Engine workers keep A-10 flying in Afghanistan

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Andrew Gates
  • 455th Expeditionary Operations Group Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) --  When A-10 Thunderbolt II pilots fly over Afghanistan, one system ensures they continue to provide top cover for coalition forces.

The engines.

“Without engines, the aircraft really couldn’t get off the ground,” said Airman 1st Class Quinn Eisenbraun, of the 354th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.

The Airmen responsible for keeping those engines purring like content cats have their work cut out for them in Afghanistan, said Tech. Sgt. Robert Crosby, a 354th EAMXS engine technician.

“We make sure the engines run as well as possible,” he said. “The altitude and heat take their toll on the engines here. The aircraft are somewhat underpowered here due to the altitude.”

Sergeant Crosby said one engine part, known commonly as a football valve, is not normally something which has to be replaced.

“We usually go through two a year,” he said. “Here, we’ve replaced nearly 30 of them. We’ve gone through 15 years worth of valves in five months.”

Since the pilots fly around the clock, they put a lot more hours on aircraft engines and therefore, the engines break more often. This gives technicians like Airman Eisenbraun an opportunity to train more here than at home as “things break a bit more,” he said.

The engine experts can often tell when something is about to malfunction, although the pilots can also tell them if engines are running poorly.

“We can fix pretty much anything that’s wrong with an engine,” said Sergeant Crosby. “We do what needs to be done to keep them flying.”

Doing what needs to be done is a fairly straightforward task. The aircraft is fairly forgiving, said Sergeant Crosby, who has been maintaining A-10 engines for more than 15 years.

“A lot can happen to the engine, and it’ll still run, and working on it is simple -- a lot of the parts are easy to get to, and you can access the entire engine without too much trouble,” he said. “You can almost rebuild the engine right on the wing.”

Because of the heat, engine repairs take a lot longer because the team has to let the engines cool longer than at home.

“We’re also limited on some of the things we can do, because we don’t have the tools available for it,” Sergeant Crosby said. “We can replace or repair everything except the core of the engine.”

When the core needs to be repaired, the team removes and replaces the engine, sending the old engine away. Once new engines are installed, the team has to test the engines -- a job normally handled by engine test cell workers at home. Here, even though the team has to accomplish the same tests, they do not have some equipment to do it alone.

“When we have to do the full-power test, though, we need to get a pilot’s help,” Sergeant Crosby said.

“I hold my breath when they start,” Airman Eisenbraun said. “Once they’ve started, you’re pretty much all the way there.”