RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
Officials here say climbing fuel costs will not lessen the number of properly trained Airmen who fly out of Randolph Air Force Base.
While car and truck operators are squirming about having to pay nearly $4 for a gallon of gasoline, Randolph's training jets use JP8, a mixture of jet fuel and kerosene, at a cost of around $3.04 per gallon. As Middle Eastern oil prices go higher, measures are being taken to get more bang at Randolph for the government's buck.
12th Operations Group Commander Col. Christopher Weggeman said sorties flown from Randolph flight lines have been tweaked, but training essentials remain as they have been.
"Policy handed down by the 19th Air Force has been in place for nearly two years," Colonel Weggeman said. "We have transformed our training syllabi and reduced the number of sorties it takes to train people and get them to the same skill level we've always required. Every sortie we eliminate means we've saved 3,800 gallons of fuel."
A sortie - a mission which takes pilots from taxi to takeoff to flight, then back to the tarmac - can last anywhere from one hour to four hours depending on the aircraft used. Randolph pilots routinely train in T-1, T-6, T-38 and T-43 aircraft.
"When you combine all the aircraft, we average about 655 sorties flown here per week," Aircraft Maintenance Division assistant chief Dave Long said. "A T-1 will carry 625 gallons of fuel and use up about 500 of those in a two- to three-hour sortie. That's just one example, but you can guess that these planes use lots of fuel."
Fuel is shipped to Randolph from distribution centers in Poteet and Three Rivers through orders placed with the Virginia-based Defense Energy Support Center.
"When we need fuel we call the DESC and they have it shipped to us," said Eddie Cortez, assistant contract manager at Randolph's Fuels Management Branch. "We constantly refuel the planes and to this point have not noticed a reduction in number of flights with our training aircraft."
Noticeable changes include taxi time and other ground operations specifics which have been reduced or eliminated as part of the plan to lessen fuel use, said Colonel Weggeman.
T-43 planes, used to train individuals in navigation and tactical procedures, carry 3,750 gallons of fuel and will use as much as 3,000 of those during a three- to four-hour sortie.
Colonel Weggeman said sortie durations for those planes have been reduced by an hour.
"This is true for more of our aircraft, as we've lessened the time of the sorties but not taken away any of the required training," Colonel Weggeman said. "If you have, say for instance, an hour to work with a T-38, you must make sure you optimize your training."
The T-38 Talons use, on average, about 350-400 gallons of fuel per one-hour sortie.
"The most cost-efficient jet we fly here is the T-6," Mr. Long said. "It holds 121 gallons of fuel and will come back from its 1.6-hour sortie still with about 40 gallons. That's about the best you'll see.
"We have not seen a reduction in sorties to this point, but we very well could in the future."