Photo By Staff Sgt. Alexander Merchak | 21,820 pounds of cargo sits in a KC-46A Pegasus during a visit from Boeing, Air...... read more read more
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TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.— Members of King County International Airport-Boeing Field, Air Mobility Command and Air Force Materiel Command visited the 60th Aerial Port Squadron Oct. 7-9 at Travis AFB, California, to evaluate cargo operations on the KC-46A Pegasus.
“We have been running cargo on this airframe for quite a while now... the other bases are not really utilizing them,” said Nicholas Hurd, 60th APS cargo scheduler. “We are the only aerial port that puts cargo on the KC-46A Pegasus, flying it out to the pacific.”
Boeing, AMC, and AFMC toured the APS warehouse and saw firsthand how the base’s aerial port configures and loads cargo onto a KC-46A.
A Boeing representative explained that getting cargo on the KC-46 from A to B is half the mission — we are here to learn how Travis AFB plans, configures and loads cargo so the Air Force has a better product and we deliver a better product.
“Having Boeing see us loading the KC-46A Pegasus in action was very beneficial for us,” said Hurd. “They saw the issues we had when loading and got to experience what it is like handling cargo from the perspective of the boom operators.”
The 60th APS’ first mission with a KC-46A Pegasus was Aug. 22, 2019, and the squadron has used the aircraft on a monthly basis since.
Most recently and during the visit, the 60th APS loaded 21,820 pounds of cargo as part of a real-world mission flown to Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, demonstrating the process from start to finish.
We have so much more cargo that we can move, there was just a little direction missing and that was cleared up with this visit, said Hurd.
The information gathered from this visit will be used to update current operation procedures with the end goal to implement these changes for all aerial ports across the Air Force.
“The KC-46 is a really well-rounded, multi-capable system for the Air Force and it is able to take cargo using more configurations than the KC-10,” said Hurd. “I think this is going to be great for the Air Force once we iron the kinks out.”
| Date Taken: | 10.13.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 10.13.2021 13:08 |
| Story ID: | 407181 |
| Location: | TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 88 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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