By: Rebecca Amber Edwards Afb

EDWARDS AFB - True to a test-mission mindset, the 412th Maintenance Squadron Aerospace Ground Equipment Flight, discovered a defect in the newest Material Handling Unit. The nuclear-certified MHU-83 D/E Lift Truck, more affectionately known as a "Jammer," was delivered to Edwards from Hydraulics International a little over a year ago. The brand new model was delivered Air Force-wide to replace equipment that was more than two decades old.

"When we did our acceptance inspection we found no problems," said Edward Lopez, 412th MXS AGE floor chief.

But shortly after putting the jammer to work, they started showing up in the maintenance shop.

"All of a sudden we started getting a rash of them," said Lopez.

It did not take long before one of the technicians, Tech. Sgt. Horace Marceaux, NCOIC, realized the problem was an equipment error, not an operator error. The jammer is used to transport and load weapons onto an aircraft. This is accomplished using a hydraulic arm to lift the table that the weapon sits on into position.

The arm can be manipulated to perform a wide variety of movements by a series of hoses that control it. Each direction is controlled by a separate hose. As fluid was pumped through the hoses, static electricity would build up inside burning a hole in the rubber wall and leaving the arm inoperable.

"It would rupture and be spilling out fluid everywhere," said Staff Sgt. Jesse Reddam, 412th MXG AGE Flight. "This was occurring daily. ... After so many times you realize this hose is inadequate."

The original solution was to replace all of the type -3 thin-wall Teflon hoses with type -3 non-static-producing, thicker Teflon lining. According to Lopez, the new lines have a thicker Teflon inner wall with a static guard so that as fluid is transported under pressure and heat, the static electricity dissipates. Since the Team Edwards Hydraulic Shop could not make the size 3 Teflon hose, it was contracted downtown for assembly and testing.

"After receiving the new 13 thicker lines, it took around eight months to retrofit the entire Edwards fleet with the new lines. Several months later, we received official Technical Order changes from Robbins AFB, Georgia, to begin using a size -4 hose using a different size 3 connector. This change was implemented and the entire fleet of MHU-83 D/E was retrofitted," said Lopez.

As a direct result of several Dull Sword Reports (a class of safety deficiency report for Nuclear Certified Equipment) submitted from Edwards AFB to Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, and numerous Product Quality Deficiency Reports submitted to the Equipment Depot at Robbins AFB, the hose change has been implemented Air Force-wide and captured in the appropriate equipment Technical Order. Kirtland AFB is home to Air Force Materiel Command's Nuclear Weapons Center. The new line will improve safety for the weapon loaders as well as improve efficiency and save money.

"If we were testing and they were to put a 5,000-pound bomb onto an aircraft and the hose decided to go, and one of the safety features decided to fail on the unit, they're going to drop the bomb," said Lopez.

The new lines will prevent this kind of accident from happening in the field, something Lopez feels would have only been a matter of time. According to Reddam, the old lines were also expensive to replace.

"The [old] hoses are over $100 apiece. It's a lot of wasted money and manpower time," said Reddam. "If you're out there loading and the line keeps blowing, you can't do your job."

The last line was installed around three months ago, and according to Lopez and Reddam, the team was simply doing their job.