Photo By Darci Brennan | CH-47 Chinook helicopter mechanics with Company B, 96th Aviation Support Battalion,...... read more read more
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HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. - In Army aviation, the Soldiers who perform maintenance work behind the scenes to ensure aircraft are ready to fly. Many times, projects that appear to be basic can have catastrophic consequences if not done properly.
At high-altitude-mountain-environment training being conducted at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., aircraft are flying a lot of hours and are in need of maintenance. The Soldiers of Company B, 96th Aviation Support Battalion, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), are ready to ensure that even the heaviest of maintenance jobs can be accomplished so that mission can continue to move forward.
“We're out here to help support the aircraft and fix anything that needs fixing so we can get the pilots back up in the air to continue their training,” said Staff Sgt. Joeseph Fillmore, airframes-maintenance squad leader, Co. B, 96th ASB. “Our primary job is to take care of things at our level to ensure mission success.”
Ensuring that the helicopters are flight ready takes a lot of maintenance, much of it routine. Many routine tasks can mushroom into huge problems for pilots and their crews.
“Most of what I do, as a power-train mechanic is rotor-head maintenance,” said Pfc. Martin Clayton, power-train mechanic, Co. B, 96th ASB. “Some of the maintenance requires breaking down the whole rotor head, replacing all the worn parts and putting it back together again. I've mainly been replacing a lot of seals. A lot of things can go wrong if seals on a rotor head fail. Damage can range from just grease getting everywhere to total failure. If we don't do our job right, it can be dangerous.”
Routine maintenance isn't the only job that the Soldiers of Company B, 96th ASB, Big Ugly, have been doing. With the rocky terrain on the mountains and ridges where the pilots conduct their training, the aircraft have taken some damage from debris and rocks that are kicked up by the winds underneath the rotor system.
“Since we've been out here, we've had to repair some major skin damage in a structural area of a Black Hawk tail boom,” said Fillmore. “Right now, our Soldiers are working to repair an Apache stabilator. One of the bushings didn't fit right and if they can't make it fit right, they will have to replace it.”
With everything that can go wrong in this kind of training environment, the Soldiers conducting the maintenance are essential to the safety process.
“Our job as maintainers is an important part of aviation safety,” said Clayton. “It feels great to be an important part of the mission. Every job is important, or else it wouldn't be here, but it does feel good knowing that when I do my job right it saves lives.”
| Date Taken: | 09.24.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.20.2014 15:29 |
| Story ID: | 145532 |
| Location: | HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, NM, US |
| Hometown: | FORT CAMPBELL, KY, US |
| Hometown: | HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, NM, US |
| Web Views: | 56 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Maintainers keep the Wings of Destiny in the air, by Darci Brennan, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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