Travis AFB Airman’s innovation saves Air Force $10M, potential to save more
Published Dec. 15, 2021
By Nicholas Pilch
60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS) --
Airmen across the Air Force have been charged by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. to cut through the layers of bureaucracy and challenge the status quo to improve the Air Force’s decision-making timelines and processes.
Tech. Sgt. Eric Fanslau, 60th Maintenance Squadron Dash-21 Aircraft Support section chief, has embraced the challenge, saving the Air Force $10 million with the potential to save the Air Force another $20 million, he said.
The C-5M Super Galaxy has been around for 51 years. It is the largest aircraft in the Air Force inventory and hauls the largest equipment. The workhorse has moved NASA telescopes and satellites, and brought CH-47 Chinook and AH-64 Apache helicopters around the world at a moment’s notice. The single piece of equipment on the C-5M that makes sure those missions happen is a small, 3-square-foot winch, located in the front and rear of the C-5 that pulls this equipment on and off the aircraft.
Tech. Sgt. Eric Fanslau, 60th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Dash-21 Aircraft Support section chief, innovated a way to repair C-5M Super Galaxy winches in-house, saving the Air Force $10 million so far with a potential to save another $20 million as repairs continue at Travis Air Force Base, Calif. (U.S. Air Force video by Nicholas Pilch)
https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2874241/travis-afb-airmans-innovation-saves-air-force-10m-potential-to-save-more/
