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Airfield busy business

  • Published
  • By Howdy Stout
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  A foreign C-130 Hercules needs to clear customs. Maintenance crews need help cleaning the tarmac of hydraulic fluid leaking from a B-1. A captured Red-tailed Hawk needs relocation. And a pair of Oklahoma Air National Guard F-16s diverting from Tulsa need to "gas and go."

Meeting those needs is just another day on the job for Tinker's Airfield Operations, part of the 72nd Operational Support Squadron that manages most aspects of Tinker's airfield.

"Every day is different," explains Marc Bradley, Airfield Operations Manager. "That's why I love this job. It's never the same."

As an Air Force Materiel Command airfield, Tinker must balance the needs of aircraft arriving and departing the air logistics center for maintenance and the flight testing of aircraft after maintenance with the operational requirements of other flying units. Tinker is home to four operational flying units, including the 552nd Air Control Wing, the 507th Air Refueling Squadron, the Navy's Strategic Communications Wing ONE and the 10th Test Flight Squadron.

Much of the work falls on the shoulders of the 14-person Airfield Operations team, who coordinate everything from runway inspections to the filing of flight plans.

"Our primary job is to maintain the airfield so it is safe for aircrews," Mr. Bradley explains.

Operating 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week, each shift begins with a briefing on airfield conditions and arriving and departing aircraft. The two shift members also conduct visual inspections of runways and taxiways for foreign object debris and to assess bird activity that might hinder or endanger flying activity.

"We do our best to stay on top of that," Mr. Bradley says. "That's important."

One of the ways bird activity is discouraged at Tinker is by keeping the grass on the 1,500-acre airfield between seven and 14 inches in length. Any shorter and airborne raptors can see their prey. Any longer and wind moves the grass enough for birds to also see their prey. Like painting the Golden Gate Bridge, mowing the grass is a year-round process.

A pair of USDA Wildlife Services biologists are also on hand to assist with making Tinker as unattractive to birds and other wildlife as possible. Some birds, such as the large Red-Tailed Hawk, are captured and relocated.

"They are invaluable," says Mr. Bradley. "They do things on and off the airfield for controlling wildlife that we don't have the capability to do."

Maintaining the runways, taxiways and aprons is also a continuous process. During airfield inspections, operations keep a lookout for crumbling or loose concrete, especially pieces that might be dislodged by the many heavy aircraft operating from here.

"It's an old airfield, so we have to keep an eye on the pavement," says Benjamin Barker, airfield manager.

Although maintenance projects are planned and conducted annually, Tinker received a boost this year with an estimated $10 to $15 million in stimulus money to replace portions of the main taxiway. "We're doing a large project now," says Mr. Barker. "Taxiway Golf from Foxtrot to Echo is being replaced."

Next month, a section of runway 12/30 will be reconditioned and a new three-bay hangar built for the ALC.

Current and future construction work means routing taxiing aircraft around work areas and keeping construction crews and equipment clear of aircraft. Contractors must also be briefed on airfield safety issues, including the training of drivers on the flight line.

"Anybody that needs access to the flight line goes through us," says Capt. Gregg Potter, airfield operations flight commander for the 72nd Operational Support Squadron. "We have over 5,000 qualified flight line drivers on the base."

Driving down the runways is also the job of the operations staff. Using a battery-powered decelerometer, the staff measures and reports braking conditions on the airfield's runways and taxiways during the winter months.

"You go down the runway, put on your brakes and slide," Mr. Bradley says. "Ice is a problem. In Oklahoma, when ice forms on the pavement surfaces it's very difficult to remove."

Chemical anti-icing agents and granular de-icing material are used to lessen the hazard, but crews must still physically remove snow and ice from the runways and taxiways to keep the airfield open. Crews must also keep snow and ice from piling up on the ground parallel to taxiways as it might be ingested into overhanging jet engines.

Runways and taxiways must also be kept clean of aircraft fluids that might pose a hazard.

"That's important because it makes the runway extremely slippery," Mr. Bradley says.

Despite Oklahoma's icy winter, Tinker is often a bad-weather haven, especially during hurricane season when aircraft from Atlantic or Gulf coast airbases need to be evacuated. To handle the influx of numerous aircraft, anywhere can become a parking lot.

"One year we even closed the runway to park evacuating aircraft," Mr. Bradley said. On an average day, Tinker handles up to 110 aircraft movements.

"We did 40,000 operations last year," said Captain Potter.

But location and the quick turnaround service provided by Transient Services makes Tinker a popular - and preferred - pit stop for transient aircraft.

"We're a gas station for all the Department of Defense," Captain Potter says. "The turnaround time here is the best."

"We do get a lot of transient aircraft because we're right in the middle of the country," Mr. Bradley agrees. "And another reason is they know they'll get some of the best transient service here....If they're rotating fighters out of Nellis for Red Flag, for example, it's not uncommon to have 15 or 20 fighters come in at a time."

That good reputation is reflected in Tinker winning AFMC's Best Facility five out of the last six years, including the last three years in a row.

"That success goes to the employees we have," Mr. Bradley says. "They are the ones on the frontline doing the work 24/7."

All of the airfield operations staff are civilians with prior military experience and most have aviation-related degrees or working towards one. In addition to assuming the responsibilities as airfield manager, Mr. Barker is working toward his master's degree in aviation management. Staff turnover is low, says Mr. Barker, meaning that hard-earned local knowledge is not lost.

"I love it here," said Michelle Houston, who has worked at Tinker as an Airfield Management Operation Specialist for the last five years.

"Of all the airfields I've been to, this has by far been the best," adds Mr. Barker. "They do things the right way."

It's a sentiment shared by the F-16 pilots who popped out of the overcast to refuel when bad weather forced a diversion from Tulsa. They were refueled and airborne again within an hour, slotting in among a departing KC-10s, a Navy E-6 and a KC-135 practicing "touch and goes." "Some days are busy and some days are slow," Mr. Bradley says. "But every day is different."