Aces
North
Team’s
shining example
By
Andrew Stackpool
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CPLs
Lloyd Williams and Bernie McNamara do maintenance on the
airfield lighting system.
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Photo
by Andrew Stackpool
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AN
AIRFIELD is dependent on its many parts to function and without
lighting nothing moves after twilight. Exercise Aces North involved
weeks of night flying and this could not have happened without
the efforts of Corporal Bernie McNamara and his team.
CPL McNamara is the NCO in charge of the Lighting Section attached
to No. 322 Combat Support Squadron at RAAF Base Tindal. He is
proud of his job because Tindal is the last “blue base” – the
last base in the Air Force maintained by uniformed technicians.
He and his three-man team are all qualified electricians responsible
for 3300 fittings that comprise Tindal’s runway, taxiways and
Ordnance Loading Area (OLA) lighting system. There are three main
types of lights. The type inset into the runways, an elevated
one used near taxiways and the OLAs and the red obstruction lights
that require an elevated platform “so we can get up and work on
them”.
The team is also responsible for the maintenance of the associated
cabling.
“On average, depending on the time of year, we would change between
80 and 200 fittings each month,” CPL Mc- Namara said. “The wet
season requires a lot more work.”
Preparation for Aces North brought its own problems for the team.
“We had to order a lot more parts. The lights and ... most of
the fittings are made in France. The fittings can take two or
three months to get here so we need to control the stock levels
and order appropriately,” he said.
The team’s preparations to ensure the base was ready to receive
the aircraft from the south required “a lot of maintenance to
ensure everything was working”. A No. 13 Squadron member was called
on to lend a hand.
During the exercise the team has provided a 24-hour call-out service
with one member doing duty week about.
The team is also doing shift work, going out at night to do further
maintenance on the system.
“Obviously we have to work round when aircraft are flying,” CPL
McNamara said.
The main problems come from the many lightning strikes that can
either strike electrical equipment or lights or sometimes shut
down all base power, or failed O-rings in the inlet lights as
a result of the range of temperatures.
“We are a specialised group and we are kept pretty busy.”
Links
to more Aces North Coverage
A
show of aces
Maintaining a high standard
Secure lead-up to Exercise Pitch Black
Fine spirit of cooperation
