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.
Members of the Air Force Reserve’s 920th Rescue Wing helped save 11 airplane crash survivors off the coast of Florida on May 12. The Reserve Airmen were flying an HC-130J Combat King II and an HH-60W Jolly Green II on a routine training flight when a Coast Guard call diverted…