Aircraft techs skill up for Air Force tanker

The new Airbus KC-30A MRTT is transforming the aviation trades at Amberley’s 33 Squadron, with personnel maintaining the new technology aboard the world’s most advanced tanker.

Traditionally, RAAF Aircraft Technician’s (A-Techs) tasks relating to engines and airframe would cover the mechanical aspects of systems such as flight controls, hydraulics, and fuel.

For A-Techs such as CPL Jamie Johnstone, the MRTT represents a change to computer-based workflow.

“Now that the aircraft are more computerised, much of the monitoring and testing is self-done,” CPL Johnstone said.

“So we spend more time in the cockpit running self-test programs which monitor the aircraft through its on-board maintenance computers.”

“Before we would go out and look at a hydraulics cylinder or a flight control and determine if it was broken or needed replacing.

“Now we can run a diagnostic test and the computer will tell us, for example, if an actuator is performing the way it should and whether or not it needs replacing.”

The computers on-board the KC-30A constantly monitor and process all the aircraft’s systems in flight.

When the aircraft lands, the A-Techs access the MRTT’s computer system and print out a report with diagnostic information that has been recorded during operations.

The computers provide times, fault codes, and other information regarding any problem that may have occurred during a flight enabling the A-Techs to research the best maintenance solution.

CPL Johnstone maintained the RAAF’s venerable Boeing 707 tanker before starting his training on the MRTT giving him a unique insight into the two aircraft.

“The MRTT is much better to work on as far as time and ease goes because of the way the aircraft is designed and made, but you don’t get as a much hands-on as the 707,” he said.

Another significant change for the technicians is the switch from printed to computer-based manuals.

“The printed manual equivalent of what’s on one Toughbook (laptop computer) would line up to about four metres in normal A4 sized sheets, and that’s only the basic stuff,” CPL Johnstone said.

“The computer based manuals also help when we deploy. With the old Boeing 707, we would carry around a box of books of considerable size and weight.”

The Number 33 Squadron A-Techs complete eight months of tuition including three months in classroom learning about the green, civilian aircraft as well as practical consolidation training with QANTAS in Perth and Sydney.

CPL Johnstone enjoys sharing his enthusiasm for the RAAF and the MRTT as a mentor with the Air Force Cadets.

His son Kyle joined the local group, 224 Squadron and CPL Johnstone encourages the Cadets to explore careers in the RAAF.

“I like to see the young people join as it’s a great living working as a RAAF Av-Tech or A-Tech,” he said.

“You get paid good money to maintain the world’s first Airbus air-to-air refueller and the RAAF are now world leaders in this technology.”