For his Matura thesis, Niklas Bürki had the opportunity to use the ZHAW wind tunnel in Winterthur for an experiment. He was introduced to the workings of the wind tunnel by research assistants and supported in carrying out the experiment. The wing profile, which Niklas had designed himself, was produced using a 3D printer and carefully reworked.

In the experiment, he investigated the influence of various roughnesses on the leading edge of the wing profile on aerodynamic properties such as lift, drag and stall behavior. Using an ear trumpet, he was able to see that the flow became turbulent earlier at rougher points. The results were in line with expectations: The lift decreased while the drag increased. The visit was extremely rewarding for Niklas and he was able to gain valuable insights for his work.