63-511: The Arnold Engineering Development Complex ( AEDC ), Arnold Engineering Development Center before July 2012, is an Air Force Materiel Command facility under the control of the Air Force Test Center (AFTC). Named for General Henry "Hap" Arnold , the father of the U.S. Air Force, AEDC is the most advanced and largest complex of flight simulation test facilities in the world. Headquartered at Arnold Air Force Base , Tennessee ,
126-674: A critical role in the Global War on Terrorism. More recently the AFTC has been part of the anti-satellite missile and Joint Direct Attack Munition development. Additionally, the center has played a key role in the development of the Air Force's X-35A and X-32A prototypes for the Joint Strike Fighter program, both making their first flights in late 2000. The resulting F-35 Lightning II is being built in three versions for
189-750: A degree in mechanical engineering, his thesis was "The motion of a heavy rod supported on its rounded end by a horizontal plane". He then served a year as an artillery cadet in the Austro-Hungarian army. In 1903-1906 he worked as an assistant at the Royal Joseph Technical University. In 1906 he moved to the German Empire and joined Ludwig Prandtl at the University of Göttingen , where he received his doctorate in 1908, for his research on "mathematical models for
252-577: A genius for finding the simplifying assumptions that made possible the mathematical analysis." While acknowledging Kármán's gifts as an applied mathematician and teacher, Stanley Corrsin points out that the autobiography is "marriage between a man and his ego." In the later part of his life, Kármán was a "planner of global symposia and societies" and a "consultant to the upper echelons of the Pentagon corps." On creativity , Kármán wrote "the finest creative thought comes not out of organized teams but out of
315-446: A number of concepts, for example: Four years after Kármán died his autobiography The Wind and Beyond was published by Lee Edson with Little, Brown and Company . Seven major academic journals then followed with book reviews by noted authors: As the book was non-technical, written for the general reader, Thomas P. Hughes cited that as problematic given the technical context of Kármán's work. Hughes conceded that Kármán "exhibited
378-680: A seminal paper that aeronautical engineers were "pounding hard on the closed door leading into the field of supersonic motion." In June 1944, von Kármán underwent surgery for intestinal cancer in New York City. The surgery caused two hernias , and Kármán's recovery was slow. Early in September, while still in New York, he met US Army Air Forces Commanding General Henry H. Arnold on a runway at LaGuardia Airport , and Arnold then proposed that Kármán should move to Washington, D.C., to lead
441-632: A small detachment arrived at Muroc for experimental work in rocket firing, remaining until the end of 1945. Although the XP-59A provided valuable experience to the USAAF in the operation of jet-powered aircraft, it was basically a flying testbed and not a combat-capable aircraft. The USAAF had to look elsewhere in its search for an effective jet fighter. The first flight of the Lockheed XP-80 took place on 8 January 1944 with test pilot Milo Burcham at
504-544: A small vineyard near Budapest, so the Emperor bestowed upon him the predicate "von Szőllőskislaki" (small grape). I have shortened it to von, for even to me, a Hungarian, the full title is almost unpronounceable. Theodore had three brothers (among them Elemér Kármán [ eo ] ) and one sister, Josephine . At age six, he could "perform large mental calculations", for example multiplication of six-digit numbers. Father discouraged Theodore's mathematical education, he
567-558: A system to give tactical pilots the ability to strike ground targets from low altitudes at night and in adverse weather. The Air Force Test Center develops, operates and maintains the Edwards Flight Test Range and Utah Test and Training Range . It also operates the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. The center provides test infrastructure, overhead support for development, and operational test and evaluation support for aerospace research vehicles. AFFTC resources include
630-427: A year later Joe Walker reached an altitude of 354,200 feet (67 miles). On 3 October 1967 William "Pete" Knight set the standing aircraft speed record of Mach 6.72 (4,520 mph), again flying an X-15. When the space program began a number of astronauts were selected from the Air Force's test pilot cadre. Additionally, the AFTC assisted with the testing of rocket engines and re-entry vehicles. Along with
693-609: Is Beyond New Horizons . The center has helped to develop most aerospace systems in the U.S. government's inventory, including the Atlas , Titan , Minuteman and Peacekeeper ICBMs , the Space Shuttle , space station , and Projects Mercury , Gemini and Apollo . It is named for General Henry "Hap" Arnold , the father of the US Air Force and an air power visionary. The University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI)
