AEDC's James 'Motor' Simmons is the man

  • Published
  • By Philip Lorenz III
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  "Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul" Author unknown.

For James Simmons, an Aerospace Testing Alliance (ATA) outside machinist, his profession and love of motorcycles share a lot in common.

This includes challenging work on powerful machinery, taking safety seriously, teamwork and family.

When Simmons first joined AEDC's work force in 2003, it was forklift experience that helped him land a storekeeper position in the warehouse.

However, it was years of experience working on automobile and motorcycle engines that got him into his true calling as an outside machinist in 2005, working on massive machinery, including hydraulic systems, pumps and gears.

"The size of everything we work on [at AEDC] is just huge," said Simmons, whose family members have worked at Arnold AFB for decades.

Whether it's working at extreme heights, de-energizing circuits or in confined spaces, he said, "safety is number one."

ATA outside machinists work with other craft workers to set up and operate machinery and equipment used both directly and in support of ground testing activities. They install, troubleshoot, repair and maintain the machinery used in AEDC's wind tunnels, space chambers, arc heaters, hyper-ballistic range, aircraft engine test cells and rocket motor test facilities. They also operate machines manually or through control mechanisms, inspect equipment and materials and communicate with co-workers, subordinates and managers.

Simmons said long before he came to work at AEDC, he had learned two important lessons - about safety and spiritual salvation - from Robert Reed, an uncle who is a chauffeur at AEDC. Reed is also a deacon at the church Simmons has attended for more than 12 years.

A firm commitment to safety and his faith has also guided Simmons in his off-duty passion for the past 18 years, motorcycle racing.

His love of motorcycles started early in life.

"The first one I had was a Suzuki 125, when I was probably 11 or 12 years old," said Simmons, who was learning about automotive and motorcycle engine maintenance and repair at the same time.

"My dad had hot rods and that's how I grew up, I was always around hot rods," he said. "He had plenty of old hot rods and I used to be right there helping him."

Simmons began working on cars and motorcycle engines, "ever since I could hold a wrench."

The Winchester, Tenn., native acknowledged his mother didn't share his enthusiasm for motorcycles, especially riding and racing them, for years, but more recently that has changed.

"She actually goes with us [to the races]," he said. "It's sort of a family deal - my wife, daughter, dad [and] my mom, pretty much most of my uncles, so it's family."

Simmons still has the Honda CBR 1000 his father let him borrow and keep.

A fourth bike, a turbo-charged Honda CBR 1100 XX, is undergoing modifications for Pro Street bracket racing.

"[With] bracket racing, you have a handicap," Simmons said. "It's hard to get all the bikes with the same horsepower, so, you can actually have a slower bike and let him take off and the computer figures out how much handicap the slower one needs to go in front of the faster bike.

"The faster bike then has to go and try to catch him - each one of them has a dialed in index and you can't break out of the time zones that you set for yourself. When they put it in the computer, [it] actually takes over and it has the lights drop down, one bike gets to take off and then the other ones start dropping down and then he gets to take off."

According to Bart Madson, the managing editor for MotoUSA, a motorcycle USA trade publication, quarter-mile times are a popular performance benchmark for cars and motorcycles. The popularity of quarter-mile performance numbers comes from drag racing, one of the most popular spectator motorsports in the United States.

The basics of calculating a motorcycle's quarter-mile performance are simple. The motorcycle begins from a standing start. Upon signal the clock starts and the motorcycle races in a straight line for a quarter-mile sprint. Crossing the finish line stops the clock. Top speed is also measured during the quarter-mile run.

A number of factors contribute to the overall quarter-mile time of a motorcycle. Not the least of which are the skills of the rider, who must anticipate the start and effectively run through the gears for optimal performance.

At a drag strip, a device called a Christmas tree controls the rider's start via a sequence of lights. Starting at the top, a series of three yellow lights illuminate sequentially, followed by the green - the rider timing their launch with the green light.

Riding down a two-lane, quarter-mile track up to 200 miles-an-hour, racing is more than leather-clad bikers roaring by on sleek and powerful machines. Like at work, the contestants look out for each other. Even though they are fierce competitors, Simmons spoke about the bond between them.

"A lot of the guys I run against, even though you want to beat them very badly and they want to do the same to you, we still look out for one another," he said. "[If] somebody needs help preparing their bike, to go to the line, we have pitched in, even though you're going to run against this guy.

"We pretty much travel the same circuit, so it's pretty much a tight-knit family even though some of them live in Georgia, some may live in Kentucky, but everywhere we go it's pretty much the same crowd. So, we all know one another."

Rockingham, N.C., is the farthest he has travelled for a race, so far.

Simmons knows where the rubber meets the road, or sometimes where his body has met the asphalt surface of the racetrack. His advice for anyone racing motorcycles is universal.

"Ride as safe as you can and to the best of your ability," he said. "Other than that, it's just kind of point and go. We have to wear a leather suit - my leather suit saved me, and the good Lord, but I was pretty sore. I didn't have any abrasions. After I wrecked it, [about 12 years ago at the Huntsville Raceway], I came back around and got right back on it and finished the race with it, but I was sore."

Simmons said he feels blessed, by his own family and "the family" he works with at AEDC.

"I love the people, this group that I'm with," he said. "[I've] got a great boss, great people to work around."

When it comes to mentoring a new person, Simmons said, "First thing I'd tell him is read up on safety. Safety is number one, it is. We're up on something high or down in a pit you know, 15-20 foot [in a] confined space."

Another ATA outside machinist, Jason Powers, is one of Simmons' coworkers at AEDC.

"I have never, in my whole time working with James, seen him in a bad mood," Powers said. "He brings laughter and makes the day go by so much better and faster, with him just being around. I have had the opportunity to know James outside of [work] and his personality here also reflects how he is outside of here.

Powers said, the best part of being at AEDC is "Working on things that are unique and getting to work with some of the most talented people around and learning new things every day."

Asked what helps the craft workers get challenging projects accomplished, Powers said, "Teamwork is something we rely on more than anything here at Arnold [AFB]. Some of the machines we maintain here are big and it actually takes teamwork to keep maintained.

"Teamwork also is a big contributor to the safety of all of us. There are several times that we rely on our co-worker to, 'watch our back,' and without good teamwork, that couldn't get accomplished and could result in more injuries. So in my eyes, teamwork is one of the most important things here at Arnold Center."