USAF Aircraft

pages 37-40
EVIDENCE-BASED SCIENCE EXPLAINING
HOW AND WHY IN-FLIGHT PHYSIOLOGICAL
STRESSORS AFFECT THE HUMAN SYSTEM HAS
REMAINED A MYSTERY

Preface:
The US Air Force (USAF) Aeromedical Evacuation (AE) System is a
significant part of the nation’s primary mode of patient movement
within the theatre of operations (intra-theatre) or between two theatres
(inter-theatre) to medical treatment facilities (MTF) where essential and/
or definitive care can be administered. Through AE crews and Critical
Care Air Transport Teams (CCATT), the AE force provides mission critical en route patient care, scalable En Route Patient Staging Systems
(ERPSS), and transport of contaminated and contagious patients using
the Transport Isolation System. Air Force AE clinical protocols are guided by Air Mobility Command, the lead command responsible for clinical and operational policy, organising, training and equipping AE forces and CCATT. The Air Force AE department charged with improving En Route Care (EC) for the Joint Force is the 711th Human Performance
Wing, Division of EC, USAF School of Aerospace Medicine (USAFSAM)
Aeromedical Research Department at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
(AFB) in Dayton, Ohio.

Sources:
Fouts, Brittany; Butler, William; Connor, Susan; Smith, Danny;
Maupin, Genny; Greenwell, Brandon; Serres, Jennifer; Dukes, Susan.
Final Report Aug 2017, March 2014 to August 2017; Assessment of
Aeromedical Evacuation Transport Patient Outcomes with and without
Cabin Altitude Restriction, [Online] REPORT DOCUMENTATION
PAGE.1-4; 8; 22-23. Interview 15 Feb 2018; Armitage, Nicole H.;
Averett-Brauer, Tamara; Burch, David. Air Force Research Laboratory,
711th Human Performance Wing, U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace
Medicine, Aeromedical Research Department, Wright-Patterson AFB,
OH. Available from: http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/1039508.pdf
Access: 28 Jan 2018.

The history of the war in Vietnam and Laos is not complete unless you include the history of Air America. Air America employees were federal employees, but that fact was a closely held secret. Air America aircraft were ubiquitous throughout Vietnam and Laos but at the same time shielded in an elaborate cloak and dagger scheme meant to fool the public. The Federal Government went to great lengths to hide Air America first as mercenaries and later as CIA surrogates. They were neither. Here now is the truth.

Based on recent reports (T.L. Ramey 1999, J.E. Pike 2000-2004), a large percentage of C-5 aircraft were found not mission capable due to maintenance problems. For example, in one location, no more than eight out of 22 C-5's were mission capable. These maintenance problems reveal the need to improve the utilization of current diagnostic systems. This paper emphasizes such a system, known as the malfunction detection analysis and recording system (MADARS). When fully utilized, the improved MADARS III together with the ground maintenance diagnostics systems greatly enhances the accuracy in identifying faulty components. MADARS uses a digital computer to gather and record data from hundreds of test points during aircraft operations. Some of these test points automatically trigger fault codes to identify faulty components. Many component failures may require further fault isolation where additional test points may be utilized in the troubleshooting process with MADARS III. Data recorded by MADARS is downloaded to a ground processing interface system (GPIS), which makes the data available for local analysis. GPIS also transmits the data to a database server called quick look database (QLD). QLD was developed as a tool for aircraft maintainers to prepare reports based on C-5 flight data files. Test point data may be accessed through the QLD and graphed for visual abnormalities and for comparison with other related test points. This paper discusses the benefits of using these maintenance data reporting tools. These tools can help maintainers identify potentially faulty components early. Some examples of how these tools can be used are provided in this paper. This paper also discusses how troubleshooting efforts on a C-5 may be further improved by including field experience in the decision making process.

Reviews "One Day in a Long War: May 10, 1972, Air War, North Vietnam" by Jeffrey Ethell and Alfred Price (Guild Publishing, 1990).  Accounts of the air war over North Vietnam usually take different approaches -- aircraft, leaders, units, or tactics, for instance.  This book looked at all the air operations over Vietnam on one day, portraying not "the parts" but "the whole" of air operations.