The Air Force declares that the Fischer-Tropsch fuel blend is OK for operational B-52H use. The service completed testing a mix of FT and JP-8 on a B-52 bomber—selecting it as first test subject because it has eight engines—and already has started testing the 50-50 blend on a C-17 airlifter. USAF now expects by 2011 to have tested and certified every aircraft type to fly with a domestically produced synfuel. (Read The Fuel War.)
Today’s armament maintainers are tasked with performing flightline (O-Level) maintenance with an assortment of legacy test sets that greatly limit the ability to quickly and efficiently verify armament system readiness, diagnose failures, and ultimately return the aircraft to full mission...