Fairchild hydraulics Airmen correct 60-year-old KC-135 maintenance flaw

Photo By Staff Sgt. Sean Campbell | Staff Sgt. Anthony Landin, 92nd Maintenance Squadron hydraulics system craftsman, and Airman 1st Class Tage Sickler 92nd MXS hydraulics systems apprentice, attach the ruddervators to the refueling boom Dec. 16, 2016, at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash. While in flight, the bell crank helps secure ruddervators to the refueling boom. The boom operator uses the ruddervators to guide the boom to the jet during refueling operations. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Airman 1st Class Sean Campbell)  

FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, WA, UNITED STATES

12.22.2016

Story by Airman 1st Class Sean Campbell 

92nd Air Refueling Wing

This spring, Airmen from the 92nd Maintenance Squadron hydraulics shop were called to fix a KC-135 with an improperly installed boom ruddervator torque tube, which secures the ruddervators to the tanker’s refueling boom. The boom operator uses the ruddervators to guide the boom to another jet during refueling operations. If the bell crank is installed improperly, like it was in this case, the boom would be too difficult to control, making aerial refueling nearly impossible and risking the lives of the aircrews and both airframes.

“It’s rare nowadays to have a [maintenance change] approved on an aircraft that has been around for over 60 years; most things have already been fixed at this point,” said Tech. Sgt. Bradley Alberts, 141st Maintenance Group quality assurance inspector.

Upon further inspection of the bell crank and coinciding technical orders, the Airmen discovered inaccurate verbiage that likely led to the incorrect bell crank installation within the torque tube.

“The ruddervator torque tube was rotating within the bell crank, creating a lot of movement that shouldn’t have been there,” said Staff Sgt. Anthony Landin, 92nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron hydraulics system craftsman. “A lot of people have had issues with this task and the clarity of it. The T.O. doesn’t specify how the torque tube bell crank is supposed to be attached.”

The Airmen submitted a correction form to amend the KC-135 technical orders Airmen reference when repairing aircraft. Their request for change was approved and the Air Force-wide correction will be applied to all future technical order versions.

Changes have been submitted to the KC-135 Stratotanker’s T.O. since the introduction of the aircraft in 1956 to correct errors, all in effort to make it safer for Airmen to maintain and fly the Stratotanker.

“It is important for all Air Force members in every career field to know that rules aren’t always set in stone. Changes can and should be made for the better,” Alberts said. “Any one of us at any point may see a better, smarter way to do something that could result in money or man hours saved, and we need that in today’s Air Force.”

• Date Taken: 12.22.2016
• Date Posted: 12.23.2016 11:45
• Story ID: 218651
• Location: FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, WA, US