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Show HILLTOP TIMES 14ilt,,i MES Dec. 20, 2012 5 Keeping a keen eye on things Flight Safety honored with AFMC level recognition BY MARY Lou GORNY 7 Hilltop Times editor / 8 BWE /S r(Flight d r ec e ntSafety) S etthya)treth e y ceived word had taken the AFMC Flight Safety Award for FY 2012. The team consists of Capt. Adam Bradbury and Master Sgt. Brent Day, an active pilot and an experienced maintainer, respectively. "Flight Safety is responsible for all safety of the flying operations here at Hill Air Force Base," said Bradbury. While there are several flight safety offices on base, this is the Installation Flight Safety office, in terms of the runway and the entire air field. "We work very closely with the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings, the 514th Flight Test Squadron and the Ogden Air Logistics Complex," Bradbury explained. In his role with flight safety Bradbury must retain his pilot credentials and serve actively in that role. He is attached to the 514th FTS for that portion of his duties. Day served a multitude of roles in the 388th FW on the maintenance side and brings his level of expertise to the team. For example if a plane is being towed somewhere on the flight line and there are not three people with it, he knows not only that is not proper procedure but more importantly he knows the reasons behind those rules. One of the more prominent aspects of their duty as Flight Safety is the Bird AirStrike Hazard program (BASH). Their team has reduced bird strikes at Hill more than 40 percent during the award period. This effort is a close and mutual agreement set up with the USDA. Members from the USDA have come in and helped trap and remove birds that may stray too closely to the runways and also to the periphery of the area. A member of the USDA staff demonstrated a number of the traps. Often small animals such as mice or smaller birds are held in enclosed areas which lure the larger birds into intricate smaller openings that lead into a larger space in the wire cages. Once the bird makes its way into the trap opening it is motivated to try to get to the potential prey and then it can't get back out. The birds can get close to but not access the small prey animals. All wires are plastic coated to reduce the risk of injury. Birds that are members of protected species are banded, and then they are released 60 miles from the base in directions best suited to the season and the migratory patterns. Another trap looks as if it might be a potential nesting area but once in the birds cannot get out. Those are specifically designed to snare the cavity nesting type birds. Noisemakers are also an option for Flight Safety team members. As a last resort they are allowed to use shotguns and pellet guns. "If the birds are on the runway and an aircraft is coming, we will shoot them," Bradbury said. With individuals and aircraft at risk they aren't about to take any chances. For example, a $4 million F-16 engine or the entire aircraft at a cost of $32 million, may be at issue, not to mention the risk of injury or death to those individuals piloting or riding as passengers in the aircraft. "One little bird sucked into an engine can cause engine failure similar to the Hudson Bay incident," said Bradbury, recalling the most recent famous example of a plane downed by bird strikes. Another part of BASH is to keep the area inhospitable to birds. Grass is cut at a certain level by civil engineer support staff, neither too high to allow the grass to seed out and for them to hide in or too low so as to make it a comfortable environment to land on and to nest within. The USDA, base Natural Resources and other programs have worked with Flight Safety to make sure that the grass and plants around the runways are the type that birds do not prefer. There are very few trees in the area nearby on purpose so as not to give the animals a place to nest or perch. While birds are the main focus of the BASH program, deer and fox can also be a problem. A certain number of fox are permissible because they help act as predators and serve as a way to make the area inhospitable to birds. Deer are absolutely unacceptable. A secure fence line counteracts the potential MARY LOU GORNY/Hilltop Times Capt. Adam Bradbury and Master Sgt. Brent Day, 75 ABW/S EF (Flight Safety) stand by a vehicle they frequently use to inspect the flight line after conducting a tour and demonstrating aspects of their mission. They recently received AFMC level recognition for their efforts in 2012. for collisions with the large mammals and so inspections often include a ride around the perimeter of the fence to make sure that it is well-maintained. The Mid-Air Collision Avoidance program is another Flight Safety effort. During FY 2012 they revised the brochures explaining what aircraft are stationed at Hill AFB and military installations in Salt Lake City. This program takes Safety members out to the various commercial and private air fields to hang posters, distribute brochures and give out information to alert civilian pilots as to the importance of keeping their distance from these areas and what aircraft are liable to be flying there. This also reinforces the importance of making flight plans that do not potentially intersect with military planes. Flight Safety also observes the annual inspections of the cable barriers on the runway. The outermost cables strung across the runways at the end are always up. The second line of cable, innermost, can be raised in the event of an emergency. If a pilot knows there is a problem with his brakes or his hydraulics he can radio the See HONOR "We work very closely with the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings, the 514th Flight Test Squadron and the Ogden Air Logistics Complex." CAPT. ADAM BRADBURY, 75 ABW/SEF (Flight Safety) I page 6 Effort on base a Toy Story Drive for donations to benefit children at St. Anne's shelter BY MIKAYLA BEYER Hilltop Times staff T he holidays are a time for giving and having fun, but for children who are in need, it can be a reminder of how little they have in comparison to others. Thankfully, the efforts of Hill AFB Senior Airman Madison Donnell will make the children of St. Anne's Center Homeless Shelter much happier this holiday season, since she has spearheaded a toy drive throughout the base. "Once a month, I and my supervisor go to St. Anne's shelter to help feed (the people meals), and one of the hardest things to look at is the kids in there. They're sad, they're mopy, and they have nothing. So I figure, in addition to doing the feeding, we should collect as many toys, new or used, as possible, and bring them around Christmas," Donnell said. This will be the first year Donnell has initiated the toy drive, and she hopes to make it a success that can be continued in years to come, since large numbers of children continue to live in the shelter. "They have 50 or 60 kids that are there around Christmastime, usually every year," Donnell said. Her words are a stark and tragic reminder that even in well-todo Weber County, there are still many people in need and their problems do not cease during the festive season. St. Anne's Center is located in Ogden and it has not only a shelter but also resources available for people who need help getting back on their feet. Its website says that 250 children, many of whose families were forced into homelessness because of the strained economic times, called the shelter their home in 2012. The toy boxes set up by Donnell are dispersed all over Hill AFB, with one in Building 1102, Building 1211, the Med Clinic (Building 570), Building 430 and the Chapel. Donnell said that the response has been positive so far. "I've gotten most of my toys from the chapel. It seems pretty welcomed. I know that people do Toys For Tots, but that accepts just brand new toys, and we'll accept used toys. It seems like they'll be a little more easy to obtain, I hope," Donnell said. People will be able to drop off toys until Christmas Day, when Donnell plans to take the toys to St. Anne's and present them to the children. "If they could see the kids, they would want to donate everything. They're all ages, boys and girls, from infants up to teenagers, and as much as possible, we want to bring things over to them," Donnell said, and she emphasized the particular difficulty in making the younger children happy amid their circumstances. "They don't know what's going on or what's happening. They MIKAYLA BEYER/Hilltop Times A toy box marked to collect donations for children sits nar the Base Chapel Christmas tree in the chapel foyer. Boxes are all around the base for the donation effort. don't understand any of it, but something this small can just make them smile, or have a good day. Every kid knows what Christmas is, and these kids don't ever get anything. So this year, as much as possible, I want to know they have something." |