Watch a KC-135 do a Rare Fin Fold!

Watch these USAF airmen successfully execute an intricate and rare maintenance procedure on a KC-135 Stratotanker. It’s called a fin fold, involved unbolting and horizontally folding the aircraft’s vertical stabilizer, or tail fin, and is a highly specialized procedure not commonly performed.

The folding of the aircraft’s fin is not a mundane skill that most maintenance Airmen are equipped to perform.

🎥 credit Master Sgt. Jonathan Duplain and Staff Sgt. Andrew Sinclair / 101st Air Refueling Wing. Timelapse footage by Airman Dallin Wrye / 97th Air Mobility Wing

[stankaliski]

The 13 years I was in the ILANG (126th ARW) in the R&R shop, I saw the tail fin folded only once. Unfortunately I was not part of the lowering or raising of the fin. This was done by the full-timers during the week, however, it was a holy crap moment when I walked in the hanger for drill to see the tail folded down. It was done to fix a write-up not for replacing the fin. I remember being told that due to the age of the KC-135 the folding tail was to allow it to fit in smaller hangers. The 707 was America's first jet airliner.

[Johnno]

We used to do fin folds on RAAF 707s as it was the only way to fit them in the hanger. 🇦🇺

[jumpingjeffflash]

They probably put one of their "Maineiac" stickers inside the plane before reinstalling everything.

[GeorgeMCMLIX]

This video brought back happy memories. I fondly remember being involved with the procedure for folding and erecting the vertical stabiliser during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The hangar we worked in, in the UK had a large central roof support structure. So although the hangar was wide enough to fit two aircraft side by side we had to fold the fin to get a second aircraft in the corner. We frequently performed this procedure on Boeing 720, 707-100 and 707-300 series aircraft. Great to see it still happening in 2020s 👍🏻

[cudathehawgjetfixer]

What most people do not understand that like the B-50's the B-52's & C-135's have the ability to fold their tails, as they were designed to to so, remember when these planes were built the hangers didn't have large enough doors to accommodate the tall vertical fins, so Boeing designed to do this function. But with the passage of time, hanger doors are now large enough to allow this small airframe to enter without anything folding prior to being pulled inside or have the tail stick out of the closed doors.

[billmadison]

They did this on the taxiway in Atlanta very quickly too

[johnevers]

Maintainers "gettin it DONE!"

[threestrikesmarxman]

This video is at least 4 years old considering that everyone is wearing ABUs. The USAF only switched to OCPs in 2021 and it's likely that everyone would have been wearing OCPs by then.

[johnmeyers]

Back in the day the boys at TWA would do it in a night shift.

[jstrat]

I worked on A-6E Intruders in the Marines……..our wings actually folded with the flip of a switch…..no big deal😂

[snnyburnett]

Never thought about how they would do this or if they could it without manufacturer support.

[_not_sure_]

This could fit on a carrier. Prove me wrong.

[SynergyStudios]

"Honor to be chosen"
My man they just grabbed whoever they thought wouldn't fuck it up. Does the military really tell guys its an "honor" to be chosen for stuff like this? How insulting. I helped reinstall a rudder the other day, boss just grabbed me and said they need a guy.

[tomwilson]

Ok who’s brave enough to fly that thing after the fin is replaced?

[calvinnickel]

What’s the big deal? I’m assuming it’s removing the required access panels and fairings; ensuring that wires/cables/lines and anything protruding either has enough slack or room to move or is disconnected or removed; and then removing the mounting pins on one side and using the other side as a pivot (as long as they have axis that are aligned) and hooking up a lift or overhead crane with proper fittings to let it down and bring it back up.

One question though. What’s the advantage? Normally you can re and re a rudder in situ without messing with the stabilizer at all.

[kitwalker]

Most kc135 were grounded for this repair

[javacup]

Not so rare. We did it on 707 oftem, mostly to fit them in the hangar.

[BIBIWCICC]

Hilarious! How many people does it take to fold a fin? Yeesh, American is doomed!