United in Spirits’ raises money and spirits

United Way of Highway 55 held their inaugural fundraiser May 21 on BBQ Hill overlooking the Jack Daniels distillery. A limited number of tickets were sold, and this event was one of only two outside organizational events in 2022 scheduled on BBQ Hill. Over 160 people attended, and the evening consisted of an upscale dinner, live entertainment by Utopia, and silent auction.

National Aerospace Solutions supported the event as the Diamond Sponsor and Vanderbilt Tullahoma-Harton Hospital as the Platinum Sponsor. Gold Sponsors included US Display Group, Woodard’s Diamond and Design, Lynchburg Winery, KIRCHHOFF Automotive Farmers Home Furniture, Lee Adcock Construction, Fruehauf Service Co, The Feathered Nest Event Co, and Bowman On-Target Marketing (93.9 The Duck, Rooster 101.5, & Whiskey Country 105.1). Along with these top sponsors, there were 18 Silver and six Bronze businesses that supported the fundraiser and evening. United Way of Hwy 55 Director, Ashley Abraham, explains “This night would not have been possible without each of our sponsors. We had a variety of auction items from businesses around our community, so thank you to those that donated.”

Black Rifle Coffee Co. served cold brew coffee and handed out coffee bags to attendees. Every attendee went home with a wood engraved coaster made by Jack Daniels and United Way cookie by Sami Kay Cookies. Top Sponsors received engraved Gentleman Jack bottles and tour tickets.

“Certain sponsor levels were able to tour a cave below the event space the night of the event,” Abraham revealed. “We wanted to give our top sponsors an experience they would not forget and to thank them for their support.”

Speakers of the night included National Aerospace Solutions (Diamond Sponsor), President & General Manager: Rich Tighe and Deputy General Manager: Wayne Monteith. They spoke about their employee payroll deduction program and presented the UW55 Director and Board with a $33,231 (2022 Employee Payroll Deduction Total) check. Other speakers of the night included Cindy Kenney, Director of The Good Samaritan of Tullahoma and Cassell Galligan-Davis, Executive Director of Children’s Advocacy Center, 31st Judicial District. They spoke on how the United Way funds help their mission in the counties we serve.

“We raised over $30,000,” Abraham said. “The list of people and businesses to thank is long. This is the first big gathering we have been able to hold since COVID. These funds will help pay vet bills for injured animals or control the overpopulation of animals. It provides affordable childcare to low-income families. These funds support an after school and summer program that provides activities and tutoring for less fortunate children. That may be there only safe place. It supports a nonprofit that provides a recreational horseback riding program designed to improve the quality of life for individuals with physical and/or intellectual challenges. It helps provide free healthcare to the working uninsured. These are real missions and stories happening in our community daily. Along with many others. Our goal is to protect your donated dollars and place them were most needed and that will create the biggest impact. We appreciate the support.”

United Way of Highway 55 would like to thank their Board Members: Michele Simmons (Board Chair), Michele Carmack (Treasurer), Ashley Wright (Secretary), Ashley Kraft, Ryan Andrews, Monty Hawkins, Amanda Martin, Pamela Barnes, and Marsha Hale. United Way of Highway 55 event committee members included Jenny Orr, Emily Rice, Marsha Hale, Holly Buchanan, Michele Simmons, Michelle Carmack, Ryan Andrews, Pam Bussell, Amanda Martin, and Ashley Kraft.

“Huge thanks and special recognition to Board Member Marsha Hale who went over and beyond to ensure this was a successful fundraiser. And Jack Daniels event coordinator Dianne Potts. Our goal is to raise more, so we can give more to our local nonprofits. All funds raised here, stay in the 3 counties we serve: Coffee, Moore, and Warren. We are excited to continue this fundraiser for years to come and continue to build the awareness and support. It is a gorgeous venue. Thank you to all attendees, volunteers, sponsors, and businesses that donated auction items. It takes a village. United.”

A military wind tunnel in Tullahoma that sat dormant for decades has now become a key player in a global technology race between the U.S., Russia and China to develop airplanes and missiles that can travel at hypersonic speeds.

That’s even faster than supersonic — or more than four-and-a-half times the speed of sound.

Built in 1960 amid the Cold War, the “16S” wind tunnel at Arnold Engineering Development Complex tested high speed war planes and projectiles until 1997. Since then, however, it stood mostly unused, other than occasionally opening to tourists and school groups.

Until recently. The first stage of a tunnel renovation was completed in 2021 and cost $60 million. That moved the 16S tunnel closer to hypersonic capability, although it’s not there yet. Recent international developments make the project even more time sensitive.

Size matters

In February, Lt. Col. John McShane, chief of the base’s Aerodynamics Test Branch, led WPLN News through a tour of the revamped facility. The inside of the tunnel building looks like a 1960s space station, with a curved metal roof lined with little square insulation panels. It looks like a giant quilt in varying shades of gray, as the metal has become discolored over the years.

The tunnel itself is a 92-foot rectangular box running through the center of the space. The walls of the nozzle — sheets of metal an inch thick — move to adjust the speed of the air. The narrower the opening the air is squeezed through, the faster it travels.

The wind tunnel at Arnold Air Force Base is the largest in the world of its capabilities — its cross-section is 16 by 16 feet. That’s still not large enough to hold an actual fighter jet, for example, but size does matter when it comes to wind tunnels. Large facilities can accommodate bigger scale models for testing, which leads to more accurate results.

