T
he C-17 crew from McChord AFB, Wash., thought it had flown its last Antarctic mission for this year’s Winter Fly-in, but they had to hold in place for a special aeromedical evacuation. At Christchurch, New Zealand, the McChord airlift crew from the 304th Expeditionary Squadron picked up another contingent from McChord, a medical team from the 446th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, and flew back to McMurdo Station in Antarctica, reports photojournalist TSgt. Shane Cuomo. The medevac team, which had been in Christchurch on a routine training flight, converted the C-17 from cargo to the medical mission, which would transport a patient that required surgery within 48 hours.
Reduced competition, over-reliance on legacy systems, and declining funding are all contributing to a “critical inflection point” in propulsion for the Pentagon and industry members—and things are headed in the wrong direction, the director of the Air Force’s propulsion directorate warned. Speaking with reporters at the Life Cycle Industry Days…