Tyndall engine shop keeps F-22s in the fight

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Cody R. Miller
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  The Airmen of the 325th Maintenance Squadron Propulsion Flight keep Tyndall’s F-22 Raptor engines in top condition to train and project unrivaled combat air power.

It’s imperative that Tyndall’s jets remain serviced so they can be ready to go at a moment’s notice. Responsible for ensuring that all of our jet’s engines are in first-rate operational conditions, aerospace propulsion specialists bring essential skill and knowledge to the flight line, these professionals play a critical part in keeping our planes and our Airmen safe in the air.

Tyndall’s Propulsion Flight, or “the engine shop” as it is commonly called, contributes considerably to the readiness of the 325th Fighter Wing.

“All of our Airmen give 100 percent to maintaining the jet engines at Tyndall,” said Tech. Sgt. Clint Downs, 325th MXS Propulsion Flight jet engine internal maintenance section chief. “Our flight’s mission is to maintain and repair high quality F-119 engines for the fighter squadrons. Everyone here constantly strives to be great at their job.”

As aerospace propulsion technicians, the Airmen remove, install, inspect, repair and modify engines, engine modules and components. They also disassemble and assemble engines and propellers adhering to prescribed procedures.

“We do a lot of inspections,” said Senior Airman Benjamin Larsen, 325th MXS Propulsion Flight aerospace propulsion technician. “We have to make sure the engines are put back together correctly and there are so many pieces to the engine that must be tracked to ensure quality. We also do a lot of component replacements. The delicate pieces of the engine are always in need of repair because of the vibrations of the engines.”

Attention to detail is key in a job where one wrong or missing bolt could result in an $11 million engine not working correctly or someone getting hurt. To ensure they are working correctly, the engines are also test fired by the test cell of the Propulsion Flight. These Airmen bolt down live engines and activate them to see how the unit performs under high-powered conditions. They perform this in a building ironically named the “Hush House.”

“The guys at the Hush House test the engines once we’re done fixing them and even do minor repairs if something isn’t working correctly,” Larsen said. “They are vital to maintaining the engines and getting the mission done.”

Airmen and civilian contractors work together in the engine shop. The contractors are able to tend to the more drastic repairs that may take longer to get done.

“If the engine begins to take too long to repair, we will transfer it to the contractors who have clearance to work on it for more than eight duty hours each day,” said Tech Sgt. Russell England, 325th MXS Propulsion Flight aerospace propulsion technician. “We will help them with anything they need if they are short staffed, or need to push something out quicker. They in turn will help us with any projects we need an extra hand with. A lot of these guys have been doing this for years and have proven to be a wealth of knowledge and help. We are one team, one fight. ”

The shop maintains a line of spare engines that, in case of emergency, can quickly be used to replace any damaged ones that come in for repairs. England said that if needed, they could get an engine back up and running within a week. Under normal circumstances it takes about two weeks with all the proper inspections and test runs. Although a damaged engine may not get back to the jet the next day, the jet will get another one ready for flight. The engine shop has a readiness requirement that mandates they have a certain number of engines on stand-by in case of an emergency.

Larsen said that both the civilians and Airmen in his shop take great pride in the essential work they do every day.

“We’re subject matter experts on how this jet is assembled and disassembled, so we go through a lot of training. We are all pretty confident that we can get the job done and in a timely manner,” Larsen said. “It sounds cliché, but being able to see the jets flying every day is prettying satisfying and makes a lot of the hard work worth it.”