Photo By Kaylee Larocque | 160218-N-BO364-003 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Feb. 18, 2016) Aircrew Survival Equipmentman...... read more read more
By Clifford Davis
Fleet Readiness Center Southeast Public Affairs
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It is said that a parachute is one of those items that, if it fails when you need it, it will never be needed again.
It is the responsibility of Sailors at Fleet Readiness Center Southeast’s (FRCSE) Aviator Equipment Division, also known as the paraloft, to make certain that if a parachute and other emergency equipment are needed, they work – the first time.
With parachutes, life rafts, life preservers, GPS locators, infrared strobe lights and assorted signaling devices, naval aviators are better equipped than ever to aid in their own rescue and survive a mishap.
“There are designated areas for parachutes and life rafts on the aircraft,” Aircrew Survival Equipmentman (PR) 1st Class James Ferrell said. “It’s not likely they would have to use these – but if they do, they need to be right.”
Parachutes, life rafts and life preservers arrive at the facility for a variety of reasons. Some pieces of equipment, like the LPU-21 life preserver, must be inspected every 180 days.
“When we get them in, we make sure there aren’t any visible holes or tearing and send them to be checked for leaks,” explained PR2 Joshua Williams. “We perform a four-hour leak check on them.
“If everything passes, we repack them and get them ready to send back to the squadrons.”
For parachutes, the problem is sometimes noticed by the flight crew. Each parachute is supposed to be vacuum-sealed. Any puncture can lead to a “pillowed” effect, and the chute has to be resealed and repacked, Ferrell said.
All the life rafts serviced at the paraloft – including everything from the large 12-man version for P-3C Orion crews, to small, one-man rafts for helicopter crew members – contain equipment critical to survival and rescue. Much of it has an expiration date. In a life-and-death situation, a PRC-149 radio with dead batteries or an expired piece of first-aid gear, could spell disaster.
Williams pulled out a detailed “run sheet” for the life raft he opened. Every piece of equipment inside the life raft was listed, along with expiration dates and other information. Everything is pulled out, inspected and then double-checked.
For example, the first aid kit contains an eye shield, medical scissors, two pairs of gloves, CPR instructions, assorted bandages, medical tape, surgical blade, iodine, petroleum gauze and more.
Other critical tools include the infrared-enabled SDU-39 strobe light and the PRC-149 GPS signal radio. The radio functions as both a radio and GPS location transmitter. FRCSE Sailors keep a close watch on the batteries and functionality of both systems.
“These are critical tools for rescue,” Williams said of the strobe and radio. “The batteries are good for three years from installation or eight years from the manufacturer’s date, whichever comes first.”
Perhaps the most crucial aspect of survival – breathing – is also covered at the paraloft. From the SRU-42 emergency breathing device for helicopter crews, to in-cockpit oxygen for F/A-18 pilots, Sailors test air quality down to infinitesimal amounts.
“This is the ABO, or aviator’s breathing oxygen, they’ll be breathing while they’re 30,000 feet or higher,” PR2 Matthew Young said as he pointed to tanks hooked up to a testing device. “We get samples from different divisions. They’ll bring them in if they break integrity on one of their oxygen carts.
“They have to test the quality of their oxygen to make sure it doesn’t get contaminated. They’ll give us a sample and we’ll test it.”
Young runs tests for contaminants like methane, ethane and acetylene.
“We always calibrate the testing device right before we do the sample so we know it’s accurate,” Young said. “We’ll run their sample, see what our results are, and then check our publications to make sure their quantities aren’t outside the accepted range, which is about 20 parts per million for carbon dioxide.
“That’s the highest level allowed, everything else is pretty close to zero.”
Along with their civilian and squadron counterparts, FRCSE Sailors form an integral part in the process to keep the aircrew breathing.
“It’s a chain that all leads to the pilot and crew,” Plascencia said. “You have the reducer, manifold and the mask. You need each other to make everything happen.”
With the massive amount of equipment coming into the paraloft and going to all points on the globe, production control is tasked with keeping serviced equipment fresh and on-hand when the Navy calls.
Aviation Structural Mechanic (Safety Equipment) 1st Class Jay Miller, with Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 62 recently arrived at the facility with 80 LPU-32 life preservers to drop off for servicing.
“We have a rotating pull of gear here and everything has a shelf-life of 90 days,” said Aviation Maintenance Administrationman 1st Class Todd Bowen, the division’s production control leading petty officer. “We have to make sure it’s fresh, otherwise it has to go back for a repack.”
It can be a delicate balancing act to ensure the right amount of the right equipment is on-hand, Bowen said.
“The arriving crews bring in their gear and we swap it out with what we have here,” Bowen said. “The gear they bring in will be tested, serviced, repacked and reissued.
“Our team is awesome,” Bowen said of the FRCSE Sailors who do the leg work of making certain emergency gear is functional and ready when it’s needed. “They take care of business.”
| Date Taken: | 02.24.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 02.24.2016 09:05 |
| Story ID: | 189905 |
| Location: | JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 194 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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