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#1732772141784756-538: Is a development and test organization of the United States Air Force . It conducts research, development, test, and evaluation of aerospace systems from concept to deployment. It has test flown every aircraft in the Army Air Force's and the Air Force's inventory since World War II. The center employs nearly 13,000 people, and controls the second largest base in the Air Force. On 6 July 2012,
819-505: Is a part of a master unitary wind tunnel plan that is designated to provide the testing "tools" required to assure the United States continued air and space supremacy. The necessity for an aeronautical test complex of this type was recognized by a number of different agencies of the government, as well as by expert technical groups from the industrial-scientific world. The creation of these research and testing facilities has enabled
882-448: Is located adjacent to AEDC. The center lies near Manchester, Tennessee and Tullahoma, Tennessee , and occupies much of the site of the former Camp Forrest , a U.S. Army base and World War II POW camp. It is unique in that the majority of the workforce are contract personnel, with a small contingent of active-duty assigned. "The Air Force Test Center (AFTC) started an organizational change process in 2015 to move some units within
945-596: The F-100 Super Sabre ; F-102 Delta Dagger , the Mach 2 F-104 Starfighter ; F-105 Thunderchief and the F-106 Delta Dart made supersonic flight commonplace in combat aircraft. The Century Series fighters defined the basic speed and altitude envelopes for fighters that are still in effect today. Meanwhile, the aircraft of the X series continued to set speed and altitude records. The 1960s ushered in
1008-602: The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School , which trains test pilots, flight-test engineers, and flight-test navigators. The center has tested all the aircraft types in the Air Force inventory, and the center's workforce—civilian, military and contractor—work together to flight test and evaluate new aircraft and upgrades to aircraft already in inventory for Air Force units, the Department of Defense , NASA and other government agencies. Upgrades to be tested here include improvements to radar, weapons-delivery and navigation systems, and
1071-696: The 1980s. The 1990s saw the arrival of the Lockheed YF-22 and the Northrop YF-23 prototype fighters, both using stealth technology and designed for air supremacy with agility, high-speed and supersonic cruise capability. Global Hawk, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was tested that has subsequently been used extensively for high-level reconnaissance in the skies of Afghanistan and Iraq began testing in February 1998. The MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper attack counterparts, tested at Edwards, today fill
1134-566: The 20th century. Theodore von Kármán was born into a Jewish family in Budapest , Austria-Hungary , as Kármán Tódor, the son of Helene (Konn or Kohn, Hungarian : Kohn Ilka ) and Mór Kármán [ eo ] . Among his ancestors were Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel , who was said to be the creator of the Golem of Prague , and Rabbi Moses ben Menachem Mendel Kunitz [ hu ; he ] , who wrote about Zohar . His father, Mór,
1197-571: The 477th Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron (Reduced) was moved from Wright Field , Ohio to the Muroc Bombing and Gunnery Range. Its mission was to test the secret Bell Aircraft XP-59 A jet fighter. Muroc was chosen as it was a secluded site in the Mojave Desert out of the public eye. The first XP-59A aircraft arrived on 21 September 1942 for ground tests and it was fitted with a dummy propeller attached to its nose, just in case
1260-872: The AFTC from the 96th and 412th Test Wings over to the AEDC. The largest change [was] the renumbering of the 96th Test Group as the 704th Test Group at Holloman AFB , NM. AEDC ..also [gained] the McKinley Climatic Laboratory at Eglin AFB, FL, and the Hypersonic Combined Test Force at Edwards AFB, CA." The changes took effect on 1 December 2016. It was planned to align "..most of the Air Force’s developmental ground test facilities under one commander, better fiscal synergy, especially in restoration and modernization funds, better balance in
1323-1122: The Air Force, the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps, as well as multiple allied military partners. NASA maintains its Armstrong Flight Research Center on Edwards and partners with the AFFTC on aircraft development. Effective 6 July 2012, it was re-designated from the Air Force Flight Test Center to the Air Force Test Center, part of a new five-center construct across Air Force Materiel Command. The new name reflects AFTC's expanded mission which includes Eglin AFB and Arnold AFB as well as flight test activities at Edwards. Theodore von K%C3%A1rm%C3%A1n Theodore von Kármán ( Hungarian : ( szőllőskislaki ) Kármán Tódor [(søːløːʃkiʃlɒki) ˈkaːrmaːn ˈtoːdor] , May 11, 1881 – May 6, 1963)
