Academy receives patent for wingtip design
Mario Avila Diaz adjusts a wind tunnel used to test the rakelet concept in the Air Force Academy's aeronautics laboratory. The U.S. Patent Office awarded a patent for the wingtip design, which improves fuel efficiency on the KC-135 Stratotanker. The fuel conserved could save the Air Force as much as $34 million per year. Avila Diaz, a Guatemalan exchange cadet, graduated from the Academy in 2011. (U.S. Air Force photo/Ken Ostasiewski)