Trash to Treasure: Decommissioned plane becomes training gold for maintainers

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jennie Chamberlin
  • 927th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Hands-on training with an aircraft is essential for Air Force maintainers, and while the full-time maintainers with the 927th and 6th Aircraft Maintenance Squadrons repair the KC-135 Stratotanker fleet at MacDill Air Force Base during the week, the opportunity for traditional reservists to gain experience and specific training is not always available.
"In order for our reservists to get the training they need, a plane needs to be broken," said Master Sgt. Rick McGill, 927th Maintenance Squadron fuel systems section chief. "There's never a guarantee that a plane will be down during our one weekend a month."
This can make training difficult for the more than 25 aircraft maintenance reservists who travel from all over the country to work on KC-135s at MacDill each month. However, the 927 MXS uses a unique training tool to help their Airmen complete the hundreds of tasks necessary to make them proficient on the repair of the air refueling aircraft.
Their secret weapons are two slices of a KC-135 taken from a decommissioned plane that are housed in a hangar at MacDill. One cross-section is of the fuselage, the other of the wing; these two tools are used to provide maintainers access to the inside of a KC-135 without the hassle of losing the operational capability of a real plane. As 927th MXS Reservists are able to see, touch and work in these cross-sections, they're able to practice a variety of tasks during their limited time for training in an environment that exactly mirrors their workspace.
"It really helps with muscle memory," said Staff Sgt. Vince Williams, 927th MXS fuel systems maintainer. "A lot of what we do is repetitive, so this type of training really helps Airmen in the field."
The benefits are far reaching. As maintainers are able to familiarize themselves with the structure of the plane, they're able to work faster and more efficiently when faced with a real world problem. During everyday operations and especially when deployed, every minute can count.
"We're always looking for ways to streamline the maintenance process," said McGill, "especially when working in the sometimes extreme weather conditions that maintainers face. In the heat of the desert or even here in Tampa, every minute you can save while working is immense."
The trainers are a shared resource, serving the 927th MXS, the 6th MXS, as well as other shops around the base. From the metals technicians that built the scaffolding that supports the cells, to the firefighters who practice inside the confined space of the mock plane, Airmen from several career fields use the cells as a collaborative training tool.
The 6th and 927th MXS want to build the collaboration even further and are encouraging other units around the country to take advantage of the opportunity for this dilemma-free hands-on training.
"We have the facilities, we have the equipment and we want others to benefit from them too," said McGill.