Page 8 - Luke AFB Thunderbolt July 1 2016
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July 2016 News Thunderbolt
http://www.luke.af.mil
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Norway
Alaska England
The 48th Fighter Wing trained alongside
A service member was recovered from A B-52H Stratofortress aircrew from the Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish air
a C-124 Globemaster II that was lost on Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, forces at Bodø Main Air Station during ex-
Nov. 22, 1952. Airman 1st Class Delroy conducted their first flying training ercise Arctic Fighter Meet 2016. Seven jets
Cody will be returned to his family for mission June 7 in support of the mul- from the 492nd and 493rd fighter squad-
burial with full military honors. The C-124 tinational exercise Baltops 16 from rons came to Norway from Royal Air Force
aircraft crashed while en route to Elmen- Royal Air Force Fairford. Baltops is an Lakenheath for dissimilar aircraft training.
dorf Air Force Base, Alaska, from Mc- ongoing cooperative training effort to
Chord AFB, Washington. promote security in the Baltic region. Germany
Ramstein Air Base Airmen recently
met an Airman who, in 1947, was
at the base when the Air Force first
stood on its own. Retired Chief Master
Sgt. Kenneth Andrews, who served at
Ramstein from 1959 to 1962, started
his 30-year Air Force career in 1947.
Eglin units save thousands with F-35 innovations
Story and photo by Airmen 1st Class Griffin Smith and William Manion, 33rd Maintenance Squadron air- ancies found during maintenance. After
Senior Airman craft fuels system repairmen apprentices, don safety gear to prepare an F-35 Light- reporting, maintainers troubleshoot with a
ning II for maintenance at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Fuel systems Airmen work technical data checklist — a manual that
ANDREA POSEY on top of the jets to remove, repair, inspect, install and modify aircraft fuel systems. lays out different steps for correcting an
error. Sometimes, an issue requires consul-
33rd Fighter Wing Public Affairs and a bullet-style axle thread protector, ing Airmen and Sailors who bring new ideas tation with the manufacturer to determine
which keep parts in the jet protected and ways to improve the mission to the a way forward. Each new solution is formal-
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. — during post- ight inspections and main- table every day,” Yeager said. “These ideas ized as a future troubleshoot checklist.
Since the introduction of the F-35A Light- tenance. In total, these parts saved the seemingly take something that isn’t pos-
ning II, Airmen at the 33rd Fighter Wing Air Force nearly $67,000 in manufacturer sible and innovate a way forward to safely Tech. Sgt. Martin Miller, a 33rd MXS fuel
have saved the Air Force close to $84,000 repairs as they are used throughout the complete the task at hand.” system craftsman, said he nds a lot of job
and more than 720 hours of shipping delays F-35 enterprise. satisfaction as part of the team that will
by locally manufacturing parts and tools. The responsibilities of maintenance Air- in uence the care of the fth-generation
Tech. Sgt. Travis Yeager, the 33rd MXS men go beyond creating tools and parts. jet throughout the lifetime of the program.
Around 500 maintenance personnel are NCO in charge of aircraft metals technol- They also develop the technical data and
assigned to work with the F-35 at Eglin Air ogy, said more innovations are on the hori- action reports used by F-35 units across “This is brand new stuff, no one’s ever
Force Base. These Airmen and Sailors are zon for his squadron. the program. done this before — and you’re helping write
some of the rst to maintain the fth-gener- the technical data and troubleshooting
ation jet, which gives them the opportunity “We have very intelligent and hardwork- This process involves reporting discrep- procedures that hundreds of people down
to assist manufacturers in developing tools, the road are going to be using,” Miller said.
technology and data to maintain it. “Something I do today — in two months —
will end up at Luke (AFB in Arizona), and
Aircraft metals technology specialists at they’ll be able to read exactly what I came
the 33rd Maintenance Squadron fabricate up with (to) make the same job easier.”
tools and equipment in-house to stream-
line and re ne existing F-35 maintenance For fuels Airmen at the 33rd FW, it
practices. doesn’t get any better than being at the
forefront of information distribution with
Metals Airmen play a direct role in the the newest ghter program. Senior Airman
progression of the program by engineering Scott Richards, a 33rd MXS fuel systems
items to safeguard and secure equipment. journeyman, is con dent the wing’s efforts
Two of the tools 33rd FW metals technol- and innovations will continue to shape the
ogy specialists developed are the grommet maintenance of the aircraft.
swaging tool and the push tester adapter.
The grommet swaging tool keeps grom- “I believe our squadron wants the F-35
mets in place during installation of aircraft program to be 10 times better than it al-
panels, while push tester adapters secure ready is 30 years down the road,” he said.
nut plates during tests to prevent objects “I think if we continue to take pride in our
from falling inside the aircraft. These tools jobs and really understand what we are a
have saved the wing more than $17,000 in part of, future generations will realize this
orders and repairs. program is something we could not live
without.”
Technicians also designed and fabricated
sets of stiffeners, throttle quadrant covers
