controlled conditions would be far superior in useful results and up to ten times more economical. Construction of the Climatic Laboratory that allowed the Air Proving Ground Command to simulate virtually all climatic conditions “indoors” was completed 24 May 1947. Initial costs were estimated at nearly $2,000,000. The actual cost, at the end of construction, had risen to $5,500,000, indicative of the many problems encountered by the designers and builders. Testing began in May 1947. The first items tested included the Fairchild C-82 Packet, Boeing B-29 Superfortress, Lockheed F-80, North American P-51, Lockheed P-38, and the Sikorsky H-5D helicopter.Agard Flight Test Technique Series Volume 8 Flight Testing Under Extreme Environmental Conditions. Scribd.com (2009-10-27). Retrieved on 2011-10-31.
