A new lighter weight, but very strong, C-130 Hercules ramp support stand was designed by four cadets was unveiled at the US Air Force Academy on 5 May 2011. Called a milk stool, the current stand weighs seventy-five pounds. The newly designed version weighs twenty pounds, but supports loads of up to sixty-one tons. Officials from the Academy's Department of Mechanical Engineering have begun discussions with the Air Force engineering authority at Robins AFB, Georgia, to determine testing requirements for the new platform. The new design could be incorporated into a technical order supplement as early as 2012. The milk stool in this photo is strapped down on the cargo ramp, but is placed underneath the ramp during loading operations.
