The Aviation Thread [Contains Lots of Awesome Pictures]

So I was a part of this:

Deployed Mildenhall jet receives black-letter status

A black-letter jet in the Air Force is equivalent to the sighting of a unicorn among a herd of horses.

Rarely talked about, and even less witnessed, is an aircraft which has zero discrepancies. Because of its rarity, earning "black-letter jet" status is a coveted achievement. For most, to be a part of the process is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity - spoken about in reverent tones and fondly recalled as a highlight in one's career.

This achievement now belongs to a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to RAF Mildenhall. The jet, tail number 63-8027, currently deployed to Moron Air Base, Spain, is the first black-letter jet assigned here in seven years.

"The last black-letter aircraft we had at (RAF) Mildenhall was in 2006; this one is especially noteworthy as it happened at a deployed location with limited resources and personnel," said U.S. Air Force Maj. Charissa Cherrington, 351st Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron commander.

The tanker, originally maintained by the 100th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, continually received routine maintenance and quality assurance checks from the 351st EARS maintenance section. It was while forward-deployed to Moron AB where the aircraft received its coveted status. Upon confirmation of being a black-letter jet, U.S. Air Force Col. Nancy Bozzer, 100th Operations Group commander, and U.S. Air Force Maj. Rofelio Grinston, 100th AMXS commander, flew to Moron and personally congratulated the crew who made it possible.

The crew received a personalized plaque, which is proudly displayed in their squadron. Additionally, the crew were presented a Spanish tile, screen printed with a group photo in front of their jet, presented by members of the host base. The tile will be displayed inside the jet to commemorate the achievement. The accomplishment also belonged to the host base as well as U.S. Marines, who also provided assistance.

Achieving zero maintenance write-ups may sound simple. However, on a highly-complex, 50-year-old airframe, it's anything but simple. Even the smallest repair, such as a burned out light bulb, will result in a maintenance discrepancy -- thus keeping the aircraft from qualifying for black-letter status. For any aircraft, albeit one as old as this particular jet, achieving black-letter status is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the maintenance crew assigned to it.



Linky
 
It's pronounced "more own" but I do wake up every morning seeing a water tower that calls me a Moron. :lol:


Thanks! Many, many alcoholic beverages were consumed shortly after that photo was taken.
 
It's pronounced "more own" but I do wake up every morning seeing a water tower that calls me a Moron. :lol:

It could be worst, if you flew an Airbus the plane would call you a retard every landing :p
 
So I recently bought a couple of airliners.

* snip PMDG pics *
:cool:

They look good.

73NG and 777. Very nice

I might be getting a new job in the next month or so. More details shortly

Good luck with the job.

Dunno why, but it reminded me of this:

Top Gun said:
"But you remember one thing: if you screw up just this [pinches fingers for emphasis] much,
you'll be flying a cargo plane full of rubber dog shit out of Hong Kong!"

:lol:

So I was a part of this:

Deployed Mildenhall jet receives black-letter status

Outstanding KaJuN! :thumbsup:
Must quite an achievenment on a KC-135.

:cool:
 
In that case this is relevant......7

 
Although I've read the article... I still don't understand what it means. So this plane is special because nothing is defective?
 
Yep.

Planes have a snag book, in which all deficiencies are written up by the flying crew or the maintenance personnel. Minor deficiencies are sometimes fixed only at the next scheduled maintenance, so the plane fly with open snags.
 
What happens a lot is that something will break and we don't have the equipment or facilities to repair it ourselves so the write up is carried until it goes in for a scheduled major inspection (fuel tank problems are notorious for this). Those scheduled inspections themselves are also write ups that pop up automatically within a certain window of the inspection being due.
 
Ah Concordski! The one whose plans were gradually leaked to the Soviets with a few minor imperfections. :evil:
 
Last edited:
Ah Concordski! The one whose plans were gradually leaked to the Soviets with a few minor imperfections. :evil:
To be honest, I did spend some time looking at those plans behind Andrei Tupolev, expecting to find "British Aircraft Corporation" written on them somewhere. ;)
 
Top