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        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Staff Sgt. Nickolas Hill cuts excess velcro from an air deflector , Dec. 3, 2013, at the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, Southwest Asia. Hill helped create 44 air deflectors which are used on air conditioners that cool a variety of aircraft. Creating the air deflectors saved production time, time to order and ship, and maintenance dollars. Hill is the 379th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron aircraft flight equipment back shop assistant NCO in charge. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. David Miller)131203-F-EN483-012
                        
                        
                        Staff Sgt. Nickolas Hill cuts excess velcro from an air deflector , Dec. 3, 2013, at the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, Southwest Asia. Hill helped create 44 air deflectors which are used on air conditioners that cool a variety of aircraft. Creating the air deflectors saved production time, time to order and ship, and maintenance dollars. Hill is the 379th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron aircraft flight equipment back shop assistant NCO in charge. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. David Miller)
                
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        Tech. Sgt. Andrew Wahlin attaches an air deflector to an air conditioning unit Dec. 3, 2013, at the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, Southwest Asia. Wahlin helped create 44 air deflectors which are used on air conditioners that cool a variety of aircraft. Creating the air deflectors saved production time, time to order and ship, and maintenance dollars. Wahlin is the 379th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron aircraft flight equipment back shop NCO in charge. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. David Miller)131203-F-EN483-038
                        
                        
                        Tech. Sgt. Andrew Wahlin attaches an air deflector to an air conditioning unit Dec. 3, 2013, at the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, Southwest Asia. Wahlin helped create 44 air deflectors which are used on air conditioners that cool a variety of aircraft. Creating the air deflectors saved production time, time to order and ship, and maintenance dollars. Wahlin is the 379th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron aircraft flight equipment back shop NCO in charge. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. David Miller)
                
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Small shop spreads cool savingsPublished Dec. 6, 2013
                    
                    By Master Sgt. David Miller
                    
                    
                    379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
            **SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) --**During the summer months at the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, a properly working air conditioner is a priority for Airmen and for aircraft assigned here to support decisive combat airpower and 30 percent of U.S. Air Forces Central Command's daily sorties.Aerospace ground equipment technicians duplicate aircraft systems on the ground and when a critical part of the air conditioners started to fail, a two-person shop created a solution that saved production, order and shipping time, as well as maintenance cost.Tech. Sgt. Andrew Wahlin and Staff Sgt. Nickolas Hill make up the 379th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron aircraft flight equipment back shop. The two Airmen took the initiative to replace 44 worn air deflectors for 22 air conditioning units that are valued at nearly $172,000 each."We received the technical order and an air deflector and created the same product with material we had on hand," said Hill, the AFE back shop assistant NCO in charge.The deflectors help in the efficiency of the air conditioner and prolong the life of the unit. The air deflectors installed on the units deflect hot exhaust air that is blown up and away from the intake, allowing the intake to pull cooler ambient air in.For the two Airmen, one air deflector took nearly 40 minutes to complete."I started out a bit slow on the first one I sewed," Hill said. "I got faster and more confident in my sewing skills as I made more of the deflectors."The 44 flaps the sergeants made saved nearly $17,000, not including shipping costs.Wahlin, the AFE back shop NCO in charge said, "We fabricate items here to repair parachutes and survival equipment for all bases in the U.S. Air Forces Central Command area of responsibility. The air conditioning air deflectors were reverse engineered."Slowly, the savings are spreading throughout the units."Other units know we exist and we have skills that can save time and money," said Capt. John Bruyere, the 379th EOSS aircraft flight equipment officer. "They can come over and get a cheaper alternative that is just as good as the manufacturer's product."379th Air Expeditionary Wing 



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