Page 12 - Luke AFB Thunderbolt, May 2020

12 May 2020 Feature http://www.luke.af.mil
Thunderbolt
www.aerotechnews.com/lukeafb
LuKE F-35s
gAS uP
On ThE FLy
Photos by Airman 1st Class Brooke Moeder
A KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the Arizona Air National Guard, 161st Air Fueling
Wing, refuels an F-35A Lightning II assigned to the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force
Base, April 17 over Colorado. The KC-135 along with eight F-35s from the 63rd Fighter
Squadron, 61st FS and the 308th FS participated in a refueling mission as the F-35s
traveled to the Air Force Academy for a flyover. The flyover showcased the Air Force’s
newest fifth-generation stealth fighter while offering a tribute to the class of 2020.
Seven F-35A Lightning IIs assigned to the 63rd, 61st and 308th fighter squadrons
at Luke Air Force Base, line up in formation over Colorado. Eight F-35s performed
a fly-over at the U.S. Air Force Academy in honor of the graduating class of 2020.
Luke AFB exhibits the importance of teamwork between units, bases and military
branches to execute the mission.
An F-35A Lightning II assigned to the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.,
flies next to a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the Arizona National Guard, 161st Air
Refueling Wing April 17 over the Colorado Rockies. The mission showcased the Air
Force’s newest fifth-generation stealth fighter while offering a tribute to the 2020 class.
Staff Sgt. Kevin Gimenez, 197th Air Refueling Squadron boom operator, guides a
boom while refueling an F-35A Lightning II assigned to the 56th Fighter Wing April
17, over Colorado. While riding in a KC-135 Stratotanker, boom operators pump
thousands of pounds of fuel into aircraft throughout flight.
LEFT: Maj. Britton Bates, 197th Air Refueling Squadron pilot, conducts a preflight
checklist April 17, at the Arizona Air National Guard, 161st Air Refueling Wing. Bates
flew a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the 161st ARW over Colorado to refuel eight
F-35A Lightning IIs assigned to the 63rd Fighter Squadron, 61st Fighter Squadron
and the 308th Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base. The 161st ARW refueled the
F-35s, enabling the fighters to perform a flyover at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Thunderbolt news Facebook.com/LukeThunderbolt 13
May 2020
http://www.luke.af.mil
Pilot study aims to save money, protect environment with fewer oil changes
by
participating vendor, who then emails a detailed analysis
JENNIFER SCHNEIDER
report in approximately a week. The installation then
— A simple change in oil change procedures may save the uploads the report into the Air Program Information
Air Force installation and Mission Support Center Public Affairs
Management System for tracking purposes.
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO – LACKLAND, Texas
Oil that meets performance criteria may not need to
be changed at the currently mandated two-year mark.
“Oil analysis results, and the parallel extension of oil
Air Force more than $1 million per year, while also helping
protect the environment. life, reduces manpower necessary to change the oil on
each engine, reduces waste oil disposal costs and saves
Current regulatory drivers require installations to ana-
on the costs of new oil,” said Stuart Wallace, a contractor
lyze the oil in small engines, including generators, annually
supporting Castaneda’s team with the initiative.
and replace the oil completely at least every two years. The
In addition to manpower and cost savings associated
Air Force Civil Engineer Center’s Environmental Qual-
ity Technical Support Branch is currently leading a pilot with the effort, the detailed analytics can also provide
study that evaluates the use of a standardized oil testing early detection for impending engine problems and help
service to provide enhanced analytics and, ideally, allow identify the root cause of any issues that arise.
for longer oil use. “Three of our engine oil tests failed due to fuel in the
“Historical policies requiring more frequent oil changes oil,” Ray said. “This allowed us to identify problem units
have driven higher operating costs than are required,” said and made it easier for us to troubleshoot. In another
Frank Castaneda, AFCEC air quality subject matter expert, instance, we recently had a rear main seal go out, so we
who initiated the study. “Based on the extension of oil life checked the previous report for metal particles. In this
made possible through viable analysis, the estimated sav- case, there was no abnormal wear or underlying issues
ings across the Air Force is about $1.5 million annually.” detected, so we could confirm it just needed a new seal.”
Power production shops at five installations are currently The pilot study began in June 2019 and is now near-
participating in the study: Cheyenne Mountain Air Force ing completion. Once the study wraps up, Castaneda
Station, Peterson Air Force Base and Schriever AFB in will provide a summary report to the AFCEC operations
Colorado; Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey; directorate, who can use it to promote internal policy
and Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina. changes and Air Force-wide adoption.
“AFCEC contacted us last year and asked if we’d be inter- “This is just another example of how our environ- Courtesy photo
ested in participating,” said Donnie Ray, 4th Civil Engineer mental team is constantly looking for opportunities to Senior Airman Zachary Goodwin, electrical power
Squadron aircraft arresting systems manager at Seymour save money while protecting the environment,” said production journeyman, collects an oil sample from a
Johnson. “We figured it was a good thing for the Air Force Ben Kindt, acting chief of the AFCEC Environmental small engine March 12 at Seymour Johnson Air Force
to cut back on wasted effort and save money.” Directorate’s Technical Support Division. “Every dollar Base, North Carolina. The sample was collected as
As part of the study, small engines at each of the in- saved is money that can be used to support other es- part of a pilot study to provide detailed analytics and
stallations are sampled twice per year at a cost of $20 sential mission requirements at our installations and potentially increase the lifespan of oil used in Air Force
per sample. The installations mail the samples to the across the Air Force.” small engines.