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#17327721417841386-664: The Army with his analysis of and comments on the German program. In 1944 he and others affiliated with GALCIT founded the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which is now a federally funded research and development center managed and operated by Caltech under a contract from NASA . In 1946 he became the first chairman of the Scientific Advisory Group which studied aeronautical technologies for
1449-585: The Board of Engineers tasked with investigating the November 7, 1940, collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge outside Tacoma, Washington . His expertise was instrumental in discovering the effect of aerodynamic forces on the bridge, causing its unusual "galloping" behavior and eventual collapse. Along with Civil Engineers Othmar Amman and Glenn B. Woodruff , he published the report "The Failure of
1512-982: The Complex also operates from geographically separated units at Ames Research Center, Mountain View and Edwards AFB, California; Peterson AFB, Colorado; Eglin AFB, Florida; the Federal Research Center at White Oak, Maryland; Holloman AFB, Kirtland AFB, and White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico; Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, and Hill AFB, Utah. AEDC operates more than 68 test facilities, including, but not limited to, aerodynamic and propulsion wind tunnels, rocket and turbine engine test cells, environmental chambers, arc heaters, ballistic ranges, sled tracks, centrifuges, and other specialized test units. AEDC conducts developmental testing and evaluation through modeling, simulation, ground, and flight testing. Testing aims to evaluate aircraft, missile, and space systems/subsystems at
1575-614: The Scientific Advisory Group and become a long-range planning consultant to the military. Kármán returned to Pasadena around mid-September, was appointed to the SAG position on October 23, 1944, and left Caltech in December 1944. At the age of 81 Kármán was the recipient of the first National Medal of Science , bestowed in a White House ceremony by President John F. Kennedy . He was recognized, "For his leadership in
1638-553: The Space Age. The Test Pilot School was re-designated as the Aerospace Research Pilot School as it began to train future astronauts. The North American X-15 arrived and began to explore hypersonic and exoatmospheric flight. Major Robert "Bob" White became the first person to fly an aircraft into space on 17 July 1962 when he flew his X-15 to an altitude of 314,750 feet. Flying the same airframe
1701-709: The Tacoma Narrows Bridge" on March 28, 1941. German activity during World War II increased US military interest in rocket research. In early 1943, the Experimental Engineering Division of the United States Army Air Forces Material Command forwarded to Kármán reports from British intelligence sources describing German rockets capable of travelling more than 100 miles (160 km). In a letter dated August 2, 1943, Kármán provided
1764-461: The U.S. to stay abreast of developments in this fast-moving field. AEDC is one of the most advanced and largest complex of flight simulation test facilities in the world with a replacement value of more than $ 7.8 billion. At one time or another, the center has operated 58 aerodynamic and propulsion wind tunnels, rocket and turbine engine test cells, space environmental chambers, arc heaters, ballistic ranges and other specialized units. Twenty-seven of
1827-701: The USAAF. It was considered rather unlikely that any appreciable improvements in the performance of the P-59 would soon be forthcoming, and by the early fall of 1943 the Airacomet was no longer considered by the USAAF as being worthy of consideration as an operational combat type. Most of the P-59s went to the Fourth Air Force 412th Fighter Group where they served in the training role. The Airacomets provided USAAF pilots and ground crews with valuable data about
1890-906: The United States Army Air Forces. He also helped found AGARD , the NATO aerodynamics research oversight group (1951), the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (1956), the International Academy of Astronautics (1960), and the Von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics in Sint-Genesius-Rode , south of Brussels (1956). He eventually became an important figure in supersonic motion, noting in
1953-958: The United States to be entombed in the Beth Olam Mausoleum at what is now the Hollywood Forever Cemetery . He has sometimes been described as one of The Martians . Kármán's fame was in the use of mathematical tools to study fluid flow , and the interpretation of those results to guide practical designs. He was instrumental in recognizing the importance of swept-back wings ubiquitous in modern jet aircraft . Specific contributions include theories of non-elastic buckling, unsteady wakes in circum-cylinder flow , stability of laminar flow , turbulence , airfoils in steady and unsteady flow, boundary layers , and supersonic aerodynamics. He made additional contributions in other fields, including elasticity, vibration, heat transfer, and crystallography . His name also appears in
