Aging Aircraft Lab Expands to Support KC-135 Inspection Program
WICHITA, KS — Researchers at Wichita State University's National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) have investigated several aircraft from Cessna 402s to a B-52 bomber to an F-16 fighter. And thanks to a new contract from the United States Air Force, that resumé has grown to include KC-135 tankers.
Through a six-year program, the Air Force Academy's Center for Aircraft Structural Life Extension (CAStLE), Valdez International, S&K Technologies, and NIAR will investigate three KC-135s using structural teardown examination methods.
The purpose of the program is to assess the current damage state of the USAF's 40-50 year-old tanker fleet and to assess the viability of the fleet to the anticipated retirement date of 2040.
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