News

ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. – When a decades-old part could no longer be purchased, the Plant Operations and Maintenance team at the Arnold Engineering Development Complex Engine Test Facility at Arnold Air Force Base coordinated with members of the Condition Based Maintenance group, or CBM, to determine how best to recreate the piece.

The most economical solution was determined to be 3D printing the part, a circuit breaker handle used to supply a 20 horsepower, 480-volt alternating current motor to the lube oil system, which directly supports two of the process air compressors for C-Plant.
Read more

ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. – When those conducting Air Force-sponsored basic science research in hypersonic aerodynamics needed some advice, they relied upon the expertise of engineers and technicians at AEDC Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel 9 in White Oak, Maryland.

Earlier this year, personnel from Tunnel 9 provided instrumentation installation training to members of the research team from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU-APL) in Laurel, Maryland, working on the BOLT flight experiment.
Read more

ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. – Ensuring resources such as utilities, facilities and personnel are available to accommodate high-priority test and maintenance projects is essential to the success of the AEDC mission.

In an effort to reduce work impacts and delays due to resource unavailability and conflicts in testing schedules, a new single master schedule was developed by National Aerospace Solutions. It will improve near- and long-term planning, decision making, efficiency and effectiveness.
Read more

ARNOLD AFB, Tenn. – Engineering students from colleges and universities across the United States spent the summer completing internships with National Aerospace Solutions, LLC (NAS) at Arnold Air Force Base, the headquarters for Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC).

With 25 students, this is the largest group of summer interns NAS has had since starting its internship program in 2017.
Read more

ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. – Contained within much of the work that goes on at Arnold Air Force Base are inherent risks.

“If you think about it, we test rocket motors, jet engines, aircraft, satellite systems, and to do that we have to generate temperatures higher than the surface of the sun and colder than the cold side of the moon,” said Walt Bishop, deputy director of mission execution for National Aerospace Solutions, the Test Operations and Sustainment contractor at Arnold AFB. “We work with rocket propellants, exotic fuels, high pressures, low pressures. We deal with extremely high speeds much faster than a bullet.”
Read more

ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. – Dick Nugent is a recipient of what is regarded as one of the highest honors among those in the safety profession.
Nugent, the Safety, Health and Environment Manager for National Aerospace Solutions, the Test Operations and Sustainment contractor at Arnold Air Force Base, was recently named an American Society of Safety Professionals Fellow.

“To say I was humbled and honored is an understatement,” Nugent said. “The people who have been awarded this before me, they are who I consider the pioneers on which everything we do today is built upon. They are it. It’s awe-inspiring to be in that company.”
Read more

ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. – New hires may often be unsure of who to turn to for help on a project, have questions about the structure of the organization they work for, or want more information on what they can do to help their company prosper.

A group was recently formed to provide new hires with the Test Operations and Sustainment contractor at Arnold Air Force Base, National Aerospace Solutions, and its subcontractors with an environment for quality networking, career development and stewardship.
Read more

ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. – It doesn’t slice. It doesn’t dice.
It doesn’t have the stain-fighting power to make your whites whiter and your brights brighter. It won’t make you look 10 years younger or give you six-pack abs.It won’t keep your boat with the screen door bottom from sinking.
Read more

ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. – Young engineers are often expected to know aspects of the job they may not yet be familiar with, and one of the biggest challenges they face is pinpointing where to find answers to their questions or identifying the best person to ask, according to Austin Voorhes, a senior mechanical design engineer at Arnold Air Force Base.

To help newer engineers acquire some of the skills and fundamentals needed, Voorhes several years ago established “lunch and learn” sessions at Arnold. Since he undertook this effort, more than 100 lunch and learn sessions covering an array of topics have been held.
Read more

ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. – A plaque bearing the names and images of John T. Hill and Alvin D. Overman now occupies a small space next to the bay door of Building 446 at Arnold Air Force Base.

The plate reads, “In Memory of the men who lost their lives in service to AEDC at the Model Shop.” Inscribed at the bottom is a date – December 10, 1971 – the day the lives of both Hill and Overman were tragically claimed by a silent killer.
Read more