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      Master Sgt. Eric, 432nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Reaper Aircraft Maintenance Unit production superintendent, stands with the engine trainer he created June 19, 2017, at Creech Air Force Base, Nev. He saw a need to have a power capable training engine to practice engine rigging, which involves tuning the actuators that translate electrical signals to mechanical commands. If done improperly the engine can shutoff when not intended. The trainer allowed maintainers to train on this vital task without taking an operational aircraft out of the rotation. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Christian Clausen)MQ-9 maintainer’s innovation expedites engine training
                        
                        
                        Master Sgt. Eric, the 432nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Reaper Aircraft Maintenance Unit production superintendent, stands with the engine trainer he created June 19, 2017, at Creech Air Force Base, Nev. He saw a need for a power capable training engine to practice engine rigging, which involves tuning the actuators that translate electrical signals to mechanical commands. If done improperly, the engine could shut off when not intended. The trainer allowed maintainers to train on this vital task without taking an operational aircraft out of the rotation. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Christian Clausen)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        In 2016, Master Sgt. Eric, 432nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Reaper Aircraft Maintenance Unit production superintendent created an engine trainer from scavenged parts which include all the electrical components displayed for the MQ-9 Reaper maintainers at Creech Air Force Base. The trainer allows MQ-9 Reaper maintainers to practice engine maintenance at any time. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Christian Clausen)MQ-9 maintainer’s innovation expedites engine training
                        
                        
                        In 2016, Master Sgt. Eric, the 432nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Reaper Aircraft Maintenance Unit production superintendent created an engine trainer from scavenged parts which include all the electrical components displayed for the MQ-9 Reaper maintainers at Creech Air Force Base, Nev. The trainer allows MQ-9 Reaper maintainers to practice engine maintenance at any time. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Christian Clausen)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        Staff Sgt. Joshua, 432nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron MQ-9 Reaper crew chief, uses an engine trainer to refresh his skills June 19, 2017, at Creech Air Force Base, Nev. The engine trainer can be programmed to display certain errors which maintainers must correct. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Christian Clausen)MQ-9 maintainer’s innovation expedites engine training
                        
                        
                        Staff Sgt. Joshua, the 432nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron MQ-9 Reaper crew chief, uses an engine trainer to refresh his skills June 19, 2017, at Creech Air Force Base, Nev. The engine trainer can be programmed to display certain errors which maintainers must correct. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Christian Clausen)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

MQ-9 maintainer’s innovation expedites engine trainingPublished July 6, 2017
                    
                    By Senior Airman Christian Clausen
                    
                    
                    432nd Wing/432nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
            **CREECH AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. (AFNS)  --**In order to enable airpower, the Air Force calls upon skilled and competent maintainers to perform all required functions to keep aircraft ready.
This means maintainers must be properly trained to keep the mission going. When Master Sgt. Eric, the 432nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Reaper Aircraft Maintenance Unit production superintendent, had the opportunity to solve a problem within the MQ-9 Reaper community, he seized it.
The issue was the lack of opportunity to train on MQ-9 engine rigging, a critical task that involves tuning the servos (actuators). The servos take electrical signals and translate them into mechanical commands to ensure the motor performs the correct orders from the pilot. If done improperly, the engine could shut off when not intended, which is a big concern when flying a multi-million dollar aircraft with a single engine.
This job is not performed very often, but when it’s needed, it’s vital to get it right. AMXS maintainers support one of Air Combat Command’s most requested air frames downrange, so available aircraft are limited.
“Not only are we supporting downrange operations, but local training sorties as well, so our operations tempo didn’t allow us to get an aircraft for training very often,” Eric said. “Because this is such a critical task we needed a way to train.”
In 2016, a crashed aircraft from downrange had been sent back to Creech before disposal. The MQ-9 in question had severe structural damage, but the innards were still functional. This got Eric thinking.
“I wondered if it was possible to make the training engine we already had power capable from this crashed aircraft,” he said. “I did the research and it looked possible, then I made sure I had the right servos and controllers and I set off to find the rest of the parts needed.”
It took about eight months of Eric’s spare time before and after shift, but in January 2017, he had finished a fully functional MQ-9 engine trainer. In fact, the trainer was built the same way as a functional MQ-9, with the parts being stored on a compact and portable stand. This is particularly beneficial because maintainers can seamlessly transfer from training to an operational aircraft engine.
However, the biggest advantage is the amount of time saved.
“On an operational aircraft the training alone would take four to five hours but once you’re done training the Airmen, you have to put the plane back to an operational state, which takes another three to four hours,” Eric said. “After that it needs fuels support, quality assurance inspections and engine runs which takes even more time. We’re saving a minimum of eight to 12 man-hours per training session.”
That figure doesn’t count the time spent waiting for an operational aircraft to become available. Whereas, the engine trainer is available 24/7/365 and also helps inexperienced maintainers get a hands-on approach to learning the MQ-9 airframe, which improves the unit’s and maintainer’s readiness.
“Having the training engine allows all aircraft in the unit to be available for their intended purpose ... flying,” said Jeffrey, 432nd Maintenance Group Air Force Engineering and Technical Support. “Normally, aircraft have to be pulled from the flying schedule and dedicated for training use that gets reported as ‘non-mission capable,’ which negatively affects the unit’s mission rates. Having the training engine has a positive effect on the unit’s available aircraft and mission capability rates.”
Jeffrey also said that Eric saved the unit and the Air Force more than $1 million by utilizing serviceable parts scavenged from crashed aircraft rather than buy new parts.
“I’ve been here since 2012 and this trainer is something we’ve needed for a long time, but we didn’t have available assets,” Eric said. “Once the assets became available, I made the time because our Airmen deserve that.”
“This trainer helps because our Airmen can get hands-on training at any time,” said 2nd Lt. Owen, the 432nd AMXS Reaper AMU assistant officer in charge. “It can also be programmed to display troubleshooting issues, so our maintainers have to dig into the schematics, find the problem and fix it. I’ve been in the Air Force 15 years and I’ve never seen anyone do anything like this before.”
While the trainer was developed for the AMXS, General Atomics and other contracted companies have also utilized the engine trainer to learn or refresh their skills. The blueprints to the design have been made accessible to all MQ-9 units in the Air Force.
“Master Sgt. Eric is one of those guys who come along once in a blue moon,” Jeffrey said. “He is highly motivated and has more initiative than anyone I’ve met in a long time. The idea of this trainer was all his and he deserves 100 percent of the credit for the outcomes.”Air Force 



MQ-9 



Reaper 



Air Combat Command 



MQ-9 Reaper 



Creech AFB 



jet engine 



432nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron 



creative Airman 



innovative Airman 



engine training 



military aviation 



military maintainers 



innovation Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                SecAF, CSAF, CMSAF begin Indo-Pacific trip focused on ACE
                    
                    DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fightInnovation
                F-16s arrive to be modified for autonomous testing
                    
                    AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalistsMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 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