Yesterday and Today

Flying Safety, August, 2002 by Jeff Moening

In 1992 Flying Safety published an article by CMSgt Robert Holritz entitled "Aircraft Maintenance--Yesterday arid Today." In 1998 we reprinted the article with a short statistical update. It is time for us to really update the article arid take a look at how Air Force aircraft maintenance has changed over the last ten years. The Air Force has changed the aircraft we fly, the tools and methods we use to repair the aircraft and keep them flying, plus the people who maintain them. The latter is the real key to our maintenance success. Let's start by taking a look at what aircraft were and are still flying.

Since 1992 the types of aircraft we are flying hasn't really changed much. The A-7D Corsair II, the F-111 variants, and the F-4 Phantom finally left our inventory. The C-141 is headed for the boneyard, and many of the venerable B-52s are already there. The F-16 and F-15 are still the premier air superiority aircraft, as well as a major part of the ground attack fleet. The A-10 is the forward air controller mainstay, while still playing an active role in the ground attack mission. The F-117 Stealth has held center stage on many occasions and is one of the first on target. The B-52H and the B-lB are still the bomber backbone, while the B-2 Spirit came on line and is playing a key role in today's air campaigns. The heavy lifters have seen the C-17 Globemaster III hit the runways around the world, while the C-5 is still the ultimate heavy lifter. The "Herc" is still in the theaters around the world moving everything and anything. The KC-135 is still the main air-refueler, only with newer engines on most models, w hile the KC-10s continue hauling aircraft, people and equipment around the world.

The Air Force has so many variants of the aircraft that were flying in 1992 still active today that it would take an issue all by itself to highlight their achievements, but we are a safety magazine, not "The History Channel." We have touched on just a few of the heavy hitters that make us the premier Air Force in the world. The fact that they are still around is a great tribute to all the men and women who maintain them, from the flightline to the depots. So what has changed in how we maintain them?

The biggest change over the last ten years is how we organize the maintenance community. The days of 66-1 and 66-5 have given way to the Objective Wing. The DCM, or "God Of The Logistics World," gave way to maintainers belonging to the operations squadrons, and the longtime champion of maintenance was no longer there. There is much discussion on whether this works or not, but the mission was completed thanks to a lot of hard working airmen. Today, we have a mix of organizations. Some wings have the maintenance folks back under the LG, while others are still under the 0G. Either way, the current Chief of Staff Logistics Review is looking at what works best to ensure our multi-million dollar aircraft are maintained the way they should be. Regardless, the flightline is still run by the production supervisor, the crew chief still owns the airplane, and the specialists are out there fixing the highly technical systems that make everything happen. Don't forget, no matter what patch you wear, the key to our Air Forc e successes is the quality of maintenance we perform.

While all this was going on, the old black hat Quality Assurance (QA) went away with the DCM, and Quality Assessments came online. Was this good or bad for the maintenance world? Depends on your viewpoint. We are going back to the old black hat QA days when QA had some bite and power. You never know; SAC MSET may be on the road again soon.

We became a lot smarter and are using technology to make aircraft maintenance more efficient and effective. One area that has greatly improved is our supply channel. We now have more computer-based supply systems that allow the technician to look up the part on the computer and see if any are available, and then order it and have it delivered without having to go through anybody else. When the part is delivered, the new Supply Asset Tracking System (SATS) allows the airmen to sign for the part without paper, just an ID card that tells the supply computer who signed for the part and when. This system provides supply 100 percent accountability and an instant record. Plus, the supply squadrons now have a better handle on what is on the shelf. This reduces the inventory cost of stocking our bases, and reduces downtime.

In the old days, it took weeks or months to move a part from the base to the depot for repair and back again. Now it takes an average of two days for a part to leave a base as we utilize two-level maintenance, or Agile Logistics as it is called today. One of the major changes was the two-level maintenance concept. We no longer have the elaborate back-shop structure to repair parts at every base, but rely on the depots to quickly repair parts, and the transportation system to move them back and forth in days versus weeks. The process now consists of three steps: