U-2 Rotations passing thru Fairford

GZR_Sactargets · Post by **GZR_Sactargets** » 30 Oct 2008, 17:44

From AF Daily report 30 OCT 08

U-2 Swap: Members of the 99th Reconnaissance Squadron and 9th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, both from Beale AFB, Calif., completed a combat rotation of an undisclosed number of U-2 reconnaissance aircraft Oct. 17. U-2s that had been operating from Southwest Asia landed at RAF Fairford, Britain, en route back to Beale. They were exchanged there with U-2s arriving from Beale that were headed to the combat theater. These swap-outs are conducted about twice a year; they allow maintainers back at Beale to perform more in-depth maintenance checks and repairs on the returning U-2s than can be completed at the forward operating location. Phase inspections are performed on each U-2 aircraft about every 200 hours of flying when in theater, said TSgt. Dustin Storms, 9th AMXS dedicated crew chief. "This is considered minor maintenance and includes things like lubing the airplane and operations checks," he said. This process takes about 46 hours to complete. But at every 600 hours of flying time, more complex inspections are conducted on the aircraft, and they must be done at Beale. They take about 12 to 14 days to complete. "The panels come off, the engine comes out, and components are changed," explained Storms. It is during this time that maintainers also perform system upgrades. The U-2s returning to Beale are approaching the 600-hour mark. (Beale report by SSgt. Sarah Gregory)

sprocky · Post by **sprocky** » 30 Oct 2008, 20:23

Besides this interesting article I noticed that some parents seem to name their children in a drunk moment. I can imagine that Mr. Dustin Storms possibly had a nick like "Dust in Storms" when he was young.

GZR_Sactargets · Post by **GZR_Sactargets** » 30 Oct 2008, 23:26

sprocky wrote:Besides this interesting article I noticed that some parents seem to name their children in a drunk moment. I can imagine that Mr. Dustin Storms possibly had a nick like "Dust in Storms" when he was young.

I worked with a guy named Storm Rhodes and I also had a gunner named Donald Duck (no joke)!

ronniegj · Post by **ronniegj** » 31 Oct 2008, 16:17

And, as a teenaged AF dependent living at Lincoln AFB, one of my fellow brats was a girl named Judy Hore. Boy did she ever get ragged on.

Ron

Keith Jones · Post by **Keith Jones** » 31 Oct 2008, 16:50

...like a mate of mine when I was at school (a long time ago) whose name was Orson Carter.