Maintainers with the New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing recently discovered that strips of a synthetic coating inside the fuel tanks of the unit’s C-130s had peeled off, causing the unit’s leaders to ground the aircraft for more than a week, reports the Albany Times-Union. Wing officials told the newspaper that the move was precautionary, since the problem could have led to a clogged fuel pump.
The Air Force has finished modifying and testing the new VC-25B Bridge aircraft that will serve as a temporary Air Force One, the service announced May 1. All that’s left now is to finish painting the jet before it starts flying this summer.