| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 5, 1998 |
CONTACT: Michael Orenstein (202) 606-1800 mworenst@opm.gov |
Washington, D.C. -- The Arnold Engineering Development Center, U.S. Department of the Air Force, Arnold Air Force Base, Tennessee, will receive a Merit Award during the Presidents Quality Award Program ceremony for improving customer service and saving tax dollars.
The federal award will be presented by Office of Personnel Management Director Janice R. Lachance on:
Director Lachance also will present the Defense Contract Management Command Long Island with the Presidential Award for Quality, the governments top honor for quality improvement.
The Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) is the Defense Departments premier aerospace ground test, evaluation and simulation center, and a renowned research and test facility for the commercial aviation industry. As such, commercial air travelers and military flight crews -- two very different types of air passengers -- owe their well-being to Arnold.
For the family traveling to its vacation site, or the businessman or woman flying to their next cross-country meeting, the skies are extraordinarily safe. The commercial airline industrys safety record is due, in large part, to Arnolds ballistic range testing facility that pits the structural integrity of airplane canopies and airframes against the impact of bird strikes and other air-borne debris.
The safe return of combat flight crews -- another primary customer of Arnold -- provides the center with a far different challenge, one that has been met successfully time and again. The Centers supersonic and transonic propulsion wind tunnels perform aerodynamic and propulsion integration tests under real-life flight conditions that, for example, ensure the clean release and separation of bombs and missiles from aircraft.
Because of the industrys rapid pace of change and the expanding needs of commercial and defense aviation, Arnold must be a leader and visionary in aerospace technology. It has met this challenge continuously, often looking 10 to 15 years into the future as it develops new technologies for advanced test facilities and techniques. AEDC operates and maintains 59 test facilities, 27 of which are unique in the United States and 13 are unique in the world.
Work performed at Arnold has led to the development of test cells, such as the one located at the Aeropropulsion Systems Test Facility, where examinations can be made on aircraft engines able to produce 100,000 pounds of engine thrust. As recently as the early 1980s, large engines produced just 40,000 pounds of thrust.
Innovation and efficiency are centerpieces at the Arnold Engineering Development Center. Cost per data point, the aggregate cost of testing using new technologies and devices, has dropped to $20 in fiscal year 1996 versus $55 in fiscal year 1992. Testing at Arnold includes Titan rocket firings and wind tunnel pressure readings on aircraft slathered with pressure-sensitive paint.
Other cost savings at Arnold are the result of a 57 percent decline in solid waste generation; vendor ratings systems that have improved supplier conformance to requirements by more than 95 percent; and, alliances with the private sector that have increased revenues to AEDC by more than $21 million dollars in 1996-97. Public/private alliances such as these have helped one major airplane builder and engine manufacturer bring a next-generation aircraft into operation years ahead of schedule.
Media interested in attending the Presidents Quality Award Program ceremony or receiving additional information should contact OPMs Mike Orenstein at 202-606-1800.
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