F-16 receives special care at Hill

  • Published
  • By G. A. Volb
  • Ogden Air Logistics Center Public Affairs
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah (AFPN) --  Specialists at the Ogden Air Logistics Center’s, 649th Combat Logistics Support Squadron used their unique equipment and skills to repair a damaged F-16 Fighting Falcon.

The squadron's role was pivotal since it is the only active-duty maintenance unit capable of making such repairs, said 1st Lt. Joshua Holmes, the flight officer in charge of squadron maintenance.

"The aircraft had to be placed in a production fixture to prevent any shifting of the fuselage from critical load-bearing panels being removed," he said. "We're the only facility that has that capability."

A production fixture is a support stand cemented into the ground that attaches to key places on the aircraft.

But that isn't the only reason customers find themselves looking to the squadron for help.

"We're also the only Air Force maintenance unit with the tooling and equipment necessary to perform repairs on aircraft that would otherwise be removed from the active inventory," Lieutenant Holmes said.

"There was an inch-long crack around one of the wing's attach-bolt holes," he said. They had to replace the left wing closure beam, which is where the wing attaches to the aircraft fuselage, the lieutenant said.

The specialists not only saved the jet's host wing several thousand dollars in repair costs, but completed the work two weeks ahead of schedule, said Master Sgt. Eric Harkness, production dock chief. Typically, such work takes 45 to 60 days, but this F-16 was completed in just a month.

(Courtesy of Air Force Materiel Command News Service)