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2016-761: The X-15, pilots at Edwards were expanding the frontiers of atmospheric flight, testing the XB-70 Valkyrie high-altitude bomber, along with the YF-12 interceptor for Air Defense Command and the SR-71 Blackbird Strategic Reconnaissance aircraft for Strategic Air Command . With the decline of the military crewed space mission after the NASA Lunar Landing Program ended, the Aerospace Research Pilot School
2079-519: The base was hosting testing for proposed weapon systems including the F-84 Thunderjet , F-86 Sabre , F-94 Starfire , and B-45 Tornado . The first Northrop XB-35 Flying Wing (serial number 42-13603) took off on its maiden flight on 25 June 1946, with Max Stanley as pilot and Dale Schroeder as flight engineer. On this first flight, the aircraft was flown from Hawthorne to Muroc, a flight lasting 45 minutes. The propeller-driven XB-35 however,
2142-545: The base's mission would be a proving ground for aircraft and a testing site for experimental aircraft. On 14 October 1947, Captain Chuck Yeager , piloted the Bell X-1 to a speed of 760 miles per hour, breaking the sound barrier for the first time. In the years since, multiple generations of experimental "X-Planes" have been tested and flown at Edwards, for the Air Force and other agencies, such as NASA. Simultaneously,
2205-620: The buckling of large structures". He taught at Göttingen for four years. In 1913 he accepted a position as director of the Aeronautical Institute at RWTH Aachen University , a leading German university. His time at RWTH Aachen was interrupted by service in the Austro-Hungarian Army from 1915 to 1918, during World War I , when he designed the Petróczy-Kármán-Žurovec , an early helicopter . After
2268-517: The center's test units have capabilities unmatched elsewhere in the United States; 14 are unique in the world. Facilities can simulate flight conditions from sea level to 300 miles' altitude and from subsonic velocities to Mach 14. AEDC's mission is to: AEDC is an important national resource and has contributed to the development of practically every one of the nation's top priority aerospace programs, including better spacelift, aircraft, missiles and satellites. Many of these programs are highlighted in
2331-524: The controls. The XP-80 was eventually transferred to the 412th Fighter Group for tactical evaluation. Following the war flight testing officially became the base's primary mission. Test work on the Lockheed P-80, the successor to the XP-59 was undertaken for the greater part of 1945. The Convair XP-81 and Republic XP-84 Thunderjet arrived at Muroc in 1946 for testing. It was clear by this time that
2394-475: The conventional (gaminarie). Süsskind expected the book to show some reaction to Wernher von Braun 's coming to America, and some clarification of the Hsue-shen Tsien affair, rather than "lapses into generalities". Süsskind also tags Kármán as a militarist : a "forthright engineer who is quite unabashed about his lifelong association with military authorities in whatever country he happened to reside at
2457-461: The crew were killed. In 1951 Muroc AFB was re-designated Edwards Air Force Base in his honor. With the transfer of Edwards AFB from Air Materiel Command to the newly created Air Research and Development Command, the postwar 2759th Experimental Wing was inactivated, being replaced by the Air Force Flight Test Center on 25 June 1951. Technology pioneered through the AFTC led to remarkable advancements in aviation. The " Century Series " of aircraft,
2520-558: The curious might see it and start asking why this aircraft didn't have a propeller. On 30 September, Bell's test pilot Robert Stanley was undergoing some high-speed taxiing trials with the XP-59A when the aircraft "inadvertently" became airborne for a short time, reaching an altitude of ten feet for one-half-mile during high speed taxi tests. However, the first official flight was on 1 October with NACA, Navy Bureau of Aeronautics, Royal Air Force, Army, Bell and General Electric personnel on hand. XP-59 aircraft testing continued at Muroc for
2583-454: The difficulties and pitfalls involved in converting to jet aircraft. This information proved quite useful when more advanced jet fighters finally became available in quantity. In the fall of 1944, Eighth Air Force tested its B-17 Flying Fortresses along with P-51D Mustangs against the XP-59 to see how well they stood up against the jet. The results were obvious. Also in October 1944,
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2646-753: The directorship of the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology (GALCIT). The directorship included provision for a research assistant , and he selected Frank Wattendorf , an American who had been studying for three years in Aachen. Another student Ernest Edwin Sechler took up the problem of making reliable airframes for aircraft, and with Kármán's support, developed an understanding of aeroelasticity . In 1936, Kármán engaged
