Rubber removed to ensure flight safety

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, DE, UNITED STATES

11.07.2016

Story by Senior Airman Zachary Cacicia 

436th Airlift Wing

The 436th Civil Engineer Squadron’s Heavy Repairs Flight, also known as the ‘Dirt Boys,’ in coordination with the 436th Operations Support Squadron’s Airfield Management, conducted rubber removal operations on Runway 14-32 Nov. 1, 2016, at Dover AFB.

“Every time an aircraft lands on the runway, its wheels leave a deposit of rubber behind,” said Staff. Sgt. Whitney Schmitt, 436th OSS Airfield Management NCO in charge of training. “It’s necessary to remove that rubber regularly to ensure the safety of all the aircraft using our airfield.”

The amount of rubber left on the runway depends on the amount and type of traffic the runway sees over time. For instance, large, heavy cargo aircraft that Dover AFB operates, leave behind a lot more rubber than say, smaller, lighter fighter aircraft. One of Team Dover’s C-5M Super Galaxy airlifters alone has 28 wheels, and fully loaded can weigh in excess of 800,000 pounds. This leaves a lot of rubber behind.

“If the rubber isn’t removed, it can cause unsafe conditions for aircraft,” Schmitt said. “It would have an effect on an aircraft similar to hydroplaning; not safe.”

The rubber residue also has another affect, it covers up many of the important paint markings on the airfield. These markings are necessary for safety and act as a visual cue for pilots when landing.

“Dover doesn’t necessarily do rubber removal more often than other bases,” said Schmitt. “We have a regulation that dictates how often we do it by how much air traffic we have. This could be once a year, or as often as every two months.”

For Dover AFB, this is every six months.

Staff Sgt. Patrick Murphy, 436th CES pavements and construction equipment operator, and seven other ‘Dirt Boys’ were out on the runway from 6 a.m. until the early evening completing the appropriate tasks necessary to safely and effectively remove the built up rubber residue.

“We drop AVION50, which is like a heavy-duty cleaning chemical, on the runway,” said Murphy. “Then we bring in our brooms in with some water to brush off the rubber.

AVION50 is an environmentally safe rubber removal detergent used to remove rubber residue from airport runways. It does not damage the pavement like high pressure water blasting would, nor does it endanger personnel with hazardous chemicals.

The brooms Murphy is speaking of are not your everyday household brooms. They are in fact, large Oshkosh Snow Broom vehicles. Normally used for snow removal on the airfield, these snow brooms are often repurposed for rubber removal operations. In this instance, the ‘Dirt Boys’ utilized two of their snow brooms.

“We broom in one direction for 45 minutes, then another direction for 45 minutes, and one last direction for another 45 minutes,” said Murphy. “This gives us three different scrubbing patterns that can pull up the rubber.”

Typically, rubber removal operations are completed in 1,500 foot sections, but they have been known to go up to 2,500 feet.

• Date Taken: 11.07.2016
• Date Posted: 12.30.2016 09:52
• Story ID: 218996
• Location: DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, DE, US