A team of airmen who fly and maintain the C-17 at Charleston AFB, S.C., pooled their expertise to reduce the number of steps the air crews must follow during pre-flight—cutting the time involved by an hour and a half, reports SSgt. April Quintanilla. The team pared down the 35 sequence of events performed by pilots to 18 steps with assistance from the aircraft’s maintainers. The team presented the revamped safety inspection checklist at a May Flight Manual Review Conference and awaits a decision in August about whether the Air Force will accept the new process and implement it at other C-17 units.
Celebrating 100 Years of Liquid-Fueled Rockets
March 11, 2026
March 16, 2026, marks 100 years since Dr. Robert H. Goddard launched the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket. Over the past century, new and ever more capable liquid-fueled rockets have literally propelled humanity into space. Why liquid-fueled rockets?