2709-898: The first international conference in mechanics held in September 1922 in Innsbruck . Subsequent conferences were organized as the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics . In 1926, Karman was first invited to the USA by the California Institute of Technology to build a wind tunnel . In 1930 he was invited for a position of a full-time director of the Aeronautical Laboratory at California Institute of Technology; his mother and sister, Josephine, also moved to California. Apprehensive about developments in Europe regarding Nazism , in 1930 Kármán accepted
2772-426: The flight conditions they will experience during a mission. The complex aims to be the best value U.S. ground test and analysis source for aerospace and defense systems. Several areas of the facility are contaminated by substances including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and volatile organic compounds and spills of jet and rocket fuel , chlorofluorocarbon solvents, nitric acid and other materials. PCBs from
2835-406: The following sections. AEDC is an Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) organization managed by the Air Force but operated largely by a contractor work force. While AEDC's primary location is in Tennessee, it also operates two geographically separated facilities—the Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel 9 in Maryland, and the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex (NFAC), in California. AEDC's economic impact to
2898-460: The former 96th Air Base Wing, the former 46th Test Wing and the former Air Armament Center at Eglin Air Force Base , Florida, and the Arnold Engineering Development Complex at Arnold Air Force Base , Tennessee, also came under control of the AFTC. The Air Force Test Center (AFTC) conducts developmental and follow-on testing and evaluation of manned and unmanned aircraft and related avionics, flight-control, and weapon systems. AFTC also operates
2961-403: The legal services of Andrew G. Haley to form the Aerojet Corporation, with his graduate student Frank Malina and their experimental rocketry collaborators Jack Parsons and Edward Forman to manufacture JATO rocket motors. Kármán later became a naturalized citizen of the United States. In 1940, Kármán was selected by John M. Carmody , Administrator of the Federal Works Agency to be on
3024-611: The local area for fiscal year 2008 exceeded $ 728 million. The total economic impact includes the center's payroll, secondary jobs created locally though the spending of that payroll, and other expenditures for supplies, utilities, fuel and services. As a consultant to General Arnold, Theodore von Kármán first called for the center: The center operates more than 68 aerodynamic and propulsion wind tunnels , rocket and turbine engine test cells, space environmental chambers, arc heaters, ballistic ranges, and other specialized units. Currently, AEDC's Test Operations and Sustainment contractor
3087-442: The previous Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) was redesignated as the Air Force Test Center (AFTC). Up until July 2012, the AFTC consisted of two subordinate wings. The 95th Air Base Wing (95 ABW) provided installation support for all units on Edwards Air Force Base while the 412th Test Wing (412 TW) conducted aircraft testing and evaluation at Edwards. In July 2012, the redesignated 96th Test Wing (96 TW), an amalgamation of
3150-440: The quiet of one's own world." In his review I. B. Holley noted "penetrating insights into the creative process, its ingredients, nurture and exploitation." According to Holley, Kármán was given to "convivial drinking and the company of beautiful women." An enthusiastic review by J. Kestin advised readers to buy and study the book, and prize it as a reference. On the other hand, Charles Süsskind faults Kármán for his contempt for
3213-420: The remainder of 1942 and in 1943. The second XP-59A flew on 15 February 1943 and the third late in April. Shortly before the first flight of the XP-59A, the USAAF had placed an order for one hundred P-59A Airacomets. However, the performance of the XP-59A service test aircraft had proved to be rather disappointing, not even up to the standards of conventional piston-engined fighter aircraft already in service with
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#17327721417843276-408: The science and engineering basic to aeronautics; for his effective teaching and related contributions in many fields of mechanics, for his distinguished counsel to the Armed Services, and for his promoting international cooperation in science and engineering." Kármán never married. He died on a trip to Aachen, West Germany , in 1963, five days short of his 82nd birthday, and his body was returned to
3339-422: The site have been detected in local creeks, in the water, sediment and in fish. The site was proposed for addition to the Superfund National Priorities List in August 1994 though, as of May 2010, the site has not been added to the NPL. The Environmental Protection Agency believes that human exposure to contaminants and contaminated groundwater migration are under control. The Air Engineering Development Center
