Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin A KC-46 at McConnell AFB, Wichita, Kansas. If a car breaks down on the highway, you can get help from a policeman or have it towed to a service center. If it's a broken part or something needs adjusting, shop mechanics can perform the service or install the new part.
When you're on an airplane, it's a little different. If something fails or proper maintenance has not been performed before takeoff, it can spell real trouble. You can't have a new part or mechanic beamed up during flight.
At McConnell AFB in Wichita, Kansas, two aircraft maintenance supervisors - CMSgt Seth Thomas, of the 931st Air Refueling Wing, and CMSgt Craig Webb, of the 22nd Air Refueling Wing - are responsible for 18 KC-135 and 24 KC-46 tankers, and know this all too well. Together they oversee more than 1,000 maintenance-related personnel to ensure that McConnell’s planes are ready to fly, and fly safely. We sat down with the two men on a recent visit to the base to get some perspective on what they do, and why it's so important.
Following are edited excerpts from a longer conversation. Jim Clash : Unlike with say, a washing machine, what you do as aircraft mechanics can have catastrophic consequences if not done correctly. How does each of you handle that responsibility? Ever lose sleep? CMSgt Craig Webb : One, I follow the guidance provided.
You stick with a routine, a regimen. Every time you do something, do it the same way. More important is crit.