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Breaking Defense on May 18, 2021 at 10:01 AM
The Rolls-Royce F130 engine, based on the commercial BR725 powerplant, is the company’s candidate for the B-52 CERP program. Photo by Alan Petersime
Craig McVay is Senior Vice President of Strategic Campaigns for Rolls-Royce Defense. He is a retired Marine Corps fixed-wing aviator and in this Q&A discusses how the company is bringing advanced technology and support to the USAF B-52 re-engining program.
Breaking Defense: Why is the B-52 re-engining program so important for the Air Force?
McVay: The B-52 fleet will play a critical role in the U.S. Air Force’s strategic plan for decades to come and the Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP) will enable these iconic aircraft to remain in service. The fleet will need new, improved engines to extend the lifespan of the aircraft – highly reliable powerplants that match the airframe well, offer a modern design, and provide highly fuel-efficient operation.
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But, the district isn’t trying to hide anything. This is a decision based on safety and preventing the spread of COVID-19. So McVay, a few other administrators and teachers toured StateImpact around their schools for several hours in late January to explore just how in-person school is going.
It’s hardly been easy. But overall, students, teachers and staff expressed positivity toward in-person learning.
Was masking perfect? No. Was social distancing always possible? No. Have students and teachers caught the coronavirus? Yes.
But what’s the alternative?
It’s online learning. And last fall sophomore Nate Karty did just that. It was a struggle, Karty said. So he decided to come back and is already noticing the results.
Kids Need To Be In School: In-Person Learning In El Reno, Oklahoma kosu.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kosu.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Kelly Sikkema / Unsplash
Craig McVay feels awful about it.
The El Reno Public Schools superintendent said there’s no joy in taking away snow days.
“I’m the king of snow days. I don’t want to give that up,” McVay said. “I know as a child what it meant to me to hear those magic words on the 10 o’clock news or to wake up that morning to my parents telling me, hey… no school today.”
But in a semester fractured by closures due to COVID-19 infections and quarantines, El Reno has had to pivot school sites to distance learning at a dizzying pace.