JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – An F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter aircraft that arrived in Jacksonville Dec. 8 will be the first prototype to undergo planned maintenance and minor repairs in a Fleet Readiness Center Southeast (FRCSE) hangar at Cecil Commerce Center.

FRCSE is prototyping a six-year Planned Maintenance Interval (PMI) site for Super Hornet aircraft in a modified maintenance hangar designated as an overflow facility for Naval Air Station Oceana, Va., as large numbers of aircraft become due for maintenance.

“CNAF (Commander, Naval Air Forces) and NAVAIR (Naval Air Systems Command) Program Manager Air (PMA) 265 were really instrumental in the jet coming here,” said Larry Hanks, an FRCSE business management specialist.

“It started around October (2009) when Dennis Berry with the CNAF Super Hornet Class Desk suggested we resubmit a quote,” said Hanks. “We did and Capt. Mark Darrah (Program Executive Officer for Tactical Aircraft Programs) at PMA 265 approved it.”

F/A-18E/F Integrated Maintenance Concept (IMC) Program Manager John Bandor said this is a “new capability” for FRCSE.

We are the only fly-in, fly-out program on the East Coast,” he said. “At Oceana the aircraft get towed over for maintenance. They might get an aircraft without an engine, but we don’t have (Super Hornet) squadron support locally.”

FRCSE artisans began pre-inducting the first Super Hornet Dec. 9. During the 3-day phase, systems inspectors conducted a preliminary evaluation of the aircraft. They performed engine turns and preserved the aircraft prior to disassembly.

During the disassembly phase in the hangar, artisans visually inspected for corrosion by removing flight control surfaces and related components and opening or removing access doors.

Bandor said once the artisans complete their inspection, they report any condition issues to the customer, along with an estimated delivery date.

“There is a history of several corrosion-prone areas,” he said. “If we catch any condition issues that are outside the scope of the specification, the artisans will have time to make the repairs and the aircraft will not be held up at delivery.”

Artisans continued the work throughout December to keep pace with the 53-day maintenance schedule projected for completion Jan. 30. They also performed minor repairs and paint touchups where needed.

“We are working on four prototypes in Fiscal Year (FY) 2011,” Bandor said. “Our goal once capability is established is to do 16 aircraft each year, an average of four per quarter.”

Bandor said the hangar is “divided into four work cells.” Cell 1 is the disassembly and inspection cell; Cell 2a and 2b are repair cells; Cell 3 is the final assembly and operations cell. Artisans complete the final phase on the flight line in preparation for the Functional Check Flight. FRCSE returns the aircraft to the customer when it is ready for issue.

“Every two weeks, something is going to be moving,” said Bandor.

F/A-18 Super Hornet Overhaul and Repair Supervisor Gary L. Lawrence said 15 artisans and support personnel are currently working on the project, but that number will climb when the second aircraft arrives in February.

“By the time we finish the last prototype and go to full production in the first quarter of FY12, we will have about 40 to 50 personnel on the project,” he said.

FRCSE has leveraged on the lessons learned from other F/A-18 production lines, including packaging disassembled parts in custom kits to prevent loss and enhance overall product turnaround times. Bandor credits AirSpeed champion Roger Collamati for the kitting process and mapping out the critical path from day to day.

F/A-18 Fleet Support Team Senior Engineer and Integrated Maintenance Concept Lead Pete Weintraub and his team traveled from Naval Air Station North Island in California to provide assistance with establishing the new maintenance prototyping.

Weintraub leads the Extensive Age Exploration Program at North Island. He and his team disassemble Super Hornets three to four times each year and look for problematic areas. These results feed his work specifications for establishing PMI requirements, such as what parts to inspect and where to inspect.

“Whenever we prototype a new site, we attend to help with lessons learned from other sites,” he said. “This is the fifth site we have stood up, and we want to standardize the work. Other sites are at full capacity with phased implementation.”

Weintraub said it is “quite a big process to get a program approved” by the Integrated Maintenance Review Board (IMRB) that convenes in Patuxent River, Md.

“The Super Hornet is still in production and each jet gets inspected every six years,” he said. “Jets produced about five years ago are coming due for PMI.”

According to its website, Boeing is building 201 additional Super Hornets under a multi-year contract for the U.S. Navy as it awaits the arrival of the replacement platform, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

The U.S. Navy Fact File lists the Super Hornet E/F model as an all-weather fighter and attack aircraft capable of precision-guided munitions and used for Fleet air defense and force protection. It is 60.3 feet long with a wingspan of nearly 45 feet. It has a range of 1,275 nautical miles and can travel at an airspeed of Mach 1.8 plus.

Source: NAVAIR press release