And there is a lot at stake. McShane describes some of the things that can go wrong when dropping bombs at high speeds.

“The weapon would come off the aircraft and sometimes just spin out of control … or in the worst situation, the weapon would come off and actually hit the aircraft and could destroy the aircraft.”

Evolving technology

The U.S. military has gone through several technological preoccupations over the years.

In the 1950s, it was about having planes that could fly so high that they’d elude detection. That idea fell out of favor when a high-flying U-2 spy plane flown by Francis Gary Powers was shot down by Russia in 1960.

Then it was satellites. But those have a few drawbacks: First, they run on a set course, so countries that want to avoid detection can cover up whatever the satellite is looking for when it’s overhead. In addition, satellites can be shot down.

From the late 1950s through the 1990s, the U.S. invested in stealth technology — technology that allowed planes to be almost undetectable by radar systems. But it’s been in use for decades, and many countries either have stealth technology themselves or have developed counter-measures to get around it.

The next phase, says Dr. Mark Lewis, former director of defense research and engineering at the Pentagon, is hypersonics.

“From a military standpoint, if I had a hypersonic airplane, I might be able to use it for intelligence gathering, for sensing, for surveillance … if it’s a fighter jet, for example, you’d want to go supersonic to be more effective in combat, to evade enemy defenses, for engagements with other aircraft,” he says.

But though the U.S. was the first to develop the field of hypersonics, beginning in 1948, the Russians and the Chinese have since produced hypersonic weapons that can be deployed on the battlefield.

“It’s a field we really invented,” Lewis says, “but we don’t have systems yet that a U.S. military commander can use.”

Rising pressure

The Russian military claims to have used the first hypersonic weapon in combat in Ukraine on March 19. Some analysts dismissed the move as saber-rattling, while others said it may have been a sign they had run out of more traditional ballistic missiles. Still others said Russia may have wanted to increase pressure by showing a hypersonic weapon that could later be fitted with a nuclear warhead.

In a military parade in 2019, China also showed off a hypersonic ballistic nuclear missile. Those countries’ acquisition of these weapons has led to an arms race mentality among the U.S. armed forces and the revamping and construction of wind tunnels across the country to ramp up testing of hypersonic planes and missiles.

The tunnel in Tullahoma is set to be used by U.S. manufacturing giants Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Boeing, and other companies all the way down the aerospace supply chain. And while these are private companies, the money to operate and run the tunnel is allocated by Congress through two funding streams: one, that allots money to Arnold Airbase itself for the tunnel’s upkeep, and another that gives money to the companies in the form of defense contracts, which is used to fund the tunnel’s running costs.

The tunnel takes an enormous amount of energy to operate. “It used to be this place would be equivalent to like the city of Nashville would be burning power-wise,” says Scott Meredith, a Department of Defense tech advisor who works on the tunnel.

So far, the upgrade in Tullahoma has replaced the wind tunnel nozzle’s drive motors and updated the controls from analog to digital. But the ultimate goal is to equip the tunnel with hypersonic capabilities to test planes and missiles traveling over four-and-a-half times the speed of sound.

And though much of the work within the airbase is classified, the tunnel itself can often be heard from the highway as it hums in the background of daily life in Tullahoma.

https://wpln.org/post/a-military-wind-tunnel-in-tullahoma-went-unused-for-decades-but-its-whirring-again-in-a-global-arms-race/

LAURA DEAN

APRIL 26, 2022

Date published: January 26, 2022

Katie P. may be new to the National Aerospace Solutions Team, having joined at Arnold Air Force Base just three months ago as a Control Systems Project Engineer for DragonFire. But, she is not new to her field. In fact, she was recently recognized by NAS parent company, Bechtel, as the Bechtel Distinguished Technical Specialist (DTS) for Industrial Control Systems and Cybersecurity.

Very few in the company are selected for this elite title, which is granted in various technical functions of the business. When selected, it signifies that inside and outside the company, you are regarded as an expert in your specific technical area. As a DTS you are available to support colleagues if they have questions and mentor others in that area.

“It was an honor to be recognized as somebody who is knowledgeable and an expert in this field,” Katie said. “Bechtel has a lot of talented individuals in different subject matters, so to be recognized among them is an honor.”

Katie has risen to expert level quickly, having joined Bechtel straight out of college. During her Bechtel career, she has supported numerous high profile projects, which eventually led to her role as Technical Director of the ICS/Supervisory Control & Data Acquisition Lab. She was responsible for setting this lab up – including procuring the equipment, staffing, and developing work processes. She advised projects on the requirements of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Risk Management Framework, Department of Energy, and International Society of Automation cybersecurity standards. While there she was promoted to Manager of Cybersecurity Program Directives. Katie’s DTS designation also took into account her involvement in external committees and organizations related to cybersecurity. In 2020, Katie was named a Founding Fellow for the Control Systems Cyber Security Association International, a global not-for-profit organization with 18,000 members supporting professionals who secure control systems.

Katie was presented with a certificate and lapel pin by the NAS General Manager and senior Engineering managers in early January.

Photo caption: Katie P., second from right, is presented with a certificate recognizing her as a Bechtel Distinguished Technical Specialist for Industrial Control Systems and Cybersecurity. Presenting her certificate, from left, is Engineering Manager Jeff M., General Manager Rich T., and Engineering and Functional Manager Janet R.