Good show from No. 1

By Leesha Furse and LACW Simone Liebelt

CPL Kevin Downing: good to get a pat on the back.

Photo by LAC Mark McConnell

LAC Aaron Tyson earned his award only two months into his job with 1SQN.

Photo by AC David Gibbs

LAC Brett Mears detected a cracked can mount.

Photo by LAC Greg Pierce

CPL Kris Saunders receives his Good Show Award by the OC of 82WG, GPCAPT Kym Osley.

LAC Jason Holland noticed an excessive fuel leak.

Photo by AC David Gibbs

ON THE flightline they are the words no pilot wants to hear from ground crew: “You’re not going anywhere.” But that’s what had to happen when five No. 1 Squadron technicians detected leaking liquids and other mechanical problems in aircraft on separate occasions in the past 18 months.

They have each received a Good Show Award for performance, the first award received by each of them for their trade work during their short time with the Air Force. LAC Aaron Tyson had only two months’ experience when he discovered a problem while on launch assist duty on aircraft A8-113.

“When I entered the wheel well, I noticed the right-side fuel manifold leaking from a connection aft of the fuel flow transmitter,” he recalled. “I called over CPL [Jarrod] Ferguson and showed him the leak and the flight was cancelled because of the risk of a fire or explosion.”

His supervisors were impressed since he was so new, but LAC Tyson shrugged off the praise saying, “It’s nice to be thanked, but it really is part of our job.” LAC Brett Mears also displayed a level of professionalism beyond that expected of someone with his experience when he detected a cracked can mount.

“As an aircraft fitter, I was attached to No. 6 Squadron engine rectifications as part of my fitter training rotation. As part of a routine inspection I was inspecting compressor blades and diffusers through the combustion can on the lower portion of an aircraft engine and decided to try and have a look at the front of the turbine section,” he said.

He noticed the combustion can mountings had “completely cracked and were in danger of FODing the turbine”, which meant the engine had to be overhauled. “I felt very honoured that so many of my superiors thought my efforts were worth the award,” LAC Mears said.

LAC Jason Holland was also gratified to know that his bosses appreciated his work. He was assisting the armament specialists on the launch of an aircraft when, soon after both engines had started, he walked towards the aircraft from the right hand side to pull pins from a pylon under training.

“While doing that I noticed an excessive fuel leak coming from the left-hand engine scroll drain. An engine specialist was called to further investigate the leak and it was found that a major problem could have occurred if the jet was allowed to fly.”

CPL Kris Saunders was assessing a fitter doing a launch assist on an F-111C and noticed a fluid trail left on the ground by the aircraft as it taxied out and immediately called the flightline to call the jet back. “When it taxied back I inspected the aircraft and found it was leaking a large amount of hydraulic oil and informed the aircrew who then cancelled the flight. The component that failed may have caused a major air incident,” he said.

CPL Kevin Downing, who was an LAC at the time, said it felt good to get “a pat on the back for doing a good job”. “As airman on the flightline for that week, I was waiting with the aircraft with my rig as is required for a launch of an F-111. As the aircrew were carrying out their before-flight walk around, they noticed fluid leaking from one of the wings and suspected it was hydraulic fluid from one of the spoiler actuators.

“I let the aircrew know that by the colour and viscosity it was just fuel from a known leak, washing out old hydraulic fluid off the deflector door. They accepted this explanation but I told them I would check anyway for my peace of mind.”

On inspection, he realised the spoiler had not been secured correctly – nuts not torqued on or split-pinned.

“On finding this I decided to check the other three spoilers. To my surprise they were the same. I let the aircrew know that they wouldn’t be going anywhere, being that it was a primary flight control, and immediately sought out the nearest airframe sergeant to have a look.”

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