Fuel “gurus” keep wing up to speed

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Patrick Hyde
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  If not for the daily efforts of the 39th Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels management team, it would be impossible for Incirlik pilots to fly their C-17s into the wild blue yonder and slip the "surly bonds of earth." 

It would also be impossible for every local government owned vehicle, from fuel trucks to security forces patrol vehicles to civil engineering tractors, to be driven from point A to point B to fulfill the operator's unique part of the mission. 

In fact, if the fuels management team were unable to do their job, crucial wing activity would come to a stand-still. 

Staff Sgt. Amy Finkebeiner, 39 LRS fuels laboratory noncommissioned officer in-charge, and Senior Airman Donald Davis, 39 LRS fuel laboratory technician, are directly responsible for maintaining Incirlik's fuel quality. 

"Our job is more than just delivering gas and pumping it into the planes, "said Sergeant Finkebeiner. "The fuels laboratory also conducts tests to ensure fuel standards are met. If we didn't monitor the quality of the fuel, contaminates could clog injectors or possibly disable a plane."

The fuels lab tests more than 40 gallons of fuel in a one week period; as a wing, Incirlik uses approximately 2,000 metric tons of fuel every week, a total taken from a fuel inventory of eight million gallons. 

According to Sergeant Finkebeiner, the two most important fuel tests accomplished are the conductivity test and the fuel system icing inhibitor test. 

The conductivity test measures the friction of the fuel. 

"This test tells the fuel lab technicians the static dissipater additive content of the fuel. If the conductivity unit is too low, this in turn means that too much static electricity could flow through the fuel and cause problems," said Staff Sgt. Kasey Grindrod, 39 LRS fuel laboratory technician. 

The fuel system icing inhibitor test measures the water content of the fuel, which helps technicians calculate the proper amount of additive to add to the fuel. 

"This additive prevents the water in the fuel from freezing at high altitudes, which could cause aircraft engine failure," said Sergeant Grindrod. 

All of Incirlik's fuel flows from Adana via pipelines and through several filter systems before finally reaching the wing's fuel storage tanks. A sample of fuel is taken at each filtering point to test how well the filters are filtering contaminates. 

"There are other tests we perform to find what particulates are present in the fuel we receive from the Adana pipeline," said Airman Davis. 

Safety is a key element in the lab's day-to-day activities. 

Every fuels technician is required to wear their personal protective equipment when working with fuel samples. Goggles and rubber gloves are two of the main pieces of PPE worn on a day-to-day basis. 

The laboratory also has many safety features installed, including an exhaust hood. The exhaust hood is designed to protect the user from exhaust fumes when working with fuel samples. The laboratory ceiling lights are housed in an explosive-proof system to minimize the chance of a light bulb imploding and igniting fuel fumes that could be present in the lab. 

Fuel is a vital ingredient in providing "Air Power" and "Space Dominance" and Incirlik's fuel team plays a crucial role in fulfilling the wings responsibilities as a link in the war-fighter's mission.