Propulsion flight supplies power for U-2, Global hawk

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Chuck Broadway
  • 9th RW Public Affairs
BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., (ACCNS) --  Engine maintenance plays a major role in the missions of today's expeditionary Air Force because without power, planes can't fly. Beale has a special flight specifically assigned to handle the U-2 and Global Hawk power plants. 

The 9th Maintenance Squadron's Propulsion Flight removes, installs and provides external maintenance on every engine for the U-2 and Global Hawk around the world. 

With approximately 40 U-2 engines and 15 Global Hawk engines under their wing, the flight is responsible for more than $100 million worth of inventory. 

The flight's main priority is the proper installation and removal of the engines. 

When the flight removes an engine from the plane, they bring it back to the shop for routine inspections and preservation. The removal of an engine takes approximately two hours once crew chiefs have removed the tail section of the aircraft. 

Once removed, it's brought back to the shop for inspection. 

The inspection process is usually completed every 200 and 600 hours on the U-2 and every 150 hours for Global Hawk engines. This process entails changing all filters, checking the pumps, examining the structure for any leaks or cracks as well as using a borescope to look inside the engine. 

The borescope used by the propulsion flight is the same type of scope some doctors use when performing surgeries, said Master Sgt. Bryan Riley, the 9th MXS Propulsion Flight chief. The scope checks for any defaults, and because they must be specially certified to use the scope, the knowledge of the flight is crucial. 

"That's one of the places where our experience comes into play," Sergeant Riley said. "Our shop is multi-dimensional and we have a variety of experience. Not everybody here started [their careers] on these engines and it helps to have the knowledge." 

Although they don't actually tear down the engines, the flight does provide critical information through troubleshooting and diagnostics to the maintainers who dismantle them. Because of this specific duty, the flight is the first ones called upon when a pilot reports a problem with an engine. 

When such an occurrence happens team members travel to the flightline to perform troubleshooting on the engine and find out what and where the problem is. 

The crew hooks up a test kit to the motor, fires the engine and will run it anywhere from idle to 100 percent power to diagnose a problem. 

"Without us, the pilots wouldn't be able to fly and the mission wouldn't be accomplished," said Senior Airman Jeremy Deck, a 9th MXS Aerospace Propulsion journeyman. "If we didn't do our jobs to the best of our ability there wouldn't be any mission-capable engines." 

If a problem is found and maintainers feel the engine is not mission-capable or unserviceable, flight members will fix the problem if it's on the outside of the engine. If it's internal, the engine must be removed and shipped to another shop. 

When an engine is removed from a plane and is not scheduled to be used for a long period of time, flight members must preserve the engine. 

In order to do this, the team applies special oil to the fuel system in order to prevent rust or other damage. Once the crew has completed the task their work is inspected by NCOs and senior NCOs. 

Once it is signed off, the engine is stored in the shop until it is scheduled for duty again. 

When the time comes to re-install the power plant, servicemembers take the engine to the jet and swap it out with the old engine. This process, like removal, takes about two hours to complete. Flight members then perform a "wet motor" by running fuel through it, which cleans out the preservation oil. 

"This is an interesting career field because we're the ones putting the aircraft in the air," Airman Deck said. "It's neat to look at an engine and know that's what makes an aircraft go."