Airfield ‘markings’ support Rescue operations

The old adage that practice makes perfect is not just a saying; it’s a way of life for service members. But what happens when the place you need to practice does not exist nearby? 

Airmen of the 45th Space Wing and the 920th Rescue Wing innovated a solution to the distance problem that will result in annual savings of approximately $288,000 by painting a pair of deck landing pads (DLP) on the east-west runway of the Patrick AFB airfield this month.

The deck landing pads here are a pair of easy to miss-‘blobs’-of-paint unfamiliar to many fixed-wing pilots, but to the 920th Rescue Wing, the 301st Rescue Squadron and the Air Force at large, they are a place to practice naval deck landings.
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