A landmark aviation building housing a giant machine that once spun RAF pilots through gruelling G-force tests has gone on sale for £750,000.
The rare freehold includes a 19-metre centrifuge that was used to study how high-speed flight affects the human body.
Two cockpit-style gondolas whirled occupants around a circular chamber at speeds of up to 63mph, exposing them to forces nine times the pull of gravity.
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The former RAF Institute of Aviation Medicine site sits in Farnborough, Hampshire, just 115 metres from the town’s airport, as reported by Whats The Jam.
Dexters Development and Investment is marketing the property with a guide price of £750,000.
The plot spans around 18,901 sq ft, while the buildings offer roughly 11,202 sq ft of floor space.
At the centre of the site is a windowless, reinforced-concrete drum that holds the centrifuge, surrounded by laboratories, offices, workshops and a control room.
A basement below houses the enormous drive motor and bearings.
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The building stands at the equivalent of four storeys high and still holds much of its original equipment.
The Air Ministry designed the facility after Britain realised it needed to understand why pilots could lose their sight or black out under high G-forces.
Work started in 1951 and the centre officially opened in May 1955.
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A 1,350-horsepower electric motor powered the machine, turning a combined rotating weight of 40 tonnes at up to 30 revolutions a minute with people on board.
Without passengers, it could hit 30G and send its gondolas racing around at 115mph.
Research carried out using the centrifuge helped develop defences against G-induced loss of consciousness, including specialist anti-G suits and breathing systems later adopted in modern fighter jets.
The machine also earned a place in Britain’s space history.
Helen Sharman, the first Briton in space, completed a centrifuge test there as part of her selection process.
Over 64 years of service, the centrifuge carried out 122,133 runs before its final spin on 4 March 2019.
It won an Engineering Heritage Award in 2022, and Historic England describes it as one of the oldest surviving person-carrying centrifuges in the world still in near-original condition.
The building was first Grade II listed in 2007 and was upgraded to Grade II* in April 2026 to reflect its exceptional historic significance.
Historic England said the centrifuge’s arm, control room, plant room and motor pit all remain close to their original state.
The body also highlighted the site’s role in shaping international progress in aviation medicine, defence and space research.
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