309th MXW begins T-38 work at Randolph AFB Published April 8, 2011 By Bill Orndorff 309th Maintenance Wing HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- With the cut of a ribbon March 24, the 309th Aircraft Maintenance Group from Hill Air Force Base formally assumed depot-level maintenance work on the T-38 Talon aircraft located at Randolph AFB, Texas. A satellite unit from Hill's 571st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron will perform the work at Randolph as part of a 2009 Department of Defense Depot Source of Repair decision. The decision awarded the work to Hill, and determined that the workload could be done more efficiently by DoD employees at Randolph. "Setting up this workload has been a real team effort across all of Randolph and Hill Air Force Base. We had about 50 people who were making it happen and making sure you have what you need to get the job done," said Sue Dryden, 309th Maintenance Wing director, during the ceremony at Randolph AFB. "This is a team -- you're part of the greater organization. You may be here at Randolph, but you're part of the 309th Maintenance Wing. We're here to support you and make sure you have a quality place to work and quality people to work with." Serenaded by state bird The ceremony began after a mockingbird, the Texas state bird, unexpectedly sang briefly from the tail of a T-38 displayed outside the hangar. Garry Richey, director of Logistics, Installation and Mission Support, Headquarters, Air Education and Training Command, noted that a mid-March ceremony had commemorated the 50th anniversary of the T-38 arriving at Randolph. "A lot of things have happened over the last 50 years, but one thing is still happening -- we are producing the world's finest pilots through our work on this airplane," Richey said. "I know we're going to fly it for many years to come. It's going to take the dedicated efforts of the maintainers, supply experts, program managers, all the people who have a hand in it to keep it flying and operating safely. "Years from now, people will look at the T-38 and they'll marvel at the skills of the logisticians, the maintainers, the program managers who brought all this together." The Texas unit is designated as the 571st AMXS OL-A (Operating Location-A), and is directed by Jay Gregson. He transferred from Hill to Randolph to lead the unit, along with Anna Moreno, who is the Weapons System Support Chief; David Valdez, lead planner; and Eddie Alvarado, scheduler. The squadron has about 60 employees, many of whom came from Lear Sigler Inc., an avionics company that was previously contracted to do the work. "We picked up several LSI employees who were displaced when the contract ended and also picked up folks from California, Florida, Oklahoma, Utah and other parts of Texas," Gregson said. "By 2013, we plan to increase our workforce to about 200 people." 'Like everything about it' One employee picked up from the contractor, Richard "Chappy" Chaplin, is an aircraft mechanic who has worked with the T-38 since he was on active duty in 1968. "I started when I got out of tech school -- I was about 18 or 19 -- and I've worked on them ever since except for four years," Chaplin said as he inspected a T-38's ejection seat before the ceremony as part of a pre-flight test. "I've done everything on them except sheet metal work. It's a nice aircraft -- I like everything about it." A December 2009 Depot Source of Repair (DSOR) decision on the T-38 Trainer determined that T-38 depot maintenance would be done through organic repair -- government workers instead of contractors -- at Randolph, and the 571st AMXS OL-A was established. The 309th MXW dedicated $7 million in order to renovate two hangars and an office building for the workload on the northwest corner of the base near the runway, according to Kathy Burgess from the 309th MXW Business Office. The contract for the Phase I building renovations, which included one hangar and the egress areas, was awarded in August 2010 and work began a month later. The Phase II contract, which includes the second hangar and the office building, was awarded in February 2011, and renovations are expected to be finished by September or October. In addition, the 571st will build sun shades or canopies on the flightline ramp to park 10 to 12 aircraft that need minor maintenance. What's ahead "For Financial Year '11, our first workload is a Safety Time Compliance Technical Order which came out in late 2010 that affected the entire T-38 fleet," Gregson said. "It's an aircraft structural inspection program. Each aircraft requires from 250 to 300 hours of work --- an estimated 22,000 hours per fiscal year." In FY '12, the unit will perform a video data tape system modification and a speed brake structural sustainment modification. Each aircraft will require 200 hours of work, an estimated 60,000 hours per fiscal year. In FY '13, 125 aircraft will undergo a major structural modification called Pacer Classic III over a seven-year period. Pacer Classic will average about 14,000 hours per aircraft or 140,000 hours per fiscal year. It is designed to extend the service life of the T-38 through 2026. Changing the workload from contract to organic involved several steps, Burgess said. Efforts included closing out the LSI contract and taking ownership of all tools, facilities, vehicles and equipment; hiring both government and Contract Field Team personnel; and renovating buildings, upgrading communications, and buying furniture and equipment. This is not the first work the 309th MXW has done on the T-38. In 2008, the 532nd Commodities Maintenance Squadron's New Manufacturing and Repair division worked with shops at Tinker AFB, Okla., Robins AFB, Ga., Edwards AFB, Calif., and China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station, Calif., to manufacture 3,400 aileron actuator levers for the aircraft. The levers control moveable flaps on the T-38's wings, and were machined from a solid block of forged aluminum. The T-38 Talon is a twin-engine, high-altitude, supersonic jet trainer used in a variety of roles because of its design, economy of operations, ease of maintenance, high performance and exceptional safety record. It is used primarily by Air Education and Training Command to prepare pilots for front-line fighter and bomber aircraft. Air Combat Command, Air Mobility Command and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration also use the T-38 in various roles. There are 546 in the active Air Force inventory.