HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. - A 1st Special Operations Wing flightline expediter designed and built upgraded aircraft wash carts to streamline aircraft engine maintenance at Hurlburt Field, Florida.
This grassroots innovation reduces wash times and equipment costs for Air Force Special Operations Command.
"Before upgrading the carts, the process was somewhat complicated regarding both timeliness to complete washes and serviceability of wash carts on base,” said the flightline expediter. “A lot of us hear ‘that’s the way we’ve always done it’, but it doesn’t have to stay like that.”
A wash cart is used for compressor washes and rinses that remove salt contaminants and debris from aircraft engines to restore performance and proficiency. The modified wash cart enables maintainers to clean all four engines in a single cycle rather than servicing them individually.
The result is a staggering 75% reduction in standard wash times.
This upgrade significantly reduces total ground maintenance hours required for routine engine flushes and expedites aircraft availability for operational missions.
“Extra time back helps our maintainers in the long run with the flying schedule,” said the expediter. “More available aircraft allows us to share the wealth and fly different aircraft instead of the same ones repeatedly.”
Beyond saving time, the initiative is a financial win for the wing. Utilizing just $18,000 in innovation funding to build two prototype carts, the project saved the wing more than $300,000 compared to commercial alternatives. Standard replacement carts cost nearly $56,000 each, totaling $324,000 to fulfill the wing’s six-cart requirement.
“My strategy for keeping parts cost-effective was market research and cost comparison between companies,” explained the expediter. “Additionally, locally sourced parts played a huge role in building the wash carts. This assisted me with building a parts list that everyone looking to build a similar cart would be able to purchase.”
By addressing flightline challenges at the unit level, this Airmen-driven innovation supports 1st SOW priorities to adapt operations, modernize outdated processes and maintain readiness across AFSOC.
"I hope that innovations like this can inspire our Airmen to realize that good ideas don’t have to remain as thoughts,” the expediter said. “Every person in the Air Force will have a time in their career to refine something and make it a better environment for each other. This helps us stay operational and relevant despite logistical hurdles, anytime, anyplace.”