Maj. Jerauld Gentry makes the first glide flight of the Martin Marietta X-24A lifting body aircraft at Edwards AFB, Calif. The X-24 is one of several aircraft designed to test the advantages of wedge-shaped, wingless aircraft that get their lift from body contours alone that will eventually pave the way to development of the space shuttle.
The Air Force is on track to reach its annual goal of graduating 1,500 new pilots that had proved elusive to this point, one year after the service launched a sweeping overhaul of its undergraduate pilot training program, Air Education and Training Command said Sept. 14.
