Fabrication Airmen show AF the money Published May 31, 2011 By Senior Airman Clay Murray 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- The 52nd Equipment Maintenance Squadron fabrication shop saved the Air Force roughly $100,000 when they opened the doors of their local paint shop to begin work for the first time on an F-16 Fighting Falcon May 6. Previously, the work was contracted out to the SABCA Group, an aerospace firm from Belgium. The workload was transferred to the 52nd Fighter Wing when the firm could no longer meet the demands of the wing. "Usually Hill Air Force Base, [Utah], would do this, but here [in Europe] it's SABCA," said Senior Airman Eric Bouse, 52nd Equipment Maintenance Squadron aircraft structural maintenance journeyman. "We're saving money by doing [the painting] ourselves. This way we aren't charging SABCA when we can just paint it; the Air Force doesn't have to pay because we're taking care of it." Painting and coat application serves a major purpose in preserving the life of an aircraft. Primarily, it prevents various forms of corrosion from jeopardizing aircraft reliability. "Corrosion can cause catastrophic failure if it's in a certain spot," Airman Bouse said. "On the inside of the aircraft there are structural parts. If we don't find that corrosion, it could fail. It's important to find and eliminate it as soon as possible. [Using workcards and the Phase program], we go over the main areas that are prone to corrosion. "There are various types: exfoliation, intergranular and the most common type is pitting. It looks like little dimples in the metal. You need to get it all out, clean it and repaint it to prevent it from happening again." The application is only one part of the process. Sensitive areas need to be taped and covered first before Airmen sand the coating to a workable degree. Then, according to Technical Order 1-1-8, the aircraft must be wiped down before multiple coats of primer and paint are applied. After the proper amount of drying and curing, stencils are marked and applied for the final touches. In between, the plane is washed several times as required. Partial and complete paint jobs are both performed on the F-16s, and that is determined by the state of the coating, Airman Bouse said. Lastly, a seven-level fabrication Airman verifies the job and that all masking tape has been removed. With that completed, Airmen drop the plane's landing gear, and it is towed back out to the flightline. The Air Force Specialty Code for the painting Airmen is equivalent to that of other fabrication workers, but they are divided into two separate shops. "We're all trained to do it, and this is actually the first time we've ever painted a jet. Spangdahlem hasn't painted a jet in seven years, and I believe some of these jets haven't been painted in 12 years," Airman Bouse said. Spangdahlem AB's first paint job was just recently finished and a second jet is currently in the shop for its coating overhaul.