Maintainers at Ellsworth AFB, S.D., are modifying the brakes on the base’s B-1 bombers. The new brake system, costing $15,787 per airframe, offers enhanced safety, maintainability, and effectiveness. It features a flexible hose that exerts less strain on components compared to the original, rigid brake swivels, while also easing maintenance demands. The new system also “greatly reduces the risk of a brake fire,” said Justin Curtis of Ellsworth’s 28th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. “That kind of security can be a real weight off the minds of the aircrew, especially during a mission,” he said. The Air Force first tested the brake system on a B-1 in 2009 and subsequently conducted high-speed taxi trials with it in January 2010. Ellsworth maintainers began modifying the 28th Bomb Wing’s B-1s last October, with the goal of converting all 28 of them by mid May. (Ellsworth report by SrA. Jarad Denton)
Members of the Air Force Reserve’s 920th Rescue Wing helped save 11 airplane crash survivors off the coast of Florida on May 12. The Reserve Airmen were flying an HC-130J Combat King II and an HH-60W Jolly Green II on a routine training flight when a Coast Guard call diverted…