Team Summit Germany Blog: Jason Line
Slide Show
Team Summit's visit to Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany continues today. Each driver is offering their thoughts on the event. 2011 NHRA Pro Stock Champion (and former member of the United States Air Force) Jason Line takes you through Tuesday’s activities.
As you read in Dan Runte’s blog, during our visit to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center on Monday, we were able to see the embodiment of the tremendous spirit, dedication and passion of the young women and men serving in our armed forces. Today we were able to experience a completely different, yet equally impressive facet of our military’s power.
Our day got off to an early start with a quick breakfast at our hotel and a 90-minute drive on the famous Autobahn to Spangladehm Air Base. Upon our arrival, the unmistakable sound of jet engines pierced the air, and we were treated to an impromptu air show as numerous A-10 Warthogs and F-16 fighters took off on their morning maneuvers.
Upon meeting up with our on-site contact, we headed over to the 52 CMS Propulsion Flight building, which is the centralized engine repair facility servicing 108 F-110 & 47 T34 jet engines for the Spangladehm & Aviano (Italy) air bases. Those engines are worth an estimated 547 million dollars!
We were introduced to Tech Sergeant Frost, who took us through a very detailed tour of their immaculate facility. He showed us numerous engines in a wide range of repair, from totally disassembled to ready to be reinstalled in an airframe. Naturally, as an engine builder, this was right up my alley.
As part of his presentation, Sgt. Frost explained that the F-110 engines were used specifically in the F-16 fighter. Among the many parts in these extremely intricate engines are 1,014 turbine blades that combined to produce over 30,000 pounds of thrust. Sgt. Frost also used another disassembled engine to show us the elaborate array of spray nozzles which produce the powerful afterburner. He mentioned that each engine had a life span of approximately 4,000 cycles ,and that it takes approximately 16 days to assemble one unit from the ground up to fully operational, including testing. Considering how complex this unit is and the demands that are placed upon it, that’s quite remarkable.
To illustrate some of the challenges the team faces in their everyday operation, we were shown one engine which nicknamed the “Dirt Devil”. Apparently, the plane in which it was mounted had suffered nose gear failure which allowed to engine to ingest a ton of dirt and suffer incredible damage. Even though the initial disassembly was almost halfway completed (with the core severely damaged), there was still an incredible amount of dirt still to be removed. Even so, the crew was confident this unit would be fully repaired, recertified and back in the air in a very short period of time. As I said before, remarkable!
However, it was our next stop that provided us with the day’s signature moment. From the maintenance facility we proceeded over to the jet-engine equivalent of a dyno room, affectionately known as the “hush house”.
We had the pleasure of meeting Tech Sergeant McClure and Chief Master Sergeant Green, who promised to give us a display of power unlike any other we had seen. We stepped into the soundproof control room; through the protective glass we could see a F-110 engine mounted securely on a platform in the test bay, idling at a relatively low speed, which they told us they would be running through the paces shortly.
This is where it gets good. We were given the opportunity to experience the power of a fully operational F-16 engine first-hand--by sitting underneath it! Naturally, the four of us jumped at the chance. We put on the necessary hearing protection and scrambled into position under the engine while the technicians ran through four power cycles; we saw the flames raging from the afterburner right above our heads!
I know it is hard to tell from the pictures in the slide show, but Greg, Dan, Rickie and myself got to huddle underneath that engine, and we had a ball. It certainly was not what I had in mind for the day’s activities when I got up this morning, but I’m both thrilled and honored that we were allowed to do it. As Greg said, it puts our Pro Stock motors in a completely different perspective. We were also allowed to stand in other safe areas of the bay while they ran additional tests, It is something I know none of us will soon forget.
After a quick stop for lunch, we headed over to the Brick House, which is the community center at Spangladehm, for a quick autograph session. Each of us were also interviewed by the Armed Forces Network, and we taped a holiday message to the troops, thanking them for their service and wishing them the very best in this holiday season. That's a tape we hope they will be playing extensively over the next few weeks.
Our final stop at Spangladehm was another training facility hangar where a fully operational F-16 fighter and an A-10 Warthog “tank buster” were parked, along with a wide variety of armament. Tech Sergeant McGuire very kindly and carefully took us through, allowing us to get an up-close and personal view of these most impressive machines. The pride that these young men and women take in their work is not only obvious, but truly deserved.
We thanked our gracious hosts for an informative and entertaining day and boarded our bus back to Ramstein, where we had an enjoyable dinner before turning in for the night.
We have one final day here in Germany, and my pal Rickie Jones will be the blogger of honor as he puts the finishing touches on our 2011 tour. As you can tell from today’s activities, you never know what we’ll be up to. In closing, I would just like to thank all the brave young men and women we have come across over the last few days, and thank them for their tremendous service. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!
