43rd AMU set historical records

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Rachelle Elsea
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  With each passing day, temperatures on the flightline begin to reach an almost unbearable heat, however teams of two to three Airmen are constantly working on each F-22 Raptor ensuring they are ready to fly.

Their labors are not without reward.

For the first time in its history, the 43rd Fighter Squadron flew 22 sorties in a single day, with a sortie turn pattern of 12 flights in the morning followed by 10 in the afternoon on May 21.

"This accomplishment was made possible by the diligent work of the men and women of the 43rd Auxiliary Maintenance Unit," said Lt. Col. Richard Koch, 43rd FS director of operations.

The continuous efforts from the 43rd AMU Airmen allowed for 15 jets to be able and ready to fly that morning. Twelve were used for sorties and three were on standby if there were any maintenance ground aborts.

"Creating a new standard made all the extra effort and time working on the aircraft worth it," said Senior Airman Marc Billings, 43rd AMU crew chief.

Airman Billing's first duty station is Tyndall and he has been a part of the 43rd AMU for just over a year. He said when the aircraft come in from a sortie, the maintenance Airmen have a pretty lengthy checklist of procedures that have to be accomplished before the F-22 is ready to fly again.

"Our job can include refueling, fluids check, inspection of the overall jet, and many other core tasks," said Airman Billings.

The 12-turn-10 marks what will hopefully become the normal practice here at Tyndall Air Force Base.

"I am proud of our AMU for their work," said Colonel Koch. "The more sorties they can provide will correlate to more trained F-22 pilots for the Combat Air Force."

Over the past month, the 43rd AMU has broken historical attrition rates, providing more jets for the squadron's training.

"Our youngest students have advanced more than two weeks ahead of schedule over this past month," said Colonel Koch. "That is due to a great team effort of our AMU's Airmen, from the supply troops to the crew chiefs, and everyone in between."

The squadron commander also attributes the success to his Airmen.

"This flying record for Tyndall is a result of many months of hard work by both the pilots and the maintainers," said Lt. Col. Brad Bird, 43rd Fighter Squadron commander. "We are confident that this is just the beginning of an increased sortie production to meet or exceed the future Raptor pilot requirement for the United States Air Force."