â Only ticks that are attached and have finished feeding or are near the end of their meal can transmit Lyme disease. After arriving on the skin, the tick that spreads Lyme disease usually takes 24 hours before feeding begins. â Even if a tick is attached, it must have taken a blood meal to transmit Lyme disease.
All this in a period when the Air Force is the smallest and oldest since its inception in 1947. Of its roughly 5,000 aircraft, the average age is twenty-five years old. Todayâs Air Force is already struggling, and tomorrowâs is entirely at risk.
The average age of the planes in the Southwest fleet is about 9 years. Each plane flies an average of seven, 607 mile flights per day, amounting to about 12.5 hours of flying time. Southwest was the launch customer for the Boeing 737-700 in 1997.