Members of the 126th Air Refueling Wing and 906th Air Refueling Squadron deployed a KC-135 aircraft in black letter flight status June 22, from here.
“Aircraft ‘300’, as it is known, has been a benchmark of excellence for the 126th Maintenance Group,” said Maj. Tim C. Huchel, the 126th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron commander.
An aircraft accomplishes black letter status when it flies with zero discrepancies. Aircraft commonly fly with "flyable" discrepancies such as a missing decal or a missing upgrade modification.
“Since December 2016, aircraft '300' has flown 19 black letter flights,” said Huchel. “The latest flight was en route to USCENTCOM where it will be deployed in the fight against ISIS.”
It's vital that the pilots have their equipment, including aircraft, in top condition. Lt. Col. Christopher Schlachter, Sr., the 906th Air Refueling Squadron commander, said, "The warfighter places high demands on our people and our aircraft. Both have to be in top shape when deploying in order to deliver consistent results under the toughest environments."
Schlachter also commented on the bar set by the maintenance personnel at the 126th and their work on the KC-135 Stratotanker. "Aircraft 61-0300 is a benchmark for all aviation assets to strive for and enables combat airpower to achieve the desired results on time, every time!" Schlachter said.
It takes a team effort to achieve black letter flight status. Maintainers of the 126th Maintenance Group are able to repair the discrepancies with parts supplied by the 126th Logistics Readiness Squadron and the detailed write-ups supplied by pilots of the 126th Operations Group.
“The 126 MXG set the bar in 2016 for having the highest mission capable rate in the KC-135 fleet,” said Huchel. “The 82% mission capable rate topped all active duty and National Guard tanker wings.”
After deploying in support of ongoing efforts, it has been confirmed that aircraft "300" has flown at least one more flight in black letter status in support of a contingency operation in the U.S. Central Command theater.
| Date Taken: | 07.07.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 07.07.2017 14:29 |
| Story ID: | 240414 |
| Location: | SCOTT AFB, IL, US |
| Web Views: | 92 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 126 ARW deploys 'black letter' aicraft, by SSgt Michael Patterson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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