Photo By Sgt. Rebecca Eller | Cpl. Emiliano Cervantes, left, a flight equipment technician with Marine Fighter...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. - Throughout Marines’ careers, they constantly hear about the importance of attention to detail. No one takes that more seriously than flight equipment technicians when maintaining and inspecting survival gear for pilots.
The Marines who work with flight equipment with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314 ensure the pilots have one less thing to worry about while flying the F/A-18.
Flight equipment technicians maintain and repair parachutes, communication systems, GPS, oxygen masks and all gear pilots need during flight or in an emergency situation.
“We have to make sure everything in their vest is operating properly, and everything they wear is ready,” said Cpl. Emiliano Cervantes, a flight equipment technician with VMFA-314, and a Lake Wood, Wash., native. “The pilots rely on us. We have to make sure everything is working to the ‘T’.”
Flight equipment allows pilots to execute their mission safely while flying the F/A-18, explained Capt. Justin Floyd, a pilot with VMFA-314, and a Huntsville, Ala., native.
“If I’m ever in a case where I have to eject, I feel confident that the harness and parachutes are going to operate properly and save my life,” said Floyd.
Flight equipment technicians perform thorough inspections throughout the year on all of the pilots’ gear.
“We make sure all the gear looks good, and then break everything down to inspect it,” said Lance Cpl. Oliver Reller, a flight equipment technician with VMFA-314, and a Minnetoka, Minn., native. “While inspecting the gear we look for damage, then repair or replace it.”
Possible malfunctions flight equipment technicians look for range from checking for tears in the harness and parachutes to fresh batteries in night vision goggles.
The Marines in the flight equipment shop work continuously to ensure pilots’ safety.
“There’s usually a flight schedule that comes out every day with a list of flights and what time they leave, and we base our day off that,” said Reller.
Working in flight equipment is a detailed job. Marines in the shop practice attention to detail because if one thing does not work properly it could change a life, added Reller.
For the F/A-18, every component put into it is important for functionability. Pilots cannot fly without an engine, but while they can fly without flight equipment, they take a risk of not having survival equipment, added Reller.
Flight equipment might not be necessary for a pilot to have for the aircraft to work properly, but it is something that can determine the survival of a pilot. Marines in the flight equipment shop make sure the equipment functions properly in case the pilots need it in a worst-case scenario.
| Date Taken: | 12.06.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 12.07.2011 19:22 |
| Story ID: | 81031 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 357 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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