The Air Force on Aug. 25 inducted the first manned aircraft ever to fly using pulsed-detonation propulsion into the National Museum of the United States Air Force on the grounds of Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Along with it, the hearing-protection technology used by the aircraft’s pilot entered the museum. The Air Force Research Lab developed both technologies using commercially available components. The PDE-powered Long EZ aircraft, built by Scaled Composites, flew on Jan. 31 at Mohave, Calif., making history. During the flight, the pilot wore the attenuating custom communications earpiece system that was integrated with his standard military flight helmet. It shielded his hearing from the 130 decibels of noise produced by the PDE—which compares to about 100 decibels that emanate from a typical fighter engine. (Wright-Patterson report by John Schutte)
Happy Birthday US Air Force: 78 Today
Sept. 18, 2025
Seventy-eight years ago today, on Sept. 18, 1947, Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred Vinson swore in Stuart Symington as the first ever Secretary of the Air Force, and the Air Force officially became the first new military service since the Revolutionary War.
