MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL AIR RESERVE STATION, Minn. -- While not often recognized for their work, instrument and flight system technicians of the 934th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron are unseen heroes ensuring that aircraft stay mission-ready.
934 AMXS instrument and flight control technicians operate and maintain flight control systems on all 934th Airlift Wing C-130s on the base.
They have multiple responsibilities that ensure flying aircraft are fully operational. This safeguards the integrity of the operating systems in all 934 AW C-130Hs when completing missions all over the world.
“We are in charge of most of the indicating instruments in the cockpit or flight deck and various transmitters that correspond with them,” said Tech. Sgt. Robert Leif, 934 AMXS instrument and flight control systems technician.
Several instruments in the aircraft are vital for the safe flight of the passengers and crew members. A plane would be at an elevated safety risk without fully operational systems.
934 AMXS instrument and flight control systems technicians recently replaced a Pitot probe on one of the C-130’s. Pitot probes take air inputs and convert them into signals for airspeeds and altitudes.
“There are two Pitot probes located on the aircraft,” said Leif. “If both probes don’t work, the pilot will receive erroneous readings informing the pilot that they’re going either slower or faster than the speed they are actually going.”
These types of issues are not uncommon with aircraft, and thanks to the technical skills of instrument and flight systems members, they can be fixed in an efficient way that keeps aircraft from staying grounded. This kind of work requires extensive knowledge of all the different systems inside the plane.
“Some jobs, you might find yourself doing only electrical stuff or only mechanical stuff,” said Leif. “This one has a good balance between the two it touches on all of the aspects of the plane, from navigation to engines, that allows the opportunity to be hands-on in all of the
aspects.”
Many of these technicians take great pride in their work on the planes and receive a sense of satisfaction in the work they do.
“It’s rewarding to fix issues with the planes and actually see the plane take off after you fix something,” said Staff Sgt. Rachelle Beverly, 934 AMXS an instrument and flight control systems technician.