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Every plane part counts

  • Published
  • By Crystal Toenjes
  • 72nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla (AFMCNS) --  The aerial refueling capability of the KC-135 Stratotanker is an essential component of the Air Force mission throughout the world, and the expertise in two shops at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center ensures that every connection the tankers make is safe and successful.

Specifically, the two shops work on the KC-135 boom, the tube which carries fuel to a receiving aircraft. One shop is responsible for completely overhauling booms, while the other is charged with carrying out periodic maintenance on booms currently in service. Although the shops have very different responsibilities their people are dedicated to the same mission.

"We're the only facility in the world that overhauls the boom, and we know how important what we do is to the warfighter," said Eddie Martinez, supervisor of the overhaul shop. "Our mission is to get that boom ready to fly."

In the overhaul shop, 22 mechanics completely disassemble each boom performing minor or major overhauls as needed. This is the only shop in the OC-ALC which requires every mechanic to be certified in electronic, hydraulics and sheet metal, and it can take a year for a mechanic to earn all of the certifications needed to work there.

"The customer brings the boom to us to do a complete overhaul," Mr. Martinez said. "We make a new boom."

A minor overhaul in which the main structure of the boom including the hydraulic and electrical components, do not have to be replaced, requires about 700 man hours. However, a major overhaul which he said is, "essentially creating an entirely new boom," can take nearly 1,000 man hours to move through the shops seven cells.

"Every time the boom moves from one cell to another cell it gets inspected because we want to ensure the quality and safety," he said. "We want to make sure when our customer gets our boom overhauled here at Tinker its ready to be installed on the aircraft and perform the mission."

In the first cell, the flat metal plates which cover the boom are removed and it is inspected to determine whether it requires a minor or major overhaul. The next step is to completely disassemble the boom which has 219 individual components, brackets, frames, housings, cables, transmitters, switches, and more the 1,450 pieces of hardware.

"We inspect every single part of the boom," Mr. Martinez said. "We try to keep the costs of overhauling each boom down but that does not mean we cut any corners in regards to quality or safety."

The boom is then washed and sent to the sheet metal section, where approximately 500 man hours will go into repairing or replacing all the sheet metal components.

In the final three cells, the electrical and hydraulic components are reinstalled, the boom undergoes rigorous operational testing and finally the sheet metal skins are reattached.

Mr. Martinez, who started as a mechanic in the shop in 1995, said the shop's normal work load is to produce12 booms a month.

"It's a place where you never stop learning," he said. "That's what I like about the boom shop you never face the same thing. Every boom has its own story."

Another part of the story of each boom is written in the area where periodic depot maintenance is carried out on the booms, to make sure those already in service are operating safely and efficiently.

After a boom is stripped from the aircraft during regular maintenance the four mechanics in the shop have 15 days to complete all the periodic depot maintenance required by the work specifications, said work leader Carter Haynes. These checks include bearing changes, removing paint and disassembling other components checking for cracks and other defects.

"What we do here is get the different parts from Ogden, assemble them and install them," Mr. Haynes said. "When we find discrepancies that require overhaul such as structural defects, or something the technical order tells us we can't fix, it will be sent to overhaul and I will order a new boom from supply to go on that aircraft."

The shop can have as many as six booms at once going through 30 separate maintenance checks each. Mr. Haynes said each mechanic is assigned a specific task, such as changing bearings, checking cable systems, actuators, pulleys and the hydraulic system on every boom.

"Not only does it keep the flow going, but each person has a feel for each boom," he said. "Any person in the shop can tell you what's going on with any of the booms in the shop at that time."

While in the shop the boom is it also extended from 27 feet when it is complete retracted to 47 feet fully extended.

Once the checks and any necessary repairs are completed, the boom is sent to PDM finals where it is installed back on the aircraft and undergoes operational and in-fight testing.

Mr. Haynes, who began working on booms as an enlisted member in 1970 and has been at Tinker since 1997, said he "really feels at home with the boom," and is proud that he can continue to offer his expertise in supporting warfighters across the globe.

Besides providing aerial refueling support to the Air Force, the KC-135 also supports Navy and Marine Corps aircraft as well as aircraft of allied nations.

"I'm proud of the crew, we've got a great bunch of guys and we work well together and the in flight results have shown this," Mr. Haynes said. "The main reason for the aircraft is aerial refueling, and the main reason for our shop is making sure our men and women can complete their mission."