Laughlin’s maintenance team adapts and overcomes

Photo By Tech. Sgt. Mike Meares | Danny Morin, 47th Maintenance Directorate T-38 Division maintainer, works on a T-38C Talon in a hangar at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas, Dec. 22, 2016. As of Dec. 14, all 22 T-38s damaged in the February 2016 hail storm were repaired and fully mission capable. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Mike Meares)  

LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, TX, UNITED STATES

12.22.2016

Story by Senior Airman Ariel Partlow 

47th Flying Training Wing

Ten months after a hail storm tore through the base, the best of Laughlin’s damaged T-38C Talons are finally repaired and up in the air.
The February storm, which blew 60 mph winds and brought golf ball-sized hail, damaged a number of homes, facilities, vehicles and more than 60 aircraft on the installation - 22 of those being T-38s.
Before the storm, Laughlin averaged about 40 available T-38s for the roughly 1,200 monthly flying missions and was then reduced to 14 aircraft available for flight.
This reduction brought several complications to the maintenance division.
“Availability of parts was a challenge,” said Rene Martinez, 47th Maintenance Directorate (MX) T-38 division aircraft maintenance supervisor, “but with the help of [Air Education and Training Command’s Logistics, Engineering, and Force Protection (A4) unit] we were able to get what we needed to get the job done.”
The T-38 division gave further credit to AETC for their aid in gathering the parts, supplies and providing an engineer for the repairs.
“The dedication, teamwork and motivation this team showed was great,” said Martinez. “This project needed everyone’s effort and innovation, and what they showed was more than we could’ve expected.”
More than 1,440 hours of labor went to the repairs, and with the help of the team, the T-38 division was able to cut costs by refurbishing 218 of the 419 aircraft frame panels needing repairs.
Thanks to the collaboration of the T-38 division, the sheet metal, the non-destructive inspection and the corrosion teams along with the 47th Operations Group, the 22 aircraft were repaired and ready for flying four months ahead of the original estimated completion time.
“We worked with what we had, and we were able to accomplish the job and beat our timeline,” said Martinez.
All 22 aircraft have flown successful missions and have had no mishaps or malfunctions since their repairs.
“Mother Nature threw us a speed bump,” said James Kelly, 47th MX director, “but a superb team of our T-38 and back shop maintainers, along with the Air Force engineers, kept the mission going while we repaired our fleet in record time.”

• Date Taken: 12.22.2016
• Date Posted: 12.23.2016 15:15
• Story ID: 218630
• Location: LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, TX, US