Misawa Airmen master the wing change

by Senior Airman Derek VanHorn
35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

12/10/2013 - MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan -- Two days of knuckle-breaking work comes down to one single moment as two Airmen stand under the wing of an F-16 Fighting Falcon, finding the most comfortable stance to test their strength against its weight.

As Master Sgt. Jeffrey Cornell and Airman 1st Class Randall Dennery lay their weight into the wing with a simultaneous push, pungent fuel from inside the wing splashes the hangar floor. It's the sound and smell of accomplishment, as it signifies the separation of the wing from the jet.

As the wing is wheeled away, it leaves the body of the jet looking something like a bull without its horns. It's only temporary - a replacement wing sits in the hangar next door - but Cornell said the reward of reaching the halfway point is a whole different animal.

"It gives you the feeling like you killed a bear with your hands," said Cornell, an assistant shop chief with the 35th Maintenance Squadron. "It's a big accomplishment. Not a lot of people can say they've torn the wing off an F-16."

Cornell is right -- most people can't say they've spent a week fighting a 700-pound piece of metal, but it's become a regular occurrence for Airmen in the Aircraft Fuels System Repairs shop.

Ever since an Air Force-wide inspection on more than 1,700 F-16 wings uncovered corrosion discrepancies that required mass wing replacements, Misawa maintainers have mastered the art of an F-16 wing change. What started as a month-long learning process more than a year ago has transformed into an expedited operation that can now be completed in about a week.

They've changed 11 wings in the past year-and-a-half, making Misawa responsible for executing nearly 15 percent of F-16 wing changes across the Air Force.

Having a fleet of 44 F-16s, the workload at Misawa has seen a significant increase. Maj. William Adams, 35 MXS operations officer, said maintainers were able to combat this by making the fuel cell the go-to shop for wing changes. It's a job that's earned them the nickname "Wings-R-Us" around the flightline.

"It's one of our busiest shops in the maintenance group," Adams said. "Our fuel technicians are smart, skilled, talented and dedicated."

While essentially teaching themselves how to most effectively flip the wing of one of the world's most powerful machines, Airmen within the fuel cell were able to further expedite the process by coming up with a few valuable time-saving techniques.

Adams said they designed a method to pre-assemble wing change seal kits and through Pacific Air Forces, acquired a pneumatic sealant scraper tool that's cut removal time in half. They also built a hydraulic bolt extraction tool for wing attach bolts, which are no walk in the park, as each wing possesses 16 wing attach bolts.

"Sixteen bolts may not sound like a lot, but it takes a lot of patience, effort and a few different minds to throw at the airplane to get the job done," Cornell said. "Each bolt torques at 400 to 600 foot-pounds. To equate that, your typical four-cylinder car has around 90 foot-pounds of torque the engine produces. It's a tremendous amount of pressure."

Working under pressure is something these Airmen are used to, and if things stick to schedule, that won't be changing anytime soon. Adams said the high demand on wing changes has Misawa slated for at least five more in the foreseeable future.

"We have to understand we have to press on with the job and keep forward motion on these because they're coming in back to back," said Staff Sgt. Brent Cratty, 35 MXS, lead technician on the shop's most recent wing change.

While the fuel cell Airmen are the catalyst of the operation, they're quick to spread the credit to all the shops that play a role in the overall process.

"Everyone plays a role in making this mission happen," said Cratty. "It's a total team effort."

Cornell said the entire process takes around 160 hours of hands-on work. It's tedious, it's repetitive and most importantly, it's rewarding.

"The feeling of accomplishment once we're finished is like saving a life," said Cornell, who has completed five wing changes. "Our role plays a big part in our mission of defending and keeping people alive all over the world with these jets."