SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. – Airmen assigned to the 4th Maintenance Group tested out a new locally manufactured conformal fuel tank stand at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, Oct. 3, 2022.
A CFT stand is used to hold a conformal, or extra, fuel tank of an F-15E Strike Eagle. The idea stemmed from a need for more CFT stands.
“The stands are used to store 1,500-pound CFTs that fit under the wing and along the fuselage of the Strike Eagle,” said Capt. Justin Reese, 4th Equipment Maintenance Squadron director of operations. “The new stands will significantly increase the capacity and capability for tank storage”
The new stands are not replacing the old ones, but allowing units to have a larger number of stands on hand. This will allow the 4th MXG to operate faster and more efficiently.
“The 4th MXG had an issue with not having enough stands for daily maintenance,” said Tech. Sgt. Douglas Harris, 4th Equipment Maintenance Squadron aircraft metals section chief. “The locally manufactured stands will be used at the fuels shop so the other units can get their stands back.”
Multiple units within the 4th MXG contributed to planning and creating these new stands to combat the supply shortage. The majority of the stands are currently used by the fuels shop due to the lack of assets.
“This is going to free up deployable assets as well as provide storage stands for each unit,” said Harris. “This will incorporate less down time waiting for stands, saving the Air Force man hours.”
As soon as the new stands are approved by the 4th MXG commander, they plan to produce 20 more stands.
“Since they were designed here at Seymour, we have a lot more liberty to design as many as we need,” said Staff Sgt. Storm Harris, 4th Component Maintenance Squadron fuels systems technician. “We can have a quicker turnaround time for less money.”