Public Affairs, Volume 64, Number 2
Jan. 13, 2017
New fire suppression system test drastically cuts cost
By Kenji Thuloweit 412th Test Wing Public Affairs
Members of the F-35 Integrated Test Force developed a new funnel system that captures the foam or water deluge during required hangar fire-suppression system tests saving $79,750 and several days of delay, which can be critically important for test programs. The new funnel system was tested by members from the Edwards Air Force Base Fire Department and 461st Flight Test Squadron when they conducted fire suppression system tests Jan. 7-8 at Hangar 1820. To protect workers and multimillion dollar airplanes, such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, tests need to be conducted periodically to ensure hangar fire suppression systems are working properly and can be activated and deactivated. In the past, planes and equipment needed to be moved out of hangars while remaining equipment was covered in plastic to protect the equipment from either the fire-fighting foam or water that would be dumped into the hangar. After all that, the cleanup effort began. “It was estimated that the time required to accomplish the required activities would be four days,” said Steve Bridgers, JT3, Joint Strike Fighter Facilities Engineering. “The original task was to cover all electrical panels, dock boxes and computers. This activity would involve the early shut down of flight testing and removal of all planes from the hangars. Impacts to the flight schedules were impossible to avoid for the fire suppression test.”
Containment pools (bottom right) were built with wood framing and plastic sheets to aid water collection during the test. This is a different approach from previous tests where water or fire-fighting foam was released into the hangar after all equipment was manually covered up with plastic. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kenji Thuloweit)
Bridgers was one of the JSF Integrated Test Force site support personnel who submitted a proposal that would save “an enormous amount of labor hours.” Their solution was to fabricate a funnel hose assembly to capture the water and funnel it down to the floor to containment pools. Hangar 1820 has multiple fire suppression foam generators that needed a funnel because once the fire suppression system is activated in the eastside or the west side, all foam generators are activated for that hangar. Makeshift containment pools were also needed underneath each See Funnels, page 3
Pirates take title at 4th Quarter Weapons Load Competition
The team competed against Team Raptor of the 411th Aircraft Maintenance Unit; Team Lightning of the 461st Aircraft Maintenance Unit; and the 416th Aircraft Maintenance Unit Falcons. The competition took place on the north side of Hangar 1600. The teams were graded on their procedures and precision while loading a GBU Joint Direct Attack Munition on their assigned fighter jets. The Pirates and the 461st AMU team loaded the guided bomb into the internal weapons bay of an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The 411th AMU team loaded a GBU-32 into an F-22 Raptor and the Falcon team loaded a GBU- 31v3 onto the wing of an F-16 Fighting Falcon. The winning 31st TES AMU team consists of Staff Sgt. MiThe Pirates of the 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron won the 4th Quarter Weapchael Hartley, team chief, Staff Sgt. Jocquis Beasley and Seons Load Competition Jan. 3. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kyle Larson) nior Airman Enrique Melgarejo. By Kenji Thuloweit The load crew competition showcased the efficiency of load 412th Test Wing Public Affairs crew teams to safely and properly arm a fighter jet within time The 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron Aircraft Mainte- constraints. The ability to quickly and safely load an aircraft nance Unit Pirates are the winners of the 4th Quarter Weapons See Competition, page 2 Load Competition held Jan. 3.