Page 10 - Aerotech News and Review Year In Review- January 2025

10 January 2025 www.aerotechnews.com
September
2024 Year in Review
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LEFT: Sept. 13: Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. — The 355th Wing’s 354th Fighter Squadron and 354th Fighter Generation Squadron inactivated at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Sept. 13, 2024. Known as the Bulldogs, the squadrons conducted 35,000 combat sorties, where they fired more than a quarter million 30 mm rounds, supported 1,300 troops in contact, flew missions against numerous high- value targets and provided close air support in 71 successful rescues. The first A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft arrived at DM in 1976. With the inactivation and the U.S. Air Force’s divestment plan, the two squadrons have retired and transferred all 36 of their A-10s.
NASA photograph by Steve Freeman
Oct. 22: NASA Armstrong – The latest iteration of an atmospheric probe developed by researchers at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards, Calif., successfully completed a test flight. Building on NASA 1960s research on lifting body aircraft, which use the aircraft’s shape for lift instead of wings, the concept could offer future scientists a potentially better and more economical way to collect data on other planets. Testing demonstrated the shape of the probe works.
October
Oct. 15: Edwards AFB, Calif. — In a big win for U.S. Air Force readiness, the “Spirit of Nebraska” a B-2 bomber, returned to operations 91 days ahead of schedule, after completing programmed depot maintenance (PDM) here on Oct. 15, 2024. Previously, it has taken B-2s approximately 470 days to go through PDM. However, the “Spirit of Nebraska” was able to get through PDM in only 379 days due to several changes the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Bombers Directorate made to improve efficiency.
Air Force photograph by Staff Sgt. Abbey Rieves
Air Force photograph by Master Sgt. Grady Epperly
Right; Oct. 31: NASA — A
model of the X-66 aircraft
with a wingspan of almost
six feet was placed in the
12-Foot Low-Speed Wind
Tunnel at NASA’s Langley
Research Center in Hamp-
ton, Va. During the tests,
the team captured mea-
surements of forces such
as lift and drag over many
aerodynamic configura-
tions and flight conditions.
At NASA, each project has
milestones to ensure ev-
erything stays on track. The
agency’s Sustainable Flight
Demonstrator (SFD) project
recently passed through
one of these markers of
progress, as it completed a key phase of wind tunnel tests using a model of the X-66. The X-66 is an experi- mental aircraft that aims to achieve more sustainable flight primarily through its wing design. Known as a transonic truss-braced wing, the concept combines extra-long wings stabilized with diagonal struts; a design that could result in a more fuel-efficient airliner. But before a full-size demonstrator version of the X-66 can fly, its team will need to perform tests involving several smaller models of the aircraft.
Air Force photograph by Senior Airman Paige Weldon
Oct. 7: Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. — Staff Sgt. Brannon Herman, 79th Rescue Squadron loadmaster, hugs a family member after returning from a deployment at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.. Loved ones often travel great distances to welcome home their Airman.
NASA photograph by Ryan Hill