374th MXS Fabrication shop completes DEPOT inspection

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Desiree Economides
  • 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan --  After approximately one month of dismantling, measuring, consulting and building, the 374th Maintenance Squadron Fabrication Flight completed necessary repairs to the bulkhead, or main structural component, of a C-130 Hercules.

This particular aircraft is undergoing major overhauling repairs as part of a DEPOT inspection required for the C-130 to be retired next year. Since the repairs are being done locally at Yokota, the Air Force is saving money.

"This inspection is unique for us here at Yokota since an inspection of this magnitude is usually done at Robins Air Force Base, Ga.," said Staff Sgt. Michael Battles, 374th Isochronal Structural Maintenance NCO in charge. "Here we are known as a field-level maintenance shop so we handle the daily basic repairs as compared to major inspections like this."

The Robins Air Force Base facilities have specialty equipment for these high level inspections, he said.

To complete the DEPOT inspection, every inch of the aircraft is thoroughly examined by crew chiefs. Once the crew chiefs indicate where problems are, the fabrication shop takes over.

"We review what the crew chiefs have identified, then cut out the damaged areas, fabricated new parts to include prime, paint and seal, and we install them too," said Battles.

Though the maintainers are not accustomed to completing the extensive repairs, they worked together to complete the project.

"This is my first time completing big repairs like this, so I'm learning a lot," said Airman 1st Class Jeffrey Sellon, 374th Maintenance Squadron fabrication flight aircraft structural maintainer.

"We have seven Airmen assigned to the section, so we all came together to get the project completed," said Battles. "We've had to work together closely as a unit and also with engineers to make sure we are building the parts correctly and meeting our deadline."