Aircraft metals technician turns material into mission

  • Published
  • By David Bedard
  • JBER Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  Ancient Rome, 2nd Century C.E. A blacksmith stretches his arm toward a fiery forge, plucking out a rod of iron - tip glowing red with accumulated heat. He places the rod over an immovable anvil and hammers on it until it's transformed from a shapeless billet into the recognizable shape of a four-blade arrowhead. It takes 20 minutes for the smith to craft the arrowhead, and his trade demands he is able to replicate the process with precise repeatability.

Once mated to a wooden shaft and feathery fletching, the arrow becomes an aerial weapon able to take flight over the heads of friendly infantry, arcing over city walls and finding its mark in the defending enemy ranks.

The melding of weaponry and warrior demonstrated how a metal worker's careful attention to his craft - miles away from the battlefield - ensured the success of a Roman archer embroiled in the heat of warfare.

On the modern battlefield, metalwork is no less important than it was 2,000 years ago, though it has become more precise - influenced as much by the digital age as the Iron Age.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Daniel Baker, 3rd Maintenance Squadron Fabrication Flight aircraft metals technician, carries on the tradition of metal craftsmanship in support of 3rd Wing and other units at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

Baker's job is to machine and weld parts for aircraft and ground-support equipment. His ability to make parts from blueprints and billets of material prevents the need for evacuation of equipment to depot-level maintenance, saving downtime for mission-critical equipment.

Though most parts can be sourced through the supply system, there are occasions when only the Fabrication Flight can get a fighter or an auxiliary power unit back into action.

"Our role isn't very big [compared to traditional parts supply], because we don't have a lot of parts all the time," Baker said. "But when there is something, it's pretty important. We like to say we're the last line of maintenance defense. If we can't fix it, then it has to be sent to depot or ordered new."

Baker, like his blacksmith forebear, takes a billet of metal and forms it into something useful. But instead of using fire and a hammer to bang the material into shape, the Airman machines parts from billets, removing unnecessary material to craft a useful item.

Michelangelo is credited with having said of his craft, "Every block of stone has a statue inside it, and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it." The idea isn't dissimilar to what Baker does with a lathe or a mill in his efforts to reveal a bracket or a fastener hiding in a silvery cylinder.

According to Air Force Master Sgt. Christopher Baldwin, 3rd MXS Aircraft Metals Technology noncommissioned officer-in-charge and Baker's supervisor, a metals fabrication job starts when an aircraft crew chief or equipment mechanic identifies a maintenance fault requiring a part replacement. They check technical data to determine if the part is procurable through the Fabrication Flight. If approved, the part request is routed through supply channels to Baldwin's office.

The Fabrication Flight determines if they have the capability to make the part. They work up a cost estimate based on the item blueprints, and send the information back to the unit. The metals technicians will ensure they have the necessary materials, ordering anything needed to complete the job. The blueprints stipulate materials, specifications and tolerances for the final product. A technician will then mill or lathe the part using manual (by-hand) machining or computer-numerical control, which is a computer-driven machining process.

Baker, a native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, said he is most comfortable with traditional machining, because he isn't particularly computer savvy. The Airman first put his hand on a machinist's lathe during his senior year in high school.

With experience in woodworking and other craftsman disciplines, Baker decided during his junior year that he would take the vocational technology option offered for his senior year. He made the decision too late, however, and machining was the only discipline available that appealed to him.

Though the career field didn't have the pizzazz of auto body or the day-to-day visibility of electrical wiring, Baker said he took to his new trade with enthusiasm.

"For some reason - I don't know what it was - it just clicked," he said. "So I stuck with it."

After graduation, Baker worked as a civilian machinist apprentice, often making parts for defense contracts. After two years in the civilian sector, he said he decided to join the Air Force and follow in the footsteps of his Airman father and service member grandfathers.

"I realized I wanted to do something special and use what I learned for a greater purpose," Baker recalled.

He surfed the recruiting websites, with Air Force Specialty Code 2A7X1, Aircraft Metals Technology, catching his eye because it included welding - something he didn't learn in high school. He attended technical school at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland - an Army post - where he broadened his machining skills alongside technicians representing every branch of service.

Baker said he was struck by the differences between his civilian shop and what he experienced in the Air Force.

"In the military, we check our tooling and make sure they're good, labeled and calibrated," he explained. "Everything has a designated location, everything is clean, everything is serviceable, everything has a place to go.

"In the civilian world, you can have a drawer full of wrenches. It's not very efficient, but so long as you can get it out the door in a timely manner, that's what matters."

After graduating technical school in 2009, Baker reported to McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, where he primarily worked with KC-135 Stratotanker refuelers. During his assignment to McConnell, Baker deployed to Southwest Asia where he fabricated parts for KC-135s, B-1 Lancer bombers, and Navy P-3 Orion maritime surveillance aircraft. He said it was especially rewarding to fabricate parts for the crew-entry doors of a B-1, allowing the crew to provide air support for ground forces in Afghanistan.

JBER is Baker's second duty station, an assignment that has proven equally challenging and rewarding, he said.

The machinist recently deployed to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, for Valiant Shield 2014 - a large exercise including all U.S. military services. Because the joint force didn't require any machine work during the exercise, Baker kept busy assisting aircrews in rebuilding five main landing-gear assemblies. The experience forced the Airman out of his comfort zone and gave him valuable insight into the Airmen he supports every day.

Back at home station, Baldwin makes a habit of pushing Baker and other aircraft metals technicians out of their comfort zones. Recently, Baldwin assigned Baker to a team tasked with making an awards board for 3rd Wing.

The 4- by 8-foot board is made of aluminum, birch wood and plexiglass, and incorporates LED lighting. As daunting as integrating non-metallic components was for Baker, perhaps the biggest challenge for the Luddite was fully graduating from manual to CNC machining.

Baker said he isn't particularly comfortable with digital technology such as smartphones or tablets, indicating he might have more in common with the Roman blacksmith than he does with technology belonging to the Fabrication Flight.

But Baker came to grips with CNC procedures, a process that starts with the machinist sitting behind a computer desk. Baker worked up the blueprints using computer-aided design software. The design was then sent to a computer-aided manufacturing file, which translated the CAD information into commands that could be interpreted by a machine tool. He loaded the tooling into a CNC mill and ensured the system made the frame parts to the required specifications.

Baldwin said the process required creativity and determination on Baker's part.

"That's the great thing about this job: you do have a lot of creative freedom, even when you're making something from a blueprint," the Spring Hill, Florida, native said. "The way you get to the end result is going to be different. Five different people are going to make it five different ways, but the end result is going to be the same."

Like the Roman blacksmith, Baker often uses his extensive skills to work on a small part of a weapons system. And like the Roman legionary, F-22 Raptor pilots and other customers rely on the skilled metal worker to stay in the fight.

"Being able to get the part, make it or weld it, and then send it back out in a timely fashion gets the aircraft off the ground," Baker explained. "There's no ordering or loss of mission capability. That's the most satisfying thing."