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thedrifter
12-31-03, 07:14 AM
Crew Chief: Man behind the pilots
Submitted by: MCB Camp Butler
Story Identification Number: 20031230185858
Story by Sgt. Chris Eriksen



MARINE CORPS AIR STATION FUTENMA, Okinawa, Japan — -- Lance Cpl. Rick Binkley, a crew chief with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron-361, Marine Aircraft Group-36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, plays an important role in the daily activities on Okinawa, Japan. The Statesville native arrives several hours before each flight to inspect the aircraft, listen for the engine to roar to life and complete his preflight inspections.

Crew chiefs are responsible for ensuring the safety of the aircraft prior to, during
and after helicopter flights, according to Staff Sgt. Charles Miller, crew chief, HMM-361.

“Crew chiefs are the enlisted guy in the back (of the aircraft) who takes care of that aircraft during flight,” Miller, a Denver native said. “Any problem that comes up during flight we should be able to answer and take care of it.”

Pilots recognize the important role crew chiefs play, according to Capt. Jason Walker, scheduler writer, HMM-361.

“Our crew chiefs are an integral part of the crew on a CH-53E,” Walker said. “They have a variety of tasks, depending on the mission.”

Crew chiefs spend hours performing daily maintenance inspections and inspections of the aircraft prior to and after any flight, according to Binkley, crew chief.

“We take care of the aircraft from start to finish,” Binkley, a Statesville, N.C., native said.

A typical day consists of showing up four hours prior to flight, perform a daily inspection to make sure aircraft is safe for flight, fly the mission, come back and do a post flight inspection, according to Miller.

“Every part of the aircraft has to be inspected to make sure it is safe for flight and that nothing broke during flight,” Miller explained.

Once the pilot starts the aircraft, the crew chief is responsible for everyone on board as well as making sure the area around the outside of the aircraft is clear.

“The crew chief is out front of the aircraft during turn up (starting of the aircraft) to communicate with the pilot if there are any problems,” Miller explained. “We’re also checking for any kinds of leaks and that everything starts up correctly.”

Communication is an important part of the crew chief’s responsibilities, according to Walker.

“There's a constant flow of communication between the crew chiefs and the pilots because the crew chiefs see things that the pilots can't. Since the pilots can only see forward 180 degrees through the cockpit windows, the crew chiefs are responsible for the rear 180 degrees, and directly below the aircraft,” Walker said.

According to Miller, there is more to being a crew chief than just inspections and long hours, there is also a lot of qualifications that a crew chief must have.

“After all your training and certifications you still have to have good eye sight, pass a flight physical and a swim (qualification) just to get on (flight duty) orders,” Miller explained. “That’s the meat of (qualifications).”

Miller also stated that there are certain mental qualities that a crew chief must also possess.

“Crew chiefs have to be mentally confident and be able to think on their feet,” Miller said. “They can’t be shy or shaky; they must be able to react calmly to any situation.”
Crew chiefs have a background in aircraft maintenance, according to Miller.

“Most crew chiefs either come straight from school where they attend a mechanics course before crew chief school or are mechanics who switched over and are home grown like me,” Miller explained.

Walker noted that since mechanics cannot always be present that crew chiefs are relied upon for their experience as mechanics as well.

“Every crew chief is also a mechanic and performs a wide variety of maintenance on the aircraft every day. There is always maintenance to be done, and not enough experienced hands to do it, so they keep very busy throughout their time in the fleet,” Walker said.

Learning how to maintain a machine as complicated as the “Super Stallion” takes a long time. Walker noted that one of his newer crew chiefs, Binkley, was a fine example of how crew chiefs gain valuable experience over time and put it to use.

“Lance Cpl. Binkley is one of our newer crew chiefs, and he is progressing towards more qualifications every day,” Walker said. “It can take in excess of a year before a crew chief is fully qualified to fly every mission the CH-53E performs, based on how often that crew chief flies.”

Binkley described a crew chief as a jack-of-all-trades who takes care of the aircraft so that the pilot can concentrate on flying.

“A crew chief is a vital member of the aircrew who knows the ins and outs of all the systems and takes care of them,” Binkley explained. “He takes care of the aircraft from start to finish and backs up the pilot.”
According to Binkley, being a crew chief himself, taking care of the aircraft is a rewarding job.

“I love to fly,” Binkley explained. “It’s all about coming in and getting the aircraft ready for the pilots to fly, launching and doing (operations). It’s all excitement from start to finish.”

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/8E521E9499C081AC85256E0C0083BE29?opendocument

Sempers,

Roger
:marine:

hankhoffman
12-31-03, 08:11 AM
From a Crash Fire Rescue guy, they are the people that we looked to for answers during an emergency. I was transported by helo to Bridgeport and 29 Stumps many times from Tustin and the Crew Chiefs were top shelf.

One time on a CH-46 the Crew Chief put oil and bolts above the doors to the engines in the rear of the aircraft. During the flight the helo would jump, he ran back to open the doors and this oil and stuff hit the deck. Man did we freek, then he started to laugh at us. Damn, I was used to being on the ground for emergencies. Thanks for all the good times guys!

ANDREW CLARK
04-24-08, 12:23 AM
I just enlisted and I will be leaving for boot camp this September. I have enlisted to be a Crew Chief and I would like to know as much as I possibly can about the MOS. If there is anything you could tell me it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.