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Deployed Airmen have their 'metal' tested

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  At the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, there is a Quiet Riot near the flightline; not because of a Ratt, Poison or Scorpions, but rather, in a building where the AC/DC flows, there is a Rush for a bunch of Aerosmiths with the Experience and the Kiss of skill to build anything from an Iron Maiden for a Twisted Sister to a Led Zeppelin fit for a Queen.

Officially, they are known as the fabrication flight and these Airmen know one thing better than anyone else: metal.

"We fix things before they're broken, after they're broken, and if it needs to be replaced outright, we can do that too," explained Senior Master Sgt. Buddy Manners, chief of the fabrication flight. "People ask us if we can fix a part or replace a knob. If it's made of metal, we can do it."

The flight, part of the 380th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron, is organized into three sections, which handle regularly scheduled preventive maintenance, on-the-spot repairs and even complete fabrication.

Nondestructive inspection

Nondestructive inspection, or NDI, allows technicians to find cracks and flaws without entirely taking an aircraft apart. Armed with a chemistry set, x-rays and a little knowledge of physics, inspectors like Staff Sgt. Michael Wood are able to find cracks so minute the human eye can't see them.

"We find stuff that's wrong before it breaks," said Wood, a Maplewood, Ore., native deployed from Beale Air Force Base, Calif. "We have regular time intervals for every aircraft here. When it's time to have a part inspected, we can either do it in our lab or sometimes out at the jet."

The principles of NDI have the same application for every airframe here, which is advantageous since the wing operates a wide variety of aircraft, from tankers to fighters to several different intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms.

"I like my job because it prevents mishaps," Wood said. "I've been through accident investigations before, so it's good to know that we're helping keep jets in the air."

Metals technology

The Airmen who work in metals technology are the machinists and welders of the wing. When a part for a jet or piece of ground equipment needs to be repaired, they're the team that does it.

"If something does crack or break, we do have the capabilities of repairing it rather than ordering a whole new part. Or we can manufacture a new part with machining," said Indianapolis native Senior Airman Andrew Rahke.

According to Rahke, who is deployed from Kadena Air Base, Japan, metals tech Airmen are trained to design and build custom pieces of equipment from scratch. First, they start with an idea. Next, they use computer programs to draft a mock design. Then they create the necessary pieces and assemble whatever they're building.

The team's current project is to design and build storage racks for F-15C Eagle external fuel tanks. When they're completed, the six racks will each hold three tanks. An entire rack can be lifted with a forklift, so maintainers can move the tanks more efficiently, Rahke explained.

For him, the most surprising thing about being a metals tech is the amount of creativity in their job.

"You have to be creative to do this job," Rahke said. "You get to figure out how to make something, what it should look like and how to put it together.

"It's like working on a puzzle," he added, "and I like doing puzzles."

Aircraft structural maintenance

When it comes to fixing or making parts specifically for aircraft, Tech. Sgt. Blair Austinson and his team keep the 380th AEW flying. They repair anything metal on a jet, from small fasteners to sections of fuselage.

"If someone tells us there's something wrong with a jet, we replicate, remanufacture or repair what they need," said Austinson, a Corbett, Ore., native also deployed from Kadena. "Sometimes it's just not cost effective to order brand new parts, so we fix or make whatever's needed."

Much like his NDI counterparts, Austinson is a fan of fixing a small issue before it becomes a potential problem. Preventive maintenance is extremely important, especially when it comes to fixing older aircraft in the Air Force, he said.

"If people took care of their cars the way we take care of jets, they'd run for 60 to 70 years," he said.

The oldest plane Austinson's worked on in his 14-year career was a KC-135 Stratotanker built in 1959. But once he saw it take off again, it renewed his sense of pride in his job.

"There's definitely a sense of accomplishment when you see a plane take off," he said. "When you're responsible for getting a jet back to work, you know you're supporting the mission. At the end of the day, I know I've done something."

Staying "fab"

Most of the people in their flight come from different bases, so the biggest challenge for the fabrication flight is putting together an effective team of people from all over the world, Manners said.

"When someone gets here, they only have a short time to hit the ground running," said the Durant, Okla., native deployed from Dyess AFB, Texas. "We make sure they get the certifications to work on as many different airframes as they can, so there is a lot of career broadening in our shop here.

"What's most important is that we're able to help anyone who comes to us," Manners continued. "If a jet is broken, it means it doesn't fly. So fixing planes means we're making the mission happen. Knowing that is the most rewarding part of what we do."