Reported By Neil Sutherland
An excited and inquisitive group of 22 KSU and GT Students visited Delta TechOps on Friday, 11/2/2023 for a tour as well as a chance to view a large number of military aircraft on display for the annual Veterans Day Celebration. Once everyone was signed in and received their Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), including safety glasses, bump caps, and hearing protection, we walked out the massive TOC 2 Hangar to tour through the military aircraft. The students were excited to see everything from 2 F-15 Eagles, an F-16 Fighting Falcon, and 2 A-10 Thunderbolts, to a C-130 Hercules, a C-47 Skytrain, and a PBY Catalina Floatplane! Vertical Flight was well-represented with 2 V-22 Ospreys, a CH-47F Chinook, a UH-60M Blackhawk, an MH-60 Jayhawk, and a UH-1 Huey! There were also various historical aircraft from the WWII era up through today, as well as various trainer aircraft including 2 US Navy T-45 Goshawk Jet Trainers. After touring the military aircraft for a while, the 5 volunteer tour guides took the students in 2 groups on tours through the Engine Maintenance area of TechOps, seeing engines in various states of disassembly and assembly including Rolls-Royce Trent XWBs and 1000s, RR BR715s, Pratt & Whitney 2000s and 4000s, CFM56s, and GE CF-6s. They were able to see many of Delta’s extensive engine overhaul capabilities including disassembly and assembly, cleaning, non-destructive inspection, machining, repair, composites, shot peening, thermal spray, heat treat, paints/coatings, and testing. They also were able to briefly see a few Component Overhaul Shops as well as the TOC 2 Airframe/Base Maintenance Hangar. After the Engine Maintenance tour, we returned to the TOC 2 Hangar and watched several military aircraft take off on their way back to their home bases, with the highlight being the 2 F-15s taking off like rockets! Ear protection was needed for this final phase of the tour!
