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Show May 21, 1982 oonto Page 15 HILL TOP TIMES Jogim Perhaps Nelson's most important safety function is done before the UH-1leaves the ground. "I make sure our Huey is airworthy before we take off," he said. "I pull maintenance on the bird and go over it with the pilot before we fly. I give him advice on the aircraft's condition and inform him if I think it is for a particular mission." 'go or no-g2nd Lt. Stephen Laushine 2nd Lt. Stephan Laushine is another member of Det. 4, 40th ARRS. His job is aircraft commander and pilot of a UH-1Huey. "A helicopter aircraft commander needs crew cooperation to ensure a safe flight," he said. "You take a good preflight to get every person on the crew involved in the flight. "It takes "We have a demanding mission," Laushine added. "We fly 50 feet above trees and mountains. Then we depend a lot on the flight engineer. He watches our power, our altitude and checks out the outside temperature. As you go up and as the temperature gets hotter, a helicopter requires more power, and a pilot can use all the help he can get. "The preflight briefing is all important. It can make the difference between a safe flight and a smoking hole in the ground. That's why I brief all aspects of the flight. "If I'm flying on instruments, I've got to keep my eyes on the gauges, then I really need the crew to watch outside the aircraft. So you see, all crew members have to be involved in safety." "We evaluate aircrew actions in major flight mishaps," Wagner stated. "If we find that a mishap pilot did something wrong because of an omission in the manual or an error in an emergency check, we can rewrite the manual, and we do." N , Wagner told about one action his office took that made an F-- 4 cockpit "a safer place. "We learned that one of the radar scopes in the F-- 4 was in the ejection envelope. What that meant is when a crewman ejected from the aircraft, his knee hit the radar scope. That could result in him losing his knee. This office," he said, "orchestrated the redesign effort in modifying the scope. We got the manufacturer to change that N MSgt. Richard C. Watts is in a job that is almost synonymous with safety of Air Force man is the flight. The chief air traffic controller at the Hill AFB tower, and has been the chief controller here for four years. 1881st Communications The Squadron sergeant said that the Air Traffic Control motto is to provide safe, orderly and expeditious flow of air traffic. "Notice," he added, "that safe comes before orderly, and expeditious. That's the way it should be." Watts added, "We use Air Force and Federal Aviation Agency regulations instructions and separation standards to control aircraft. 19-ye- ar Most critical time Asked the most critical time for an aircraft, Watts answered without hesitation. "It's when they are in the departure phase," he said. "That's when an air craft is relatively untested. loaded with gas and It is heavy bombs and that's when engine failure is most likely." As Hill's chief controller, Watts is responsible for training new controllers, and he believes good training is vital. "Before a controller becomes fully qualified," Watts said, "he must be proficient at all the positions in the tower." Watts pointed out that a trainee, or three level controller, can work in all weather conditions, but only if he is monitored by a fully qualified controller who stands directly behind him on the panel. C-1- ' Ejection envelope o' MSgt. Richard Watts design, and the result is a new radar scope that's out of the ejection envelope. "We also study the findings of mishap crew chief boards," the former said. "A mishap board tries to find out the cause of a particular accident. We look at a number of similar mishap reports and attempt to come up with a more general or root cause. If we find one, then we might write a change to the manual or we might change inspection procedures." F-- 30 kingpin 4 Rauld Peterson, Ogden ALC's flight safety specialist, summed up Wagner's contribution to flight safety by saying, "Captain Wagner is the kingpin for aircraft safety for the F-- 4 and worldwide." F-1- 01 This is Flight Safety Week Capt. Richard Wagner "A trainee cannot control aircraft when an emergency has been declared," Watts said. "Then a fully qualified ' controller must man each tower ' " position." Benjamin Meier Benjamin L. Meier is another Hill man with a role in flight safety. He's a retired Air Force senior master sergeant, now a civilian aircraft mechanic in the Flight Test Division, Directorate of Maintenance. Since the division prepares aircraft for flight after they were overhauled at Ogden ALC, it's important that Meier does his job right. :Z::-- ... 4 V ll. li ' I Jr "& mi mtt Too .3sjf , ' late to catch it "If we don't catch a maintenance mistake here," Meier said, "then it's too late, and could cost the Air Force a valuable aircraft or the life of a pilot." Meier checks himself by following tech data to the letter and by using common sense. "There's no special trick to it," he said. "I follow the IBM sheet, go through my work step by step, and check off each task as I complete it. Most important "I guess our most important safety job," he added, "is running engine and systems checks. Both are critical because they are the things needed most to bring a plane back safely." Meier is a strong advocate of the tool control system here, and he thinks tool i i j u 101 oi dox euioms inave prevenieu -- J flight mishaps by foreign object damage. "With the silhouette cutouts," he said, "I've never lost a tool." Capt. Richard Wagner y m Capt. Richard Wagner is in the Aircraft Management, Directorate of Materiel Management, and is the materiel safety officer for the F-- 4 and weapons systems. It's not surprising that flight safety is a big part of his job. F-1- 4 V t 01 Benjamin Meier . . . .4 . : |