Robins C-141 maintenance era ends

  • Published
  • By Lanorris Askew
  • Warner Robins Air Logistics Center Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFPN) --  Thirty years of C-141 Starlifter programmed depot maintenance ended here Oct. 16 as the final aircraft left the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center. Starlifters are headed for retirement in 2006.

Ending Starlifter depot-maintenance comes now because the work is scheduled on a five-year rotation, center experts said. Since the fleet is scheduled to be retired three years from now, no further depot maintenance will be required.

Air Mobility Command officials said no active-duty C-141s will be sent to the Guard or Reserve. Once retired, the aircraft will go straight to the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center, commonly known as the boneyard, at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.

The final aircraft, Tail No. 65-0248, flew to March Air Reserve Base, Calif., one of four Air Force installations still home to C-141s. Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio; McGuire AFB, N.J.; and Memphis Air National Guard Base, Tenn., round out the list.

The C-141 prototype made its maiden flight Dec. 17, 1963, at Dobbins AFB, Ga., and the first C-141 underwent maintenance at the logistics center here soon after that. Since then, 284 aircraft made 1,800 trips through the center’s programmed depot-maintenance line.

During a farewell ceremony, Maj. Gen. Don Wetekam, center commander, said how proud he is of what the C-141 workers have done this year.

"A lot of people around the Air Force had given up on the C-141 PDM program," he said. "Two years ago, we produced 17 percent of our aircraft on time. That was it. Everything else was late, and people had kind (of) given up. But you -- all on your own initiative -- reorganized in a sense, picked up the pieces and really brought this program back to life in the last year."

Going from 17 percent of on-time aircraft to 64 percent, Wetekam expressed his joy at seeing the turnaround.

"Two-thirds of the aircraft were on time or early -- something that had not happened in years," he said. "What you all did here was magnificent, and I, for one, along with many other people around our Air Force, very much appreciate it."

Amid final goodbyes, photographs and speeches, a few of the people who know the C-141 best shared their thoughts on seeing it leave.

"It has been a fantastic journey," said James Latimore, C-141 support section chief. "I feel great about all we have been able to accomplish on the C-141, but sad to see it go."

Col. Frank Bruno said while the ceremony is meant to celebrate the aircraft's achievements, perhaps more importantly it is to pay tribute to the people who have flown, fixed and supported it through the years. He is the center’s strategic airlift director.

"The entire ALC can take immense pride in what has been accomplished during the past 35 years," he said. "Together we've supported the Starlifter and kept her a credible threat to aggression against America."

Forty-million man-hours have been put into the C-141 -- the equivalent of rebuilding the entire 284-aircraft fleet four times over, said Jim Culpepper, the center’s maintenance director.

"That's what maintenance brings to the warfighter every day,” he said.

Lt. Col. J.C. Clemons, who piloted the aircraft to March, said he feels a sense of pride sitting at the helm on the final flight out.

"It's a great accomplishment to fly the last Starlifter from Robins, but it's also a sad day," he said. "We can only find comfort in the fact that for the next couple of years we can on occasion, look up and see a C-141 flying overhead still supporting the warfighter in an aircraft that we produced here. That's what the depot mission is all about."

Although logistics support employees will continue to work with the C-141 until its final retirement, many have already been absorbed into different aircraft PDM lines, including the C-17 Globemaster III. (Courtesy of AMC News Service)