Air logistics center prepares for new engine workload Published Sept. 3, 2008 By Brandice Armstrong 72nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (AFPN) -- Officials with the 76th Propulsion Maintenance Group here are clearing shop space for a new workload. Tinker AFB will introduce the F117 workload in March 2010. The F117 engine, manufactured by Pratt & Whitney, powers the C-17 Globemaster III, a strategic and tactical airlifter. Though still two years away, 76th PMXG officials said the initial reception has been positive. "It gives us a great opportunity to prepare for the future, enhance our capability in a partnership with Pratt & Whitney and posture the group to secure new workloads that make sense," said Col. Evan Miller, 76th PMXG commander. An F117 engine, with the inlet fan and thrust reverser installed, is 13-feet wide, 24-feet long and weighs approximately 10,000 pounds. Though it will be the largest engine ever serviced here, engine officials consider it to be a medium-sized, high-bypass jet engine. There are about 900 F117 engines currently in the fleet with an additional 75 to be produced by Pratt & Whitney. A single engine produces approximately 41,000 pounds of thrust, which is nearly twice the thrust produced by an AWACS TF33 engine. Four F117 engines power a single C-17. The C-17 was introduced in the Air Force in July 1993. Plans call for a 96,000-square-foot workspace for the F117 workload. Approximately $43.6 million will be invested in the facility and equipment, compliments of the Air Force Engine Program Office at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. When the shop is fully operational, it will service between six and 10 engines a month. Each engine will likely take 60 days to fix and new engines needing repair will arrive every two to three days. Approximately 100 to 150 technicians will work on the engines. Work performed on the engines will mostly consist of on-condition maintenance, meaning when field personnel determine the engine isn't operating as efficiently as possible or there is something physically wrong with it, the engine will be sent to Tinker. As part of the partnership with Pratt & Whitney, the Connecticut-based company will provide the engineering support and materials. "The ALC has the ground base and the skilled people that industry is looking for," said Leonard Hayes, 547th Propulsion Maintenance Squadron program manager. "Not only through partnering, but through future organic work, we are as good as there is. People want to work with us." Mr. Hayes said the F117 workload is important to Tinker because it supplements the dwindling TF33 workload, due to a phasing out of the AWACS aircraft. The F117 workload will also give technicians and propulsion maintenance personnel insight into servicing larger engines like the KC-X tanker, which likely will replace the KC-135. Mr. Hayes said Tinker will likely have the workload until the C-17 retires, which is predicted sometime after 2040. Comment on this story (comments may be published on Air Force Link) View the comments/letters page