PACAF HQ Public Affairs
5/9/2013 - JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- A 16-year-old boy with Duchenne muscular dystrophy "deployed" across the island of Oahu last Friday to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam as part of the Air Force "Pilot for a Day" program.
Damon Hall-Kaneakua, his mother, grandparents, three sisters and brother, were guests of the 15th Wing, who devoted the morning to them and their interest in aviation.
The tour started with Damon and his family boarding a KC-135 Stratotanker where a boom operator with the 96th Air Refueling Squadron explained how the jet engines are started with bleed air from the auxiliary power unit.
"We get air from the APU; then we'll open the starter valves on the engine and it will start turning the turbines. We'll add fuel to it and it lights off and starts up," said Airman 1st Class Kenneth D. Stricker.
"Can I listen to the jet engine?" asked Damon. Stricker said that unfortunately they weren't able to do that, but if Damon listened to any jet aircraft taking off from the airport, it would sound the same.
The next stop was the C-17 Globemaster III aircraft. A loadmaster with 535th AS, Senior Airman Alek Joga, flipped the rollers on the cargo floor to show Damon how they make it a flat floor for vehicles and other rolling stock to be loaded.
Damon said his favorite thing about the aircraft was that it could carry trucks.
Even though Damon was not able to board the C-17 and sit in the cockpit, there were no worries because the next stop was the C-17 simulator where the training system project officer, Ronald H. Cressman, helped Damon take off and fly the simulated plane over his house in Kaneohe.
This was a wish come true, said Damon's grandmother. She said she was in awe of the different squadrons and activities that were planned for the family.
In addition to the aircraft and simulator tours, a survival evasion resistance escape specialist from the 15th Operations Support Squadron, Tech. Sgt. Sergio Avalos, Jr., demonstrated survival gear and gave Damon a small survival kit.
Tech. Sgt. Daniel R. Hinojosa, non-commissioned officer in charge of aircrew flight equipment with the 15th OSS, fitted Damon with night vision goggles and turned out the lights so Damon could experience how aircrew see at night.
"He's into things mechanical. I think if he could, he'd fly," said Damon's mother.
Last but not least, was a visit to the explosive ordnance disposal truck. Tech. Sgt. Sean H. Rabourn, an EOD technician with the 647th Civil Engineer Squadron, showed Damon how to drive the robot.
After crushing soda cans with the robot, Damon asked if he could maneuver the robot into the building. Rabourn helped him with the controls while Damon's younger sister worked the intercom commanding those inside to open the door for the robot.
Rabourn said it was a "blast" to be able to help Damon have the same fun the EOD techs get to have every day.
Damon's mother, whose three brothers had multiple sclerosis, said she hadn't seen Damon light up like that in a long time.
The coordinator of the 15th Wing's Pilot for a Day program, Capt. Rush H. Taylor, said he was honored to help coordinate the family's visit to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
Taylor, who is the chief of wing training and a C-17 instructor pilot for the 15th Operations Squadron, said "You realize how much it means to the family--to Damon, to his mom, to his grandparents, to his brothers and sisters--to get to come out here and see what we do every day."
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment