Air Force officials on Monday celebrated the opening of Bldg. 9001, a part of the new aerospace complex at Tinker AFB, Okla. “This will be a magnificent addition to the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center,” said Gen. Donald Hoffman, Air Force Materiel Command boss, at the opening ceremony. Already Oklahoma City’s TF33 engine maintenance work has relocated to Bldg. 9001 and more depot functions are coming over. The building is one of six industrial facilities on the new Tinker Aerospace Complex (TAC), a 407-acre, former General Motors plant that the Air Force is leasing. Bldg. 9001 alone has 2.5-million sq. ft. of industrial floor space, about one quarter of which will be occupied by year’s end. “The opening of TAC postures Tinker for an exciting and vibrant future,” said Maj. Gen. David Gillett, OC-ALC commander. (Tinker report by Brandice J. Armstrong)
A year away from its likely retirement—and 70 years to the day after the first U-2 flight—a two-seat version of the Dragon Lady from the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force, Calif., set records for distance covered and endurance on a single mission, demonstrating the venerable type’s continuing capability.