10,000 flight hours is a testament to American engineering, but more importantly, the blood, sweat and tears of the thousands of maintainers who have turned a wrench on this aircraft since 1990,” Struve said following the flight. “This jet has been in service for 29 years and an 18-year-old maintainer launched me today. I am proud of our maintenance team and how they continue to make the mission happen. They work around the clock to ensure our base is ready and able to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific at any time, whenever called upon.” 10,000 飛行小時是美國工程技術的見證,但更重要的是,自 1990 年以來,數以千計的維修人員在這架飛機上揮灑的鮮血、汗水和淚水,"斯特魯夫在飛行後說。"這架飛機已經服役 29 年了,而今天是一位 18 歲的維修人員把我送上飛機的。我為我們的維修團隊以及他們如何繼續完成任務感到驕傲。他們夜以繼日地工作,以確保我們的基地隨時做好準備,能夠確保印度洋-太平洋地區的自由和開放。
In order to maintain this high-level operations tempo, every 400 flight hours the jets are put into what’s known as “phase maintenance.” This is no quick process; it takes more than 800 maintenance actions, consuming upwards of 1,500 man-hours to complete. Maintenance crews disassemble the jet, thoroughly inspect all of the systems and components and then rebuild it. Throughout the entire process, some maintainers feel the jets take on their own temperaments, said Capt. Kayla Pipe, the 14th AMU officer in charge. 為了保持這種高水準的運行節奏,噴氣機每400飛行小時就要進行一次所謂的 "階段性維護"。這並不是一個快速的過程;它需要 800 多項維護工作,耗費 1500 多個工時才能完成。維修人員要拆卸噴氣機,徹底檢查所有系統和部件,然後重新組裝。第 14 AMU 負責官員凱拉-皮普上尉(Capt. Kayla Pipe)說,在整個過程中,一些維護人員感覺噴氣機有了自己的脾氣。
It is for this reason she believes the aircraft engineers have extended the life of the aircraft, allowing an F-16, like BOB, to surpass milestone after milestone. And every time this aircraft flew past yet another engineering landmark, there, side-by-side, stood a dedicated crew chief.
正因為如此,她認為飛機工程師延長了飛機的壽命,使 F-16 和 BOB 一樣,能夠超越一個又一個里程碑。每當這架飛機飛過一個又一個工程里程碑時,旁邊就會站著一位兢兢業業的機工長