LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
The Fabrication Flight focuses on the structural integrity of all assigned aircraft. They do this through their four different shops; nondestructive inspection, metals technology, aircraft structural maintenance, and low observables.
The nondestructive inspection shop, or NDI, looks for damage that could potentially cause an aircraft to crash.
NDI uses techniques that hospital technicians use, such as x-ray and ultrasound, to conduct their inspections, according to Chief Master Sgt. Stacy Brandt, fabrications flight chief.
They also uses dye penetrate to look for cracks on aircraft components. They apply dye, wipe off the excess, and then use a black light to detect any cracks the dye has seeped into.
"My favorite part of the job is working on the jets and the sheer science that goes into a lot of the inspections," said Airman 1st Class Joseph Levy, nondestructive inspection apprentice. "That's pretty awesome."
If NDI finds a problem they can contact the metals technology shop, which is able to manufacture parts to fix it.
Airmen in the Metals Technology shop are precision fabricators, according to Chief Brandt.
"Their shop is set up with mills and lathes so they can do a lot of local manufacturing of aircraft components and tools," said Chief Brandt.
The flight's Aircraft Structural Maintenance Section consists of two core areas, sheet metal and corrosion, which maintain the integrity of the F-15 fleet. Sheet metal performs physical repairs of the airframe, while corrosion deals with the chemical applications, such as paint, to prevent the airframe from degradation.
Langley was the first wing to have low observable, or LO, combat coded aircraft, which necessitated the addition of a low observable section to apply and maintain the stealth coating and composite material on the F-22s.
The LO section played a key role in preparing the F-22s for the wing's Operational Readiness Inspection that took place last April.