Charles Easley: a man of integrity with an inventive mind

  • Published
  • By Philip Lorenz III
  • AEDC/PA
Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn. --  When Charles Easley graduated from high school, he already knew the military would be the gateway to the world beyond his home in Jackson, Tenn. He originally thought the Army was the way to go, but when the time came to enlist, the Air Force won out.

Easley said almost from the beginning he loved military life, especially the 12 years he spent stationed overseas while serving in the Air Force. His military career included a tour at Clark Air Base (AB) in the Philippines, Yokota AB, Japan and time spent in Turkey and on Shemya, an island along Alaska's Aleutian chain.

Easley, a fuels specialist with the military and now with Aerospace Testing Alliance since 2007, said being overseas was a transformative experience. From learning about different cultures, meeting people and trying new foods, he said traveling to other countries enriched his life immeasurably and provided a valuable education.

The Jackson, Tenn., native continued his travels when he joined the Air National Guard as a fuels distribution system worker in 1994. Temporary duty assignments took him to England, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Iraq and Kuwait with the Tennessee Air National Guard 118th Air Wing.

Easley is among a team of approximately nine specialists at Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) whose job it is to operate the nitrogen and bulk and test fuel farms in support of test and base support facilities. Easley and his coworkers wear many hats. They perform operator-level maintenance, place orders and receive fuel stores and cryogen products and also support airfield refueling and marshalling activities at AEDC.

Easley said a fuels specialist at a place like AEDC has their hands full making sure the right fuel and the correct combination of it is delivered to the test facilities and the infrastructure that supports the mission at Arnold.

"If the wrong mix or some contaminant gets into the fuel going to a test cell and gets into an engine while it's being tested, besides the lost test time and costs involved, you may have destroyed a multi-million dollar test article," he said.

Even with his years of experience, Easley acknowledged it was a challenge to learn the ropes when he first came to Arnold.

"It's not as easy as you'd think," he said. "Everybody is going to teach you something - it's definitely a team effort."

Aerospace Testing Alliance Fuels Team Manager Gary Chain said most people on base are probably not aware of the job's complexity.

"They're responsible for all the hydrocarbon fuels [JP-4, JP-7 and JP-8] that come on base as far as the receiving goes and offloading, all the quality control and the sampling," he said. "They're also required to blend in additives, whether it is fuel system icing inhibitor, corrosive inhibitor lubricity improver or status 450, which is a conductivity additive. We've also had to blend some of the new types of fuel, like Fischer Tropsch, with JP-8."

Chain said the team's responsibility to get fuel to the test facilities at the correct rate, in the right amount and with the necessary additives can be quite a challenge.

Easley acknowledges that a positive attitude, staying focused and taking a proactive approach has served him well throughout both his personal and professional life.

Robert Holley, another fuels specialist at AEDC since 1998, knew Easley when they both were still in uniform.

"Chuck and I met in 1985 while [we were] stationed at Clark AFB Philippines," said Holley who retired as an Air Force Master Sergeant. "We were assigned together at Yokota AFB Japan. Chuck was part of the early deployment crew at Yokota, which went into a 'bare base' situation [limited facilities] to support U. S. military contingencies in Iraq.

Holley, who said his friend was the quality assurance evaluator at both assignments, also has seen another side of Easley.

"Chuck is active in the local community supporting the Youth About Business program in Nashville," Holley explained. "He is a member of his church brotherhood working with the young men in his local church, mentoring them and giving them an alternative to the street. Chuck is also interested in biking and photography."

One thing Easley has not widely shared with others, but takes great pride in, is his solitary pursuit as an inventor.

He vividly recalls his reaction when the first digital watch, a Pulsar LED (light emitting diode) prototype made its debut in 1970.
"I thought of that before it even came out," he said. "That's where it all started."

Easley said when an idea strikes, he writes down a plan and starts trying to figure out how to build a model of the invention. This often involves exploring the aisles of places like Home Depot for parts and additional ideas to develop the plan.

"I've got to build a prototype, without that it's nothing," he explained. "I started working on my first invention in 1992."

To date, Easley has two patents with more pending.

A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a national government to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for a public disclosure of an invention.

"There are actually three kinds of patents that are granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office," explained Jasemine Chambers, the director of the technology center at the USPTO that examines design patents. "The first one is called a utility patent and we usually see about 440,000 of these a year."

Utility patents, which make up most of what the USPTO deals with, are for inventions with a specific useful function. A second type is called a plant patent.

She said Easley was involved with what is known as a design patent.

"The design patent is to protect the aesthetic appeal of the article, so it protects the looks of it, but not the underlying article," she said. "That's a big difference between a design and a utility patent."

Corporate entities make up the majority of applicants for design patents annually, with only 10 percent or less being initiated by individuals like Easley.
Whether working on the next invention, helping young men at his church, or working a shift at AEDC, Easley said he views each day as a blessing, an opportunity to contribute something worthwhile.