Inter-shop teamwork makes the final ‘cut’ Published Jan. 16, 2008 By Tech. Sgt. Dennis Kilker Jr. 910th Airlift Wing Public Affairs YOUNGSTOWN AIR RESERVE STATION, Ohio -- One of the hallmarks of a successful operation is its member's ability to work as a team. Teamwork is defined as a cooperative or coordinated effort by a group of persons acting together as a team or for a common cause. Interservice as well as intraservice rivalries have been around since the inception of the different units. Friendly or not, they often bring out the best and, occasionally, the worst in the competitive spirits of all involved in the units themselves. Bearing this in mind, it often comes as a pleasant surprise when units that could be rivals come together and work as a team or for a common cause. Such is the case with the 910th Maintenance Squadron. Members of the Machine Shop, Metals Technology, Paint Shop, and Sheetmetal Shop accomplished just that. The backbone of Youngstown Air Reserve Station is the C-130 Hercules aircraft. This aircraft utilizes the Rolls Royce T-56-15 turboprop engines in its global, multi-faceted missions. The story starts way back in 1999 when Tech. Sgt. Benjamin Sewall had the idea that it might be beneficial to have a working model of a turboprop aircraft engine. If that sounds simple, Sergeant Sewall threw in a ripple-why not make an actual working cutaway of an aircraft engine? "There are a lot of these engines lying around not being used, so why not?" said Sergeant Sewall. Under Sergeant Sewall's direction, the members of the maintenance squadron started cutting away sections of a Rolls Royce T-56-7 Turboprop engine. With the exception of a couple of different parts, "the engines are virtually identical," said Sergeant Sewall. The project was temporarily scrapped during the 9/11 attack on America as vital manpower was devoted to the all-important 910th Airlift Wing flying mission. Since then, the project of the cutaway has been resurrected. Sergeant Sewall, who attended the Rolls Royce engine maintenance school, makes it clear that while he was the driving force behind the project, many others contributed. Every shop in aircraft maintenance contributed to the project in one way or another. Further, it was only through their contributions that the project has been such a success. Upon looking closely at the model, it becomes clear that it took not only the mechanics, but Airmen from Metals Technology (M-Tech), to disassemble the engine. The Sheetmetal Shop cut many of the parts in half for better visibility, and the Paint Shop added some realistic color to define borders and add a sharpness that would have been missed if left out. Now that it's painted up and assembled, the engine cutaway is not only cool to look at, but an excellent training aid. "Anyone in aircraft maintenance has a reason to look at it," said Sergeant Sewall. "This is the only place to do rigging training." Still, as far as his project has come, Sergeant Sewall wants to add an electric motor and props to make the engine even more realistic. All in all, not a bad bit of work from a group of individuals from separate shops who chose to come together as a team and put something together that is really unique. The word teamwork can be an overused expression, but when something real and tangible is the result, it's plain to see why it works, works well and truly is the backbone of any successful project.