Aerospace ground equipment flight keeps things cool

ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. – Lonnie Taylor, 97th Maintanence Directorate Aerospace Ground Equipment Flight supervisor, stands with Col. Todd Hohn, 97th Air Mobility Wing commander, and Chief Master Sgt. James Powell III, 97th Air Mobility Wing command chief, at Veteran’s Theater, July 31,2015. Taylor accepted the Flaming Spear award on behalf of the 97th AGE for all the hard work they did during the month of July. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Kirby Turbak/Released)

Aerospace ground equipment flight keeps things cool

ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. – Bob Tiscler, 97th Maintanence Directorate Aerospace Ground Equipment mechanic, works on a portable air conditioning unit in Building 278, Aug. 5, 2015. AGE’s portable A/C units are used for keeping the aircraft cool when they are grounded, but during July, they were used to keep shops cool as their A/C was being fixed. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Kirby Turbak/Released)

Aerospace ground equipment flight keeps things cool

ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. – Cal Jones, 97th Maintanence Directorate Aerospace Ground Equipment mechanic, greases parts to an A/C unit in Building 278, Aug. 5, 2015. AGE provided back-up equipment to the aircrew of Air Force One when the president visited Texas in July. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Kirby Turbak/Released)

Aerospace ground equipment flight keeps things cool

ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. – Rich Desnoyer, 97th Maintenance Directorate Aerospace Ground Equipment Flight Chief, helps push a portable generator with Robert Tiscler in Building 278, Aug. 5, 2015. Without portable A/C units some buildings could not go more than one week with cool air and buildings like the control tower and the 97th Communications Squadron’s network servers could shut down from overheating. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Kirby Turbak/Released)

Aerospace ground equipment flight keeps things cool

Published Aug. 7, 2015
By U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Kirby Turbak
97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- In southwest Oklahoma temperatures can rise above 100 degrees in months like July, and when an office's air conditioner is on the fritz, those buildings can become unbearable.

Thankfully the members of the 97th Maintenance Directorate Aerospace Ground Equipment Flight are able to use their portable A/C units to keep the people in the building cool.

AGE is responsible for stands and hydraulic systems used for maintenance, as well as the heating and cooling systems for the aircraft on the flightline. But when the heat is so extreme, those A/C units were needed other places on base.

AGE makes sure to provide cool air while a building's A/C is being worked on.
The control tower's A/C unit went down in late July and members of AGE needed to carry more than 150 feet of ducts up to the observation deck.

"With the tower we had to get a bunch of extra ducts and string them up 10 stories," said Rich Desnoyer, 97th Maintenance Directorate Aerospace Ground Equipment Flight Chief , "That was a real adventure."

The tower's computers, which are on a lower level without windows, can't be in temperature above 90 degrees or they will go out, resulting in powerless radar.

"There's no windows, there's no other ventilation besides air conditioning," said Tech. Sgt. Brian Box, 97th Operation Support Squadron air traffic controller. "You can imagine a room full of computers gets pretty hot pretty quick."

Without power in the tower those in the air could be in grave danger.

"There would be planes in the air that need to be separated, that will not have any radio comms," said Box. "It could get pretty dangerous pretty quick."

AGE also provided portable A/C units for the Altus AFB Fire Department and 97th Communications Squadron.

Without the back up of the portable A/C units these shops could go more than a week until their A/C is fixed, something hard to imagine when the temperature rises to 103 degrees for a straight week.

"When we supported the fire department last month, it took them 10 days to get the unit fixed," said Desnoyer. "With no air flow those offices can get up to 90 degrees."

AGE's help didn't stop with helping those on base but even supporting the crew of Air Force One.

When the president visited Texas last month, one of his stops was in Denison, only three hours from Altus, and it was AGE who provided back-up equipment in case anything happened to Air Force One's power system.

Their tireless efforts and dedication to keeping the mission going during heavy workloads in extreme conditions earned them July's Flaming Spear award, a well-deserved honor.

"It means a lot to us technicians and supervisors to have the whole shop recognized in a formal way," said Desnoyer.

The Flaming Spear award recognizes a unit on base every month, and is presented by the 97th Air Mobility Wing commander at the wing promotion ceremony.