704th Test Group Operating Location-AC

  • Published
  • By Raquel March
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. --  The 704th Test Group at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, and a unit of AEDC, operates a geographical located test facility known as Operating Location (OL)-AC.

The facility is located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, where they perform landing-gear and aircraft survivability tests on a majority of the Air Force aircraft inventory.

The Aerospace Vehicle Survivability Facility at OL-AC tests safe takeoff and safe landing after combat. The facility simulates damage on U.S. Air Force aircraft that may be caused by warhead-function characterization of foreign munitions and lasers.

The Landing Gear Test Facility at OL-AC uses 13 test machines with some X-ray capability which supports the entire Department of Defense aircraft. The LGTF also conduct tests for commercial tire, wheel and brake manufacturers. The commercial testing accounts for half of the business conducted at the facility. They also provide testing for the Federal Aviation Administration and NASA.

The LGTF supports Air Force program offices for redesign and modifications of landing gear system components to increase safety of flight for aircraft that have an extended lifespan such as the B-52 Stratofortress.

Editorial note: Some information compiled from the article “World-class testing capabilities exist right here at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base,” written by Sandy Simison.

-AEDC-