Flying paper airplanes

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Antonio Gonzalez
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  Air Force aircrew members have a saying, "When the weight of the paperwork equals the weight of the plane, you can go fly." The B-52 weighs nearly half a million pounds and is a prime example of that adage.

During a 12-hour mission planning session the day prior to takeoff, aircrew members produce up to 30 pages of pre-flight paperwork, including charts, bomb forms, and takeoff and landing data, to name a few.

"I knew that paperwork was going to be a part of flying, but the extent of the paperwork was definitely a surprise," said 1st Lt. Case Johnson, 11th Bomb Squadron student pilot. "As a little kid I always thought that pilots would jump in the jet and go have a good time, but there is a lot of work that goes into flying when you're not in the air."

Pre-flight paperwork serves as preparation for the flight, and although the pilots' responsibilities might differ from that of navigators and electronic warfare officers, their objective is the same - accomplishing the mission.

"It's just like a football team coming up with a game plan before the game," said Maj. Jesse Hildebrand 93rd Bomb Squadron instructor pilot. "We know our offensive strategy, our defensive strategy and how we're going to get from point A to point B."

During every B-52 flight, the aircrew must keep track of numerous critical statistics and readings. Take-off weight, weapons carried and released, changes in altitude and speed, every ascent, descent, in-flight refueling and landing must be recorded.

"All the info is taken and used for operational risk management assessments," said Hildebrand. "We compare the risk of the sortie versus the reward. There is a little bit of risk in every flight; keeping track of these stats helps us mitigate that risk as much as possible."

It's not just the flight crew's paperwork that is critical to the mission. Supporting agencies that maintain flying records face the brunt of the paperwork endeavor.

"Not everyone realizes the amount of paperwork that goes into getting the B-52 off the ground," said Johnson. "You not only have the paperwork the flight crew puts together, but you also have the step desk, maintenance and life support. Each member is critical in getting that B-52 off the ground and the paperwork that they provide allows it."

Senior Airman Jaime Walden, 2nd Operations Support Squadron aviation resource manager, agrees with Johnson.

"There are many administrative actions behind getting the pilots up in the air," she said. "All of the paperwork is very tedious, everything from their physicals to their flying hours are tracked. There are so many Air Force Instructions and qualifications that we as aviation resource managers have to have to follow to make sure the aircrew members paperwork is all sorted out. That's what legally allows them to step to the jet and fly every single day."

Aircrews are not the only ones who require paperwork to get off the ground. The plane itself must be inspected and signed off before takeoff.

"Before the plane ever takes off, an exceptional release has to be signed off by the maintenance productions supervisor," said MSgt. Percy Vaughan, 2nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief section chief. "A folder containing every inspection and discrepancies travels with the plane everywhere it goes."

Although paperwork might be a necessary evil, it serves an important purpose, and doesn't interfere with the satisfaction air-crew members receive when performing their mission.

"Just because there is a lot of paperwork that goes into flying doesn't take away from the job by any means," said Johnson. "It is definitely the greatest job in the world."