Organic Air Force engineering first from Hill A-10 SPO

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Christoper Tommila
  • A-10 Structional Engineer
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah --  A-10 structural engineers at Hill AFB were faced with a unique challenge after a bird strike damaged an aircraft in Boise, Idaho, recently. An A-10 Thunderbolt II suffered wing structure damage in an area that prevented the use of typical repair procedures. Working in conjunction with aircraft mechanics and metals technicians assigned to the 124th Maintenance Squadron of the Idaho Air National Guard, Hill engineers became the first in the Air Force to directly deliver a design to an operational unit to build a replacement part and install it on an aircraft.

The use of a cutting edge technology by the A-10 System Program Office eliminated the need to use time consuming and highly obtrusive processes to remove and replace the damaged structure.

Using a digital 3D model, otherwise known as a model based definition, members of the A-10 SPO's Structural Engineering Section were able to simulate and trim the damaged area. A new model was then constructed to fit over the damaged area to create a repair part that would fit the wing area. Using this method allowed the engineers and machinists to inspect the damaged structure and the proposed repair digitally before beginning production. This ability to eliminate any imperfections was crucial before beginning production of the complicated design.

Metals technicians at the Idaho Air National Guard's Gowen Field programmed their production computers with the information that they converted from the information provided to make a physical rendition of the digital part. Round the clock work by the Airmen produced a repair part so precise that squadron aircraft mechanics mounted the part without any additional adjustments.

The aircraft was quickly returned to operational status.

This cooperative effort between a field unit and SPO engineering clearly demonstrates the maintenance capability using strictly Air Force processes from conception to installation.

Although, the use of model based definitions to solve complicated engineering processes is common place in industry, it is the first time such a capability to repair an aircraft in this manner has been completed essentially within the confines of the Air Force. Such an organic process is unique to the A-10 among the operational aircraft in the United States military.

The A-10 SPO has been expanding the three dimensional models of its aircraft and in doing so has placed itself at the pinnacle of organic aircraft reparability in the Department of Defense.

Col. James Flattery, A-10 System Program Manager, expressed confidence that further development of this capability will "fundamentally change aircraft maintenance and repair for the Air Force." Looking beyond the immediate ramifications of this process and its validity for the A-10 specifically, the colonel is hopeful "This 3-D modeling process can be exported and eventually used on multiple weapon systems."

He expressed his gratitude for the exceptional work of the team.

The ability afforded to Airmen in the field to produce a complicated and expensive aircraft component correctly the first time, every time offers the capacity to conserve resources and speed up repair processes.

By utilizing modern engineering techniques and fostering collaboration between Air Force engineers and maintenance Airmen, A-10 leaders have demonstrated that the process works.

The A-10 Team's success demonstrates that the Air Force continues to evolve and can successfully adapt to any of the challenges which lie ahead.