Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Airmen assigned to the 62nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron spray a C-17 Globemaster III with deicing liquid at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., Jan. 16, 2019. Ice and snow on the flight control surfaces, such as the tail and wings, can introduce unknown aerodynamic characteristics that may render the aircraft unsafe for takeoff. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Tryphena Mayhugh)Airmen battle ice, snow to ensure readiness
                        
                        
                        Airmen assigned to the 62nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron spray a C-17 Globemaster III with deicing liquid at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., Jan. 16, 2019. Ice and snow on the flight control surfaces, such as the tail and wings, can introduce unknown aerodynamic characteristics that may render the aircraft unsafe for takeoff. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Tryphena Mayhugh)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        In the haze of a light fog, Tech. Sgt. Salomon Gutierrez, 62nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron noncommissioned officer in charge of Silver Flight, prepares to spray deicing liquid onto the wing of a C-17 Globemaster III at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., Jan. 16, 2019. Snow and ice can make the aircraft heavy and freeze the flight control surfaces making it unsafe for take-off. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Tryphena Mayhugh)Airmen battle ice, snow to ensure readiness
                        
                        
                        In the haze of a light fog, Tech. Sgt. Salomon Gutierrez, 62nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron noncommissioned officer in charge of silver flight, prepares to spray deicing liquid onto the wing of a C-17 Globemaster III at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., Jan. 16, 2019. Snow and ice can make the aircraft heavy and freeze the flight-control surfaces making it unsafe for takeoff. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Tryphena Mayhugh)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        By controlling the bucket seat of a deicing truck, Tech. Sgt. Salomon Gutierrez, 62nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron noncommissioned officer in charge of Silver Flight, sprays deicing liquid onto a C-17 Globemaster III at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., Jan. 16, 2019. The purpose of the deicing liquid is to make the aircraft safe to take off. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Tryphena Mayhugh)Airmen battle ice, snow to ensure readiness
                        
                        
                        By controlling the bucket seat of a deicing truck, Tech. Sgt. Salomon Gutierrez, 62nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron noncommissioned officer in charge of silver flight, sprays deicing liquid onto a C-17 Globemaster III at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., Jan. 16, 2019. The purpose of the deicing liquid is to make the aircraft safe to take off. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Tryphena Mayhugh)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        In order to make the aircraft safe to fly, Tech. Sgt. Salomon Gutierrez, 62nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron noncommissioned officer in charge of Silver Flight, sprays a C-17 Globemaster III’s wing with deicing liquid at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., Jan. 16, 2019. Gutierrez and other 62nd AMXS Airmen deiced the wings and tail of the aircraft to make it safe to fly. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Tryphena Mayhugh)Airmen battle ice, snow to ensure readiness
                        
                        
                        In order to make the aircraft safe to fly, Tech. Sgt. Salomon Gutierrez, 62nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron noncommissioned officer in charge of silver flight, sprays a C-17 Globemaster III’s wing with deicing liquid at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., Jan. 16, 2019. Gutierrez and other 62nd AMXS Airmen deiced the wings and tail of the aircraft to make it safe to fly. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Tryphena Mayhugh)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

Airmen battle ice, snow to ensure readinessPublished Feb. 13, 2019
                    
                    By Senior Airman Tryphena Mayhugh
                    
                    
                    62nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
            **JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. (AFNS) --**JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. (AFNS) -- Low clouds and a light fog shroud the flightline as the Airmen wait indoors for their schedule for the day. It’s a brisk, cold morning promising ice on the aircrafts blanketed in the mist.
For aircrews, ice or snow on their jet can prove to be a major hazard, and before they can fly, maintenance Airmen must deice the aircraft four hours before takeoff to help mitigate those hazards.
The wings and tail of aircraft scheduled to depart is coated in the deicing fluid, which is similar to antifreeze.
“The purpose is to remove any unsafe flying condition caused by icing,” said Senior Airman Douglas Mitchell, 62nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief. “Any frozen contamination remaining on the horizontal stabilizer and other flight control surfaces can cause unknown aerodynamic characteristics which may render the aircraft unsafe for takeoff.”
To combat the cold, 62nd AMXS Airmen don protective layers; they step outside to find most of the clouds have lifted. They load into two trucks and head for the C-17 Globemaster III they are tasked with deicing.
“The ice makes (the aircraft) heavier and can freeze the flight controls,” said Senior Airman Ian Bartlett, 62nd AMXS crew chief. “Any flight controls not being able to move properly can potentially affect the way that they fly. It can cause damage to the aircraft. That’s kind of the name of our game, to make it safer for pilots to fly.”
One Airman controls the bucket seat attached to an extendable lift on each truck that sprays the deicing fluid onto the jet. The process creates an orange mist that halos the C-17 as maintainers spray the tail and wings of the aircraft.
The Airmen remain in constant communication with one another to ensure those in the buckets aren’t getting too close to the jet and those in the trucks know where everyone is at all times.
“Communicating with the other truck can be difficult because you want to make sure no one is out of the truck before you start spraying,” Bartlett said. “The most difficult part is getting everything right, making sure you’re not messing up.”
While the Airmen spray their final touches on the jet, the sun rises over the horizon and casts its warming rays on the flightline and streaks pink and yellow clouds across the sky. Working together, the two teams have made quick work of their task, that’s also enjoyable.
“I was saying to one of the new guys who was in the bucket with me earlier, it’s kind of like playing a video game,” Bartlett said. “You are shooting the liquid at a plane, it’s kind of fun.”
The talent of the Airmen who deice McChord’s aircraft provide a vital tool for keeping McChord C-17s mission-ready. Maintenance Airmen demonstrate their skills and talent time and again.
The sun is shining brightly as the Airmen in the buckets return to the ground and the trucks pull away. Another C-17 has been successfully deiced. The 62nd AMXS Airmen return to their building to see what other tasks are required in order to keep C-17s in the sky and ready to fly their next mission in support of rapid, global mobility.maintenance 



flightline 



C-17 



C-17 Globemaster III 



62nd AMXS 



aircrews 



horizontal stabilizer 



flight control surfaces 



deicing fluid 



antifreeze 



deice 



aerodynamic 



62nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron  Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil