Sept. 7, 2013
Vol. 2 Issue 97
DAILY DIGEST
A VISIT WITH THE Story and Photo by MCSA Andrew W. Price
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hen squadrons need repairs made to their equipment and aircraft, there is one shop that is up to the task. When someone on the ship needs a suggestion box built to hang outside of his or her office, whom do they go to? Airframes. Making up one-third of Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department’s (AIMD) IM-2, Airframes is composed of tire and wheel, composite repair (plastics, carbon fiber), non-destructive inspection (x-ray, eddy, ultrasonic, magnetic particle, visual), airframes (structure, metal, welding), hydraulics, and hose and tube. Aviation structural mechanics, which
used to be divided into AM (hydraulics) and AM (structure), have just eight weeks of “A” school to learn the foundation of aviation maintenance such as metal bending, hydraulics and troubleshooting. “To be a good airframer, you have to be willing to learn a lot of different parts of the job,” said Aviation Structural Mechanic 3rd Class Hunter McLane. “You learn most of airframing on the job.” Requests to manufacture and alter aircraft and other parts come from AIMD production control, where squadrons and work centers set up a maintenance action form (MAF). Continued on page 3