Five life and innovation hacks from a cadet inventor
By Rachelle Stoll, Strategic Communications
Photos by Josh Armstrong
Cadet Schlichting stands in front of the United States Air Force Academy’s aeronautics laboratory.
Cadet First Class Grant Schlichting, a senior at the United States Air Force Academy, holds a patent-pending for a device that will change how we fight the wars to come.
Schlichting is the creator of the Aerial Tow Rehookup (ATR), an invention with a provisional patent under the US Patent and Trademark Office. The ATR involves the utilization of a military cargo plane to tow multiple aircraft at any given time, from the smallest of unmanned drones to much heftier fighter jets. It has the potential to serve as a long-range extender in and out of strategically hard-to-reach areas. The ATR will increase aircraft range and loiter time, while decreasing the logistical burdens on the fleet.
Schlichting’s invention just received unanimous support from the Spark Tank panel on Mar. 4, 2022. Spark Tank is an annual Air Force-wide innovation competition, where Schlichting pitched his invention to both high-ranking military officials and private industry leaders. He was also awarded the prestigious STAMP Scholarship, enabling him to garner more funding for his research.
Col. Christopher McClernon, the Academy’s Associate Dean of Research and one of Schlichting’s faculty mentors, cites that the ATR is as an “excellent example of drawing on lessons from the past to solve future warfighting problems. It is ideas like this, combined with our cadets’ relentless desire to innovate, that makes USAFA a truly unique commissioning source.”
Cadet Schlichting is the inventor behind the Aerial Tow Rehookup, an idea born from troop and cargo missions during World War II.
Schlichting shares five pieces of advice for other aspiring young innovators:
1. Don’t go at it alone… find mentors.
A senior cadet mentor encouraged Schlichting to pursue a STEM-focused degree, and he was hooked after he took an introductory aeronautical engineering course. Schlichting attributes much of his success to the Aeronautics department’s passionate instructors, who spent their free time helping him cultivate his ideas. He notes, “They care a lot about your growth, not only down there in the lab, but I reach out to my professors when I’m struggling because they’re more than just teachers to me, they’re mentors.”
2. You’re going to hear “no” a lot, and that’s totally okay.
Rejection is part of the process. Schlichting knew his idea had potential, and that hearing “no” only meant he needed time to refine it and find the right avenue for its development. In a world of constantly emerging technologies, he believes successful innovation requires the right people holding space for your ideas, the kind of dedicated people that will work with you to make the idea the best it can be. “The more interconnectedness,” Schlichting states, “the better the solution.” After a slew of initial rejections, the ATR is now a special interest item to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Gen CQ Brown, Jr.
3. You are the sum of your academic experiences, so make them count.
Schlichting admits to having struggled academically during his first two semesters. He took advantage of the Academy’s robust extra instruction program and got help at the quantitative research center. He also took a technical writing course to strengthen the writing of his patent. Furthermore, Schlichting doesn’t take the Academy’s challenging and transformative core classes for granted. He believes the core program–lessons in military strategy, history, and aeronautical engineering–honed his design thinking skills and ability to tie multiple ideas into a single solution.
4. Work smarter, not harder.
Ideas don’t need to be started from scratch to be great and can be reborn with technological advancements. Schlichting’s initial idea for the ATR came from WWII’s C-47 Skytrain, which hauled troops and gliders in the European and Pacific theaters. In 1998, NASA’s Dryden Eclipse program towed a delta wing aircraft on the back of a C-141A transport carrier. In 2021, Dynetics’ Gremlin program used a C-130 as an airborne aircraft carrier which successfully recovered unmanned aerial vehicles mid-flight. In essence, Schlichting has taken concepts from these ideas to create something new—the first transformation of a powered aircraft into a towed glider, mid-flight.
5. It’ll seem impossible at times but remember why you’re doing it.
The patent process has taken two years—half of his cadet career- and will continue even after he has graduated. Schlichting is amazed by the obstacles he’s overcome and the achievement of having a patent-pending. “Humbling,” is the single word he uses to define this experience so far. Schlichting hopes that someday his invention will be used for a myriad of additional civilian and military uses, such as aerial recharging, supersonic towing, space launch, and humanitarian disaster relief. “The only thing I want is that my idea be of value,” he says. “I don’t want accolades, I don’t need the extra money. I just want to see something I came up with be of value for the Air Force and for things to come.”
Cadet Schlichting will be graduating from the Air Force Academy this year with a degree in aeronautical engineering. After graduation he will be entering pilot training and continuing testing with the Aerial Tow Rehookup.
Experience the glider flight program at the Air Force Academy.
Take a virtual tour of the Aeronautics’ Department’s subsonic wind tunnel