Let the good times roll: Travis wheel and tire shop

  • Published
  • By Nichole Leidholm
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  The 60th Maintenance Squadron is comprised of many different sections. One of those sections is a crucial component to aircraft maintenance - the wheel and tire shop.
Tires are essential for all aircraft; they're what it sits on and what it lands on. A blown tire could be catastrophic for any aircraft.

The shop is responsible for all wheel assemblies on the C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster III, while the 660th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron handles the wheels and tires for the KC-10 Extender.

A wheel entering the shop delivered from the flightline must be dismantled. Incoming wheel and tire assemblies are either blown out, have leaks or have worn out their tread, said Tech. Sgt. Michael Owens, 60th MXS wheel and tire NCO in charge. The shop checks the serviceability to decide if they can reuse the tire or not. The average life span of a tire is 120 days, as long as the tire has not exceeded its cut wear limit.

"When wheels come in we check the serviceability of the wheel assemblies," Owens said. "We decide if they need to go to overhaul of just get washed."

During the break down stage, Airmen must deflate the tires according to the technical data, remove the bolts and bearings, then remove the split wheel assemblies on which the tires sit, he said. The halves are sent to the wash rack for cleaning before returning for build-up.

Once the tire is back on the halves, the assembly is carefully reassembled, Owens said. The C-17 wheels require a non-destructive inspection on the braces before being sent back to the flightline to ensure parts are ready and safe for use, Owens said.

The shop is filled with rows of new tires ready to go. There are more than 100 tires ready for service at any given time.

It's a small shop, consisting of only ten members, most of which are senior airman or below, Owens said.

"Most of these Airmen are our young Airmen," he said. "It's a good start-up job. It gets them a taste of maintenance in a more controlled environment where they can learn the job quickly and get good at it too."

If a C-17 goes through a home-station check, all the wheels are sent to the shop. The team is able to break down and build up all 14 of the C-17 tires in just two days, Owens said.

The team here not only makes sure there are wheels ready for Travis aircraft but also some enroutes as well.

"It's a lot bigger than just Travis," he said. "Enroutes such as Hickam (Air Force Base) and Yokota (Air Force Base) ship their tires here, we send them new ones and rebuild the old."

The Wheel and Tire shop can be dangerous. To prevent any injuries Airmen make sure everyone has proper protective equipment and follows the technical orders along with daily safety briefs.

"It's easy to get complacent on jobs we do all the time," Owens said. "It's monotonous which is why we keep an eye on our Airmen and swap jobs - build ups and break downs - so they don't get burned out."