Maintenance troops pass 100th aircraft phase

Photo By Rick Emert | Pvt. James Zak performs maintenance on a UH-60 Black Hawk May 4 at Camp Taji, Iraq. Zak, from Lincoln, Neb., has contributed to more than 100 maintenance phases for his unit, Company B, 615th Aviation Support Battalion, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.  

TAJI, IRAQ

05.10.2007

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Rick Emert 

1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs

By Sgt. 1st Class Rick Emert
1st ACB, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs

CAMP TAJI, Iraq – With nearly 180 days since transfer of authority, aircraft maintainers from Company B, 615th Aviation Support Battalion, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, have completed their 100th maintenance phase.

In six months, the maintainers have completed what would equate to three years of work at home station, or 42,980 man-hours, according to Capt. Christian Ruddell, the production control officer from Co. B, 615th ASB.

The scheduled maintenance inspection phases take place when the brigade's AH-64 Apaches, UH-60 Black Hawks and CH-47 Chinooks hit designated hours of flight time, according to Ruddell, a native of Spokane, Wash.

"It incorporates a bunch of inspections that have to happen at different times on the aircraft," he said. "If it doesn't happen, that aircraft can't fly past that time. It's a safety thing to make sure there aren't components or structural things inside the aircraft that are breaking."

Through phase inspections, the maintenance personnel protect the pilots and keep the aircraft in the fight as they catch problems on the aircraft that may not arise during flights.

"Although the aircraft will fly fine, there are a lot of components that are inspected that are used in the mission," Ruddell said. "For example, on the Chinooks, we'll check the winch and on the Apaches, the gun systems. We'll check the radios on all of them. They are not necessarily safety concerns, but they could prevent that aircraft from doing its mission."

The aircraft alternate through the phases in cycles based on hours flown.

"The phase flow is a pretty major thing that everyone watches, just to make sure that the aircraft are not getting bunched up in maintenance," Ruddell said. "You want to keep combat power available."

The battalions who own the aircraft create the phase flow to ensure that they have enough aircraft on hand at any given time to perform their missions. The phases can last from a couple of weeks for Apaches to up to 25 days for the Chinooks, according to Ruddell.

"How long the phase lasts depends on the type of aircraft," said Capt. Alexmi Lugo, a maintenance platoon leader for Co. B, 615th ASB. "Also, sometimes when you're doing the inspection, you have unforeseen damage, and that will add time to the phase – if you have an airframe crack, for example, things like that."

Each phase begins and ends with a maintenance test flight to do a pre-phase diagnostic and a post-phase check on the maintenance performed, according to Lugo, who hails from Quebradillas, Puerto Rico.

The company's mechanics – comprised of one-fourth Soldiers and three-fourths contractors – have a system down on the maintenance phase.

"They'll do an aircraft wash, bring it inside, start taking components off, the components go back to shops, we'll do an assessment of what parts we're going to need, put the parts on order, start doing inspections, and halfway through it, we start assembling again," Lugo explained.

Although it sounds simple enough, any number of things can throw a wrench into the works, so to speak. If an aircraft receives battle damage, for instance, or if a needed part is not available, that can add to the phase time.

"If something breaks and we don't have that part around, we have to order the parts from the states," Ruddell said. "Hopefully, we catch it early enough that it's not impeding other maintenance, but if we catch it toward the end of the phase, the aircraft could sit there a while longer waiting for that part."

Another factor is that many of the aircraft were used by the 4th Infantry Division's Combat Aviation Brigade before the transfer of authority with 1st ACB in November last year.

"A lot of the aircraft have been through at least two units," Ruddell said. "That's another issue. We've seen a lot of fatigue where the aircraft are just getting worn out. Generally, it's nothing we can't fix; it just takes time."

The Soldiers can get worn out, too, working day in and day out on the same types of tasks.

"There are obviously times, especially coming through our six-month mark here, where everyone starts to get a little worn out," Ruddell said. "At the same time, I think they probably know their stuff is going back down the line, and they are accomplishing the mission and keeping it going."

"The pace really makes the time fly by," said Drew Yates, a contractor and phase team leader working with Co. B, from Dothan, Ala. "It can get monotonous, but at the same time, doing this so many times has led to a drop in the amount of time it takes to complete a phase."

The maintenance Soldiers and contractors also can cross-train in other maintenance areas to keep things interesting.

"They get to be the expert in their area, and then they'll cross-train in the other areas to try to get experience," Ruddell said.

Additionally, they learn the quirks and "personalities" of the aircraft, Lugo said.

"They know things that pilots will never know about the aircraft," Lugo said. "They're seeing parts on that aircraft that the pilot will never touch, never see – (the pilots) don't even know what it does.
"Yet, you've got a 19-year-old kid out there that knows everything about it," Lugo continued. "He'll tell you what is wrong with it, take it apart and put it back together."

Ultimately, the goal is to get safe and effective aircraft back to the line units.

"The units are usually pretty anxious to get the aircraft back," Ruddell said. "Every aircraft that is (in phase) is one they can't use. We want to get them back a decent product. It's going to be safe, but we don't want it to sit around for a long time. We want to get it done quickly enough that it can be put back into the fight."

• Date Taken: 05.10.2007
• Date Posted: 05.10.2007 13:40
• Story ID: 10314
• Location: TAJI, IQ