Hydraulics puts planes in the sky

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Timothy Boyer
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Airmen must do a lot to maintain the operations tempo and continue to complete the mission successfully day by day.
 
When it comes to maintaining aircraft serviceability, people often think of crew chiefs as being the only ones who keep it going.

There are other Airmen who are responsible for specific components on the aircraft, however. These shops are known in the maintenance world as "back shops." One such shop is the 60th Maintenance Squadron Accessories Flight hydraulic shop.

The hydraulic shop has a critical role in maintaining aircraft safety. When people think of hydraulics on aircraft, they probably think of the wheels and brakes, but there is much more.

"We work on all the actuators and lines that move the flight control surfaces that allow the aircraft to function and maneuver in flight," said Senior Airman Justin Horn, 60th MXS hydraulic systems journeyman.

The importance of maneuvering an aircraft cannot be overstated, but there is even more to being a hydraulic systems maintainer.

"Aircraft must have functional hydraulic systems in order to launch, fly and land," said Tech. Sgt. Matthew Stechelin, 60th MXS hydraulic section chief. "We rebuild the hydraulic components that make up those systems and test them to ensure reliability."

Not only are hydraulic systems maintainers critical to the Travis mission, they also have a dangerous job.

"Hydraulic maintenance is most dangerous during high-pressure testing operations, especially to inexperienced Airmen," Stechelin said. "The risk of discovering a condition that leads to catastrophic failure, or explosion, of a component is highest at that time."

One of the most challenging parts of being a hydraulic systems maintainer is the extreme precision required in the repair and overhaul of aircraft components, Horn said.

"It feels good knowing that without my actual hands-on work aircraft wouldn't launch or stop on landing," he said.

The hydraulic shop removes, installs and repairs components for more than 50 aircraft from all three airframes, Stechelin said.

The most rewarding part of being a hydraulic systems maintainer for Stechelin is a job well done.

"Planes will never get Hy without Hydro," he said.