Arnold Engineering and Development Center in Tennessee has shut down its more than 50-year-old Basic Plant air conditioning facility—one that provided, on the ground, the right pressure, temperature, and humidity to test turbine engines at simulated high speeds and altitudes. The heart of the facility still houses the World War II motors, compressors, and associated hardware retrieved by teams sent to scour Nazi Germany for prized technology and to secure German scientists and engineers for America. Commissioned in 1952, the B-Plant has supported “almost every weapons system we’re flying today,” said retired AEDC engineer Glen Lazalier.
U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagles have roared out of Barnes Air National Guard Base, Mass., for the last time. The 104th Fighter Wing’s last three F-15Cs departed the base Oct. 23 for the “Boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., ending the aircraft's era on the frontlines of homeland defense.
