Photo By Cpl. Melissa Tugwell | Lance Cpl. Charles Cooper, a native of New York and airframe mechanic with Marine...... read more read more
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By Pfc. First Class Melissa Tugwell
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
Heavy Haulers airframe mechanics crack open their tool box, put on safety goggles and gloves, and go to work keeping the aircrafts in the fight to support operational readiness.
To keep the CH-53E Super Stallions in peak flying condition, Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 462 airframe mechanics perform maintenance, complete inspections, and repair the helicopter airframe systems.
"We don't deal with the electronics, propulsion, or transmissions side of the work, but the rest of the aircraft is ours," said Cpl. Chad Dodson, an airframe mechanic with HMH-462.
The job has an important purpose, to keep the helicopters up to par to support the mission capabilities of aircraft such as carrying cargo or personnel, explained Dodson.
"Every day is different and we do a variety of different jobs," said Dodson.
Airframe mechanics specialize in the maintenance of external components of the helicopter and hydraulic systems.
"The job mainly entails hydraulic system checks, unscheduled maintenance and preventive maintenance which involve a lot of inspections," said Sgt. Brandon Christenson, an airframe mechanic with the squadron.
Inspections consist of system checks of the landing gear, hydraulic systems, the body of the aircraft and it's wide variety of accessories.
The mechanics conduct inspections based on the flight hours of the aircraft and the calendar days since the last inspection, according to Christenson.
The heavy haulers perform unscheduled maintenance and troubleshooting procedures when any sort of a malfunction occurs before or during the launch of an aircraft, explained Christenson.
If a malfunction occurs during flight, a pilot gives the mechanics a report, called a maintenance action form, he said.
"We fix anything from a screw being loose to a contaminated hydraulic system to the replacement of the rotor head and the main gear box," said Christenson.
Handling metal and fiber-glass takes up a large amount of the mechanics time.
"If there is a puncture in the airframe, we will patch it," said Christenson.
The airframe mechanics complete many different qualifications to guarantee they've attained all the skills needed for every aspect of the job.
"I like doing this job because at the end of the day I feel like I accomplished something," said Christenson. "Without the maintenance of the aircraft, mission accomplishments would not be met."
| Date Taken: | 11.30.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 11.30.2007 13:31 |
| Story ID: | 14312 |
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| Web Views: | 216 |
| Downloads: | 198 |
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