March 7, 2019 Innovative solution reduces cost of runway repair After years of heating up in the summer and freezing in the winter, the North Base runway developed severe cracking and was closed in October 2016. Traditional repair methods such as sealing the cracks would only last a few months and full replacement would have cost $20 million. The 412th Civil
March 7, 2019 Innovation success: Reusable containers save thousands At the Joshua Tree Dining Facility, Styrofoam containers have been the container of choice for grabbing a meal on the go.Recently, the cost for these containers was set to increase from $8,000 per month to $24,000 per month as a result of an increase in price and usage. In the long run, these costs
March 6, 2019 Emerging Technologies CTF conducts first autonomous flight test The 412th Test Wing’s Emerging Technologies Combined Test Force conducted its first autonomy flight test Feb. 26-28. The team collected data on the Testing of Autonomy in Complex Environments system, or TACE. The TACE system is test middleware developed by Johns Hopkins University that sits between
Feb. 21, 2019 Test Wing award winners meet Captain Marvel Pictured above: The 2018 412th Test Wing Annual Award winners pose for a photo with Brie Larson Feb. 20. Larson plays the title character in the upcoming "Captain Marvel" film set to be released in theaters March 8. Larson was joined by fellow cast members, Samuel L. Jackson, Gemma Chan, Jude Law
Jan. 30, 2019 418th FLTS begins KC-46A Phase III testing The 418th Flight Test Squadron and Global Reach Combined Test Force had a busy and successful 2018. The squadron oversaw “revolutionary” flight control upgrades for C-17 Globemaster IIIs in landing and air refueling modes; the final parachute certification air drops of NASA's new Orion space
Jan. 16, 2019 Commentary: KC-46 milestone at Edwards AFB Fielding began last week on America’s newest air refueling tanker aircraft – the KC-46 Pegasus. Operationalizing a new military aircraft does not happen often, but when it does, it typically goes through Edwards Air Force Base – The Center of the Aerospace Testing Universe. Regardless of whether it
Jan. 7, 2019 461st FLTS pilot makes history A routine F-35 flight test mission marked a significant event in Air Force history at Edwards Air Force Base, Dec. 14. Maj. Rachael Winiecki, 461st Flight Test Squadron, took off that morning in her F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and was later greeted by members of the squadron after she completed the
Dec. 19, 2018 Joining forces: Test team completes fourth Orange Flag of 2018 In the skies above California, an F-35 and F-16 from Edwards Air Force Base are joined by an F-15E and F-22 from the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron out of Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, along with a Navy F-18 from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 31 out of Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake,
Dec. 19, 2018 One-day event streamlines hiring process for maintainers Nathan Dixon needs maintainers.“I have the largest squadron on Edwards and I have 103 open positions,” said the director of the 412th Maintenance Squadron. Dixon added that it could take up to 225 days to get a new employee on board. With 80 aircraft of all different types and a busy flying mission,
Dec. 11, 2018 Squadron gets new lab space to improve instrumental role in test mission Data collection is the number one goal in flight test. With that said, Edwards AFB squadrons cannot take just any plane out of the air and conduct flight test missions. They have to be specially instrumented to record and transmit data during test sorties. This means taking planes apart for