European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 3, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Magazine Craw chief John Pittu. Spang Mehlem a Germany even futo Ullh Hie or Forte s equipment you can Heve e bit of Monal Pride in each plane Crew chief takes Pride in his plane Story and photo by Mark Walsh Pitburg bureaus he Crew chiefs and maintenance specialists Al Span Dahlem a Germany would Nal be playing tag look Bill this Day on the Haid slant Aller several Days the Denso fog had listed and the jets were going Lolly. One Crew Chio appeared eager about Hal thought. Sol John Perlmu picked up his tool Bon attended Tho morning maintenance briefing hopped Mlo a truck and was driven to his k-16 fighter. I d Rathet to Busy said the 25-Yeiar-old sergeant with Tho 7023rd Ai Craft generation so. Otherwise you in Silling around or emptying trash or Ihms like thai ii gels pretty Boring " Perttu. A Tisoc boots were Buflod to a healthy Shine and preen Umlor pressed Lisp. Prides himself on being responsible Lor one of the 52nd toe fighter Wing s f-16s, despite his living for the Job he sometimes feels that Crew chiefs gel a bad rap. They Call us Booger hookers because they say All vie do is land around and pick our  a said but like anyone else the Eie chiefs can compensate Tor this or Al least make in easier to accept. We Call ourselves nasal technicians Perl la Aid it div opus a Little Pru class " me arrived a inc plane More than two hours Bolero the Day s scheduled Mission his responsibilities Are to inspect Tho  sure it Soady to try of it it Oil the ground and recover it when to lands alter going i Hough checklists and technical orders or the aircraft Loi some Lime tie Lin shed the paperwork and switched his attention to the piano s physical appearance Sec Icse Funger inns Here. Ihus would never happen on my Lane he said Perdu was not Cic Wing his format aircraft this time but still appealed disturbed with the grease and grime on the underside panels. I iry to keep my plane clean because when it s my own Jet. I put that Little bit of extra Ollor into it in cleaning the instruments up wiping the Han prints of and a lot of Guys Don l do  he said. Even though it s the air Force s equipment you can have a bit of Persona Pride in each  he teels this is especially important since each Crew chill s name is painted just below the plane s canopy Perttu was born in Finland. When he was 6 months old his family immigrated to the United slates. As a child he wanted to be an artist. Thai s Why i joined the air  he said. He Lound out to did t meet the requirements to be a graphic artist and ended up in aircraft maintenance. This was no a big disappointment. Being a Crew chief was something new Perttu said. I never did that  even though he admits his Job is not filled with the glory and excite men of flying the sleek supersonic Cis he realizes its importance. We have these pilots lives in our hands he said so be have to to sure Ike Ai Cratl is thoroughly maintained Al All  his relationship with the pills is a Strong one. He said in he takes Good care of the plane and dons a Good Job gelling ii ready fur 3 Mission the pills take note of it climbing up the ladder to Wash the f-1 6"a canopy he talked i l the Crew chief Pitol Alliance. The pills Are pretty Good to us Perttu said a lot of the new pilots right out of flight school Hava swollen Heads but As Lime goes on. They Lind out we have a lot to do Willi their Elighi or no Light. Soil s a Mutual  01 the Light line he said ils officer and airman but Here it Sjuls he iwo Guys trying Roget a plane up in the air he said thai s the Way i led in is " with All the chocks Complete. Perttu Only had a few minutes to step Back irom the f-16 and rela to Elm Iho Pitot came out. When they designed this plane they had maintenance in mind to said. This is ally by wire air Cal i he Sai Ciot be aircraft s Enle Sivo electrical system ii has some hydraulics but they re electrically Ali valid everything is controlled by  Perttu does not perform Iho maintenance on the air Rall. Those tasks inc done by specialists on any one of the plane s systems yet to s aware of what maintenance problems the specialist 90 through especially on Tho older f-4 lighters. On the f-16, the Only Nightmare would be Lor the electricians because of All the Una he said the Pilot arrived and Perl la immediately briefed him on ins plane s maintenance. With Only minutes Tell before engine Start. The Pilot climbed Inlo the Etc pit. Perttu was right behind him on the ladder and assisted him in gelling buckled in. Soon after Tho canopy closed the engine started and idled up to a deafening pitched whine. Perttu Dite cled the Pilot outside the hangar and chocked the wheels for some last Minuto checks. Strictly business no Lime for errors Perttu inspected doors and pulled pins. Rendering a Sharp Salute. Tie backed Oil and the Captain taxied the aircraft Cut Perttu s Job was finished. Al least Lor an hour 1 Hen hell meet the plane upon Landing and sail All Over Ign another Mission later in the Day. John Perttu of Fairport Harbor Ohio seems in have put his ambitions to bean Arlisle aside Lor the time being. The satisfaction he gels from his work Iho responsibility he has with a multimillion Dollar Jet fighter appear to have dampened anything else. By she time he gels out of the air Foier in 1900, he Hopes to have his  and Power plan License something cd he said hell need or a new Endeavor. I want to stay in Germany and Woik aircraft maintenance Tor a commercial  wednesday february 3, 1988 the stars and St Lipes Page 13