Aircraft structure maintenance team leading the way

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Tiffany Colburn
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  Saving time and money are both important to continuing the mission of the U.S. Air Force and the 39th Maintenance Squadron aircraft structure maintenance team achieves this every day.

"By having them go out to the flight line and fix or fabricate the broken parts, we save time and money by not having to send the parts back to the states to get repaired," said Master Sgt. Paul Wallace, 39th MXS first sergeant. "This also allows the plane to fly rather than sit on the ground waiting to be fixed."

There are many job specialties that make up aircraft structure maintenance such as metal technicians, sheet metal technicians and nondestructive inspectors.

"The job of the metal technicians is to weld the machine parts and repair items such as metal stands and aerospace ground equipment, then the sheet metal technicians go out and repair the broken equipment and make sure it is up to military specifications," said Sergeant Wallace.

When there is a possibility of damage to an aircraft, it's better to be able to look at the area without having to take it apart.

"The non-destructive inspectors are able to go out there and find what is wrong with the part, such as hairline cracks, without having to break it apart," said Sergeant Wallace.

Some common things that need to be fixed often are the thrust reversers which are used to help slow down an aircraft by pushing the wind forward instead of behind the plane.

"I've seen two damaged thrust reversers since I've been here and they usually take about eight hours to replace," said Staff Sgt. Brad Pollock, 39th MXS sheet metal technician. "We always fix what we can to keep the mission going."

Even if the fix is only for a short period of time, it allows the plane to get back to the states where the parts are available.

Unlike most jobs, maintainers don't know what to expect each day - they may be fixing a damaged plane or helping build new parts.

"They may be working in the shop all day and get a call to go out and check an airplane and fix the damage," said Sergeant Wallace. "But they are always ready and willing to go out there."

The aircraft maintenance team will continue fixing damaged parts to keep planes in the air.

"These Airmen are always ready to face a challenge and see the potential in what they can do," said Sergeant Wallace. "If something is broken, they are always trying and willing to fix it here to keep the planes moving."