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Crafty repair: Fabrication Flight fixes B-1B fast

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Nathanael Callon
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  When a B-1B Lancer lost hydraulic pressure in one of its engines while in-flight here Jan. 20, it could have been grounded for weeks until it was repaired.

However, due to the skill and resourcefulness of the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron Fabrication Flight, the issue was fixed the next day.

"We specialize in creating parts," said Staff Sgt. Jason Hayden, a sheet metals technician and native of Waretown, N.J. "When we got the call to see if we could assist, we worked to troubleshoot the issue and we found the pressure line wasn't going to be repaired on the spot."

The pressure line had lost its seal, causing the loss of hydraulic fluid. It needed to be replaced, said Staff Sgt. Brian Harrison, a sheet metals technician from Minneapolis.

The part normally takes two weeks to arrive, meaning the aircraft would miss operational sorties until maintenance was complete.

"We decided that we could fix the part ourselves," Harrison said. "We had the same size pipe in our supply, so we created a replica in our shop and coupled the new part with the old line."

The pipe had to precisely match, so Harrison and Hayden worked together to get the replacement part to fit the exact specifications.

"We have different sizes of tubing that can be used for different types of hydraulic systems, so we were able measure the length and bend the line into the same size," Harrison added.

Fabrication flights are vital to aircraft maintenance since they are able to produce parts out of composites, fiberglass, tubing and sheet metal. Aircraft are made mission-ready much more rapidly when parts are made in-house.

"We worked fast to get the job finished so that the hydro guys could re-pressurize the system and get the plane back into proper order," said Harrison.

The job of getting the aircraft back into operational status was expedited due to the fabrication flight's quick response and ability to create new parts quickly.

"They are able to step in and keep us from relying on the supply system," said Capt. Kathryn Damron, 9th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Unit officer in charge and native of Orlando, Fla. "We'll get it faster through them than requesting the part through supply."

The supply system can be cumbersome, said Damron. Supply finds a provider in the states who has the part; it is then shipped, processed through customs and finally ends up here where maintainers can put it on the aircraft.

"[The fabrication flight is] a definite asset to our operations and whenever they can make a replacement part for us, we'll take it," said Damron.

The hours can be long, but directly contributing to mission success is a sense of pride, said Hayden.

"It's hard work, but I love my job."