TOP STORY >>Maintainers clean up with award

By Tech. Sgt. Arlo Taylor
314th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

The 314th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron has been chosen as the Air Education and Training Command representative for the Chief of Staff of the Air Force Team of Excellence Award.

The maintainers are noted for their development of a C-130 Engine Compressor Wash Hose Cart Project. The innovation now allows them to wash all four C-130 engines simultaneously, saving more than 1,890 hours of manpower and $140,000 in costs annually.

Prior to the creation of the 314th AMXS’s C-130 wash cart project, the existing process involved using a single hose wash cart. Each engine was washed in sequence and the process took roughly 10 hours to prepare, wash and recover the aircraft.
“The wash cart enables us to connect all four motors at the same time and it also enables us to wash each engine without having to shut down and then disconnect and reconnect lines...it’s a huge time saver,” said Master Sgt. Donald Wheeler, 53rd Aircraft Maintenance Unit aircraft expediter, who devised the plan for the cart.

To make his idea come to life, Sergeant Wheeler established a team of functional experts from throughout the 314th Maintenance Group to design and locally manufacture an 8-foot by 3-foot trailer that contained four hose reel assemblies, four water manifolds and associated connectors required to complete an aircraft engine wash.

The money and flying hours it saves directly affects combat capability for the base’s tactical airlift workhorse.

“Flying hours are force multipliers. In the previous method [of washing engines], you essentially would have to remove that plane from the flying schedule for a day. This particular initiative is all about aircraft availability...which is the number one thing mobility Air Forces need to fight the Global War on Terrorism,” said Lt. Col. Lawrence Havird, 314th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron commander.

The project increases Little Rock’s capability to ready combat airlifters and aircraft for their roles in fighting the Global War on Terrorism.

“If we can keep planes on the schedule, we can train more aircrew to go over there and fight...so it increased our graduation rate. [It has also] increased the efficiency of the engines. A clean engine is a healthy engine. [Our planes] stay on the line longer they fly longer, so it overall enhances the overall mission,” said Sergeant Wheeler.

Sergeant Wheeler said the idea is going Air Force-wide with three bases benchmarking the wash carts and several aircraft maintenance units building there own wash carts.

The Chief of Staff of the Air Force Team of Excellence Award recognizes teams that use a systematic approach to enhance mission capability, improve operational performance and create sustained results.