Maintainers ensure aircraft stay in air

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Brittany Y. Bateman
  • 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  When an F-16 Fighting Falcon is stranded because of damage, it's the job of the 8th Maintenance Squadron aircraft structural maintenance shop to get it repaired and back in the air.

The shop is partitioned into two flights -- sheet metal and corrosion control -- and fabricates and repairs structural components through utilization of engineer blueprints, drawings and technical orders. Airmen in the unit also inspect, paint and treat metal for corrosion; and sometimes perform a complete re-paint and re-stenciling of an entire F-16 aircraft when needed.

"We have a hand in everyone's job on the flightline," said Senior Airman Matthew Montoya, 8th MXS aircraft structural maintenance journeyman. "At one point or another they're going to need us to do something for them so they can press on with what they have to do."

Airmen from the aircraft structural maintenance shop respond to jobs on the flightline and back-shops when their services are needed. The 22 Airmen assigned to this flight are responsible for the structural maintenance of all aircraft assigned to Kunsan AB.

"Anything from removing stuck aircraft fasteners to fabricating hydraulic lines, also beefing up parts on the aircraft that crack from stress, we take care of it," said Staff Sgt. Adam Platt, 8th MXS aircraft structural maintenance craftsman.

A project could take anywhere from five minutes to five days depending on the job. Sometimes it's just giving a hand on the flightline. This could be removing a panel, drilling a hole or re-building or repairing a part requiring multiple hours of fabrication. If needed, the structural maintenance shop's corrosion control section can also remove primer, paint and rust from parts by blasting them with a mixture of glass and plastic beads. The parts are then repainted and returned to the flightline.

"I love my job," Platt said. "I'm working with my hands all day creating new aircraft parts -- it's a real sense of accomplishment."

Aircraft structural maintenance craftsman are not unique to Kunsan and they are able to work on any aircraft at any base.

"It's nice because I'm not tied to certain bases as some Air Force Specialty Codes are," the sergeant said. "I am currently working on F-16s, however at my follow-on base I will be working on C-130 [Hercules] cargo planes, A-10 [Thunderbolt II] fighters and also random helicopters."

In a deployed location their main goal of an aircraft structural maintainer is to have as many jets fully mission capable to support troops on the ground.

"We get out of our comfort zones and venture out on the flightline to help other shops in any way we can," said Montoya. "We pull panels off the jets, become the fire guard when jets are ready to go out on missions and anything else crew chiefs need us to do. Back at home station we stick to our jobs and cover training that's needed for our deployments."