The Air Force has launched a cooperative program with Wichita State University to do an extensive study of the B-1 Lancer bomber and which of its parts suffer more wear and tear than others. The bombers routinely flew into Tinker Air Force base for maintenance but now the Air Force is getting serious about reducing some of that maintenance.
In partnership with Wichita State University’s National Institute of Aviation Research, or NIAR, airmen with the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center have been stripping the supersonic heavy payload bomber down to its nuts and bolts and then scanning each part into a computer to make a perfect virtual copy of the aircraft, the Air Force said in a recent release.
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