Respiratory viruses pose a major public health burden and a significant pandemic risk. They can spread via (in)direct contact and through air, but airborne transmission is particularly difficult to study. Understanding how long respiratory viruses remain infectious in air, and which environmental factors affect their viability, is crucial for effective mitigation during future outbreaks and pandemics.  We present a novel, in-house developed aerosol chamber to artificially aerosolize viruses and assess their viability kinetics under various environmental conditions. First, Phase Doppler Anemometry confirmed that a physiologically relevant droplet size distribution was produced, with a mean droplet diameter of 3 µm and a range of 0.1-20 µm. Then, using the aerosol chamber, we assessed the viability of SARS-CoV-2, influenza A virus, RSV, HMPV, and hPIV3 in different matrices, including cell culture medium, respiratory mucus, and saliva. Our results show substantial differences in viral viability in air between the tested respiratory viruses and that this viability is strongly influenced by the matrices. Ongoing experiments aim to explore additional environmental factors, including relative humidity, to further elucidate the determinants of respiratory virus viability.  Our experimental aerosol chamber offers a valuable tool to systematically compare the viability kinetics of respiratory viruses and identify factors affecting viability in air. This systematic comparison of well-known respiratory viruses under varying conditions and droplet compositions provides a benchmark for evaluating newly emerging viruses with pandemic potential and ultimately enables predictions about the impact of airborne transmission for these viruses.