The principles and techniques for developing a moving model rig (MMR) driven by compressed air were introduced for moving model tests at large Reynolds numbers (≥ 10 6 ). A corresponding methodology for the accurate measurement of the aerodynamic drag was developed. The main functions of the MMR included the acceleration of the trailer and the model, the deceleration of the trailer, and the deceleration of the model. The acceleration power was provided by the expansion of the compressed air in

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... pipe, and the deceleration of the model came from the relative motion between the permanent magnet and the static iron deceleration floor. The braking of the trailer was supplied by either a magnetic damping force or the compression of the air in the pipeline by the trailer piston. The free motion of the model in the test section followed the Davis equation. Based on this, a method for the measurement of the model aerodynamic drag using the measured acceleration data was proposed and experimentally demonstrated in an MMR developed in this work.