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Fabrications Flight furnishes aircraft

  • Published
  • By Airman Sean M. Crowe
  • Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  "Everyone needs metal, and that's why we are the endpoint for maintenance," said Master Sgt. Jeffrey Kennedy, 305th Maintenance Squadron Fabrication Flight section chief. "Perfection is our standard for producing aircraft parts."

The Fabrication Flight holds a unique roll at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst as the only shop that produces, as opposed to orders, aircraft structural parts.

The flight comprises three separate sections: aircraft structural maintenance, aircraft metals technology and non-destructive inspections.

The aircraft structural maintenance Airmen produce and maintain the structural pieces of 32 KC-10 Extenders and 15 C-17 Globemaster IIIs. The Airmen create composite materials, fabricate metals and apply protective paints to the aircraft, said Staff Sgt. Michael Chapman, Fabrication Flight structural aircraft maintainer.

Airmen in aircraft metals technology produce metal parts to order specifications. Aircraft metals technology has completed eight local repairs for Marine Aircraft Group 49 and Naval Air Systems Command which saved a total of $143,000. The repairs would have been outsourced to the Fleet Readiness Center in Cherry Point, N.C., or a depot team would have been dispatched here for repairs, said Master Sgt. Robert Lavery, Fabrications Flight assistant chief.

Non-destructive-inspection Airmen find structural damage to ensure the integrity of the aircraft structure after repair.

"One of the most unique things we do is remove a damaged part of an aircraft and recreate the part using raw materials," said Chapman. "We can fabricate any structural piece of the aircraft. Our Airmen are capable of making plastic, fiberglass, Kevlar and carbon fiber composite materials in addition to cable and piping."

Every repair is different. The Airmen use technical orders every time they perform repairs, because damage can be anywhere or on anything. That's what makes this job so interesting, said Chapman.

"For repairing a structural part on an aircraft or in the shop, we first evaluate the damage and determine the repair methods, and materials and the estimated time of completion," said Chapman. "We then remove the damaged part and start our repair processes. Finally we repair the part or structure and apply corrosion preventative compounds as the technical order dictates."

The maintainers can paint the aircraft parts once repairs or fabrication is complete.

"We remove coatings off the part (using either plastic-media blasting, chemical paint stripper, or abrasive sanding) to begin the painting process," said Chapman. "Afterward, we wipe the part down, mask off all areas that are not getting painted, prime it, paint it and apply decals/stencils to finish."

Advanced composites are extremely specific to each job, and therefore have no general, step-by-step process, added Chapman.

The flight's Airmen can produce any structural aircraft part that does not require machining.

"We've received requests for parts from downrange shops without the capabilities we have," said Tech Sgt. John Doerr, Fabrication Flight structural aircraft maintainer. "They send us parts drawings, we fabricate those parts to their specifications and then shipped those parts to the shops."

The flight operates 24/7 due to the ongoing nature of maintenance. Airmen are assigned to one of three eight-hour shifts.

"Our day in the shop begins with roll call, followed by job distribution for the day," said Airman 1st Class Aaron Rivera, Fabrication Flight structural aircraft maintainer. "We knock out inspections and repair damaged parts after assignments. We will get an aircraft on Monday and finish maintenance on Thursday. Fridays are typically slow days but having this big maintainer family helps. I also know how important my job is; the aircraft don't fly without us."

Most Fabrication Flight Airmen say they don't take their job lightly. The Airmen believe they play a key role in contributing to the 305th Air Mobility Wing mission.

"We are the surgeons of mobility aircraft," said Chapman. "This is the only job that can't be passed off to another shop. We make our own parts and fix a ton of mistakes."