3402-556: The span of control, and finally results in developmental opportunities for AFTC officers." [REDACTED] This article incorporates public domain material from Arnold Engineering Development Center . United States Air Force . [REDACTED] This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency 35°22′44″N 86°03′00″W / 35.379°N 86.050°W / 35.379; -86.050 Air Force Test Center The Air Force Test Center ( AFTC )
3465-728: The test and evaluation mission simulator, the Benefield Anechoic Chamber, Ridley Mission Control, and the Integration Facility for Avionics Systems Testing. The Air Force Flight Test Museum is open to military personnel with credentials to enter the base as well as general public tours offered periodically. The museum also features 40 aircraft on display at the museum or the nearby Blackbird Airpark in Palmdale, California . The museum also features aircraft engines, missiles, hardware, life support equipment, technical drawings, test reports memorabilia, and models. Flight testing began at Muroc Army Air Base (later renamed Edwards Air Force Base) during World War II . It dates to 17 February 1942 when
3528-413: The war, in 1919, he returned to Aachen with his mother and sister Josephine. Some of his students took an interest in gliding and saw the competitions of the Rhön-Rossitten Gesellschaft as an opportunity to advance in aeronautics. Kármán engaged Wolfgang Klemperer to design a competitive glider. Josephine encouraged her brother Theodore to expand his science beyond national boundaries. They organized
3591-514: The wheels of Space Shuttle Columbia touched down on Rogers Dry Lakebed, with Astronauts John Young and Robert Crippin successfully landing the first orbiting space vehicle ever to leave the Earth under rocket power and return to Earth aerodynamically for re-use. The "Flying Wing" returned to Edwards in the late 1980s when the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber began testing, and at a remote site, the F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighter. Air-Launched Cruise Missile , and LANTIRN systems were also tested during
3654-405: Was a Hungarian-American mathematician , aerospace engineer , and physicist who worked in aeronautics and astronautics . He was responsible for crucial advances in aerodynamics characterizing supersonic and hypersonic airflow. The human-defined threshold of outer space is named the " Kármán line " in recognition of his work. Kármán is regarded as an outstanding aerodynamic theoretician of
3717-440: Was a well-known educator, who reformed the Hungarian school system and founded Minta Gymnasium in Budapest. He became an influential figure and became a commissioner of the Ministry of Education, and was responsible for "planning an education of a young archduke, the Emperor's cousin". In 1907 Mór Karman was ennobled, Theodore later described it: To receive a predicate of nobility, my father had to be landed. Fortunately he owned
3780-453: Was afraid that his son would be a child prodigy and a freak. He was tutored by his father and his father's former student; later he entered the Minta Gymnasium in Budapest. He won Eötvös Prize "for the best student in mathematics and science in the whole of Hungary" in his last year at Minta. He studied engineering at the city's Royal Joseph Technical University ( Budapest University of Technology and Economics ). He graduated in 1902 with
3843-495: Was authorized by an act of the 81st Congress, Public Law 415, approved 27 Oct. 1949 (Appendix 2). On 7 March 1950, the Air Engineering Development Center was redesignated the Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) effective 10 February 1950, per General Order #23, signed by then-Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General Hoyt S. Vandenberg . Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) was later redesignated Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) on 6 July 2012. The complex
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#17327721417843906-455: Was considered outdated and it was replaced by the jet-powered YB-49 on 21 October 1947 from the Northrop Field at Hawthorne, California, piloted by Northrop's chief test pilot, Max Stanley. At the end of the flight, it landed at Muroc Air Force Base where it was to carry out its test program. On the morning of 5 June 1948, XB-49 42-102368 crashed just north of Muroc Dry Lake. The pilot, Air Force Capt. Glenn Edwards, and all four other members of
3969-583: Was once again re-designated as the USAF Test Pilot School. The school replaced its space-oriented curriculum with an entire new battery of courses focusing on systems and test management. New aircraft arrived in the 1970s with the McDonnell F-15 Eagle . Two major "fly-offs" were conducted, one between the Northrop YA-9 and the Fairchild Republic YA-10 , the other between the Northrop YF-17 and General Dynamics YF-16 . The Rockwell B-1 Lancer began flight testing in 1974 with its multitude of highly sophisticated offensive and defensive systems. In April 1981,
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