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KC-135 strut change

KC-135 Stratotanker maintainers move the main landing gear strut carefully to ensure all four wheels travel the same distance so when the strut is pushed back into place it will line up exactly Dec. 21. If this process is not done carefully it is difficult to re-secure the gear to the aircraft. The Airmen are assigned to the 380th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and deployed from the 22nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Ruby Zarzyczny)

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KC-135 strut change

Staff Sgt. Mohammed Abouhesham (left) and Tech. Sgt. Nathan Darnell spot while Tech. Sgt. Jeremy Polk uses a fork lift to carefully lower the upper landing gear strut cylinder of a KC-135 Stratotanker to the ground Dec. 21. The Airmen are assigned to the 380th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and deployed from the 22nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Ruby Zarzyczny)

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KC-135 Strut Change

Staff Sgt. Andrew Vesper (left) and Tech. Sgt. James Bernardo carefully remove the right main landing gear strut pin on a KC-135 Stratotanker Dec. 21. Care is used to prevent damage to the smooth bearing surfaces. The Airmen are assigned to the 380th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and deployed from the 22nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Ruby Zarzyczny)

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KC-135 Strut Change

Tech. Sgt. Nathan Darnell (left) observes as Tech. Sgt. James Bernardo carefully lowers the main landing gear strut on a KC-135 Stratotanker to full extension using an 11.5 pound dead blow hammer Dec. 21. The Airmen are assigned to the 380th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and deployed from the 22nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Ruby Zarzyczny)

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KC-135 strut change

Senior Airman Kyle Beisner (left) and Tech. Sgt. Eric Hunt spot Tech. Sgt. Jeremy Polk, the forklift driver, as he reinstalls a KC-135 Stratotanker landing gear strut Dec. 21. The Airmen are assigned to the 380th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and deployed from the 22nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Ruby Zarzyczny)

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KC-135 strut change

Staff Sgt. Mohammed Abouhesham (top) and Staff Sgt. Brett H. W. Wanner (below) prepare to separate the right main landing gear side strut on a KC-135 Stratotanker Dec. 21. The Airmen are assigned to the 380th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and deployed from the 22nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Ruby Zarzyczny)

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USAF. (U.S. Air Force Graphic by Rosario "Charo" Gutierrez)

KC-135 strut change

Published Dec. 28, 2007

USAF. (U.S. Air Force Graphic by Rosario "Charo" Gutierrez)

U.S. Air Force News

KC-135 strut change

KC-135 strut change

KC-135 Strut Change

KC-135 Strut Change

KC-135 strut change

KC-135 strut change