AIR FORCE WORKING TO REMOVE CORROSION FROM F-22A FIGHTER JETS

Wonderful...

Inside the Air Force
Wing mods also under way
AIR FORCE WORKING TO REMOVE CORROSION FROM F-22A FIGHTER JETS
September 7, 2007
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, UT -- The Air Force is quickly working to remove
recently discovered corrosion on its fifth-generation F-22A fighter
fleet, maintenance officials tell Inside the Air Force. Raptors are
currently going through an evaluation phase of a repair program,
dubbed the "corrosion speed line," Mike Dooner, the aircraft
production chief, said during a Sept. 5 interview at the repair shop
here. "We're just cleaning it up," Dooner said. Maintainers are "going
to be putting different type panels on" the Raptors in the next couple
of months as well. Classification issues prevented the officials from
disclosing the areas of the corrosion, the number of aircraft
impacted, the number of jets being worked on and the price tag on the
modifications. Maintainers -- who include industry partners from
Lockheed Martin -- also are performing "techniques" that extend the
service life of the advanced fighter's wing-lugs and attach fittings,
Dooner said. Later model aircraft coming off the production line will
already be upgraded. The upgrade takes roughly 43 days to complete.
The second part of the Raptor's structural repair phase includes a
hardware installation and more structural work on the aft of the jet,
he said. Right now, Raptors are receiving these modifications at Hill,
while others are undergoing the corrosion upgrade and receiving the
wing upgrade, Ned King, F-22A squadron operations officer, said in the
same interview. Corrosion affected jets have already gone through the
shop and the wing modification, Dooner said. Those aircraft were all
delivered on time, King noted. Technicians also are in the process of
completing a "night air-to-air refueling" modification in which
replacement lights are installed on top of the aircraft, Dooner said.
It takes maintainers about 30 days to complete this upgrade. The
upgrade gives the pilot better visibility when connecting to a
refueling tanker, he said. This program began 18 months earlier than
expected due to an urgent need request, King said. In addition to
Hill, F-22A modifications are being conducted at Tyndall Air Force
Base, FL, and a Lockheed Martin facility in Palmdale, CA. Hill's
modification shop will soon be getting a structural upgrade of its
own. Officials are soliciting contractors to build a new facility
across from where the current hanger is located, King said. Congress
allotted $26 million in the fiscal year 2007 Military Construction
Appropriations Act for the project, according to a Senate report on
the legislation.

And these aircraft are how old?

Imagine the corrosion control challenge the F-22 would present in a really corrosive environment like carrier operations.

--
Mike Kanze

"We could certainly slow the aging process down if it had to work its way through Congress."

- Will Rogers

"Mike" wrote in message oups.com...
Wonderful...

Inside the Air Force
Wing mods also under way
AIR FORCE WORKING TO REMOVE CORROSION FROM F-22A FIGHTER JETS
September 7, 2007
[rest snipped]

In article , "Mike Kanze"
wrote:

And these aircraft are how old?=20

Imagine the corrosion control challenge the F-22 would present in a =
really corrosive environment like carrier operations.=20

I'm not going to defend Lockheed in the least on this except to note
that there are many different kinds of "corrosion", and carrier operations
expose an aircraft to only 2 or 3 of the types.

--
Harry Andreas
Engineering raconteur

"Mike" wrote in message
oups.com...
Wonderful...

Inside the Air Force
Wing mods also under way
AIR FORCE WORKING TO REMOVE CORROSION FROM F-22A FIGHTER JETS
September 7, 2007

Newsflash, NDI or Non-Destructive Inspection is part of EVERY Scheduled
Maintenance Dock inspection. Yes, they do inspect for corrosion and metal
fatigue as well. This goes for ALL Aircraft regardless of age. Twisting
this into something other than Preventive Maintenance is just plain wrong.

On Wed, 12 Sep 2007 19:10:52 -0400, Boomerang wrote:

It's been a long, long time but the terms "inter-granular" and
"bi-metallic" corrosion still remind me of looking close at the radar
for a free wash job.

Is that what you kids are calling it now?...

--

-Jeff B.
zoomie at fastmail fm

On Sep 12, 12:14 pm, Mike wrote:
Wonderful...

Inside the Air Force
Wing mods also under way
AIR FORCE WORKING TO REMOVE CORROSION FROM F-22A FIGHTER JETS
September 7, 2007
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, UT -- The Air Force is quickly working to remove
recently discovered corrosion on its fifth-generation F-22A fighter
fleet, maintenance officials tell Inside the Air Force. Raptors are
currently going through an evaluation phase of a repair program,
dubbed the "corrosion speed line," Mike Dooner, the aircraft
production chief, said during a Sept. 5 interview at the repair shop
here. "We're just cleaning it up," Dooner said. Maintainers are "going
to be putting different type panels on" the Raptors in the next couple
of months as well. Classification issues prevented the officials from
disclosing the areas of the corrosion, the number of aircraft
impacted, the number of jets being worked on and the price tag on the
modifications. Maintainers -- who include industry partners from
Lockheed Martin -- also are performing "techniques" that extend the
service life of the advanced fighter's wing-lugs and attach fittings,
Dooner said. Later model aircraft coming off the production line will
already be upgraded. The upgrade takes roughly 43 days to complete.
The second part of the Raptor's structural repair phase includes a
hardware installation and more structural work on the aft of the jet,
he said. Right now, Raptors are receiving these modifications at Hill,
while others are undergoing the corrosion upgrade and receiving the
wing upgrade, Ned King, F-22A squadron operations officer, said in the
same interview. Corrosion affected jets have already gone through the
shop and the wing modification, Dooner said. Those aircraft were all
delivered on time, King noted. Technicians also are in the process of
completing a "night air-to-air refueling" modification in which
replacement lights are installed on top of the aircraft, Dooner said.
It takes maintainers about 30 days to complete this upgrade. The
upgrade gives the pilot better visibility when connecting to a
refueling tanker, he said. This program began 18 months earlier than
expected due to an urgent need request, King said. In addition to
Hill, F-22A modifications are being conducted at Tyndall Air Force
Base, FL, and a Lockheed Martin facility in Palmdale, CA. Hill's
modification shop will soon be getting a structural upgrade of its
own. Officials are soliciting contractors to build a new facility
across from where the current hanger is located, King said. Congress
allotted $26 million in the fiscal year 2007 Military Construction
Appropriations Act for the project, according to a Senate report on
the legislation.



Yes by all means get those goddamn things patched up so the air refuel
tankers can lead them around on their missions.

LOL!!!

On Wed, 12 Sep 2007 11:14:53 -0700, Mike wrote:

Wonderful...

Inside the Air Force
Wing mods also under way
AIR FORCE WORKING TO REMOVE CORROSION FROM F-22A FIGHTER JETS
September 7, 2007

This called "where are those pesky F-22's for certain?".........nobody
KNOWS where they are. Why, they could pop up over Iran by complete
surprise I bet.
Dave

"Juergen Nieveler" wrote in message
. ..
"Daryl Hunt" wrote:

Newsflash, NDI or Non-Destructive Inspection is part of EVERY
Scheduled Maintenance Dock inspection. Yes, they do inspect for
corrosion and metal fatigue as well. This goes for ALL Aircraft
regardless of age. Twisting this into something other than Preventive
Maintenance is just plain wrong.

PM is certainly being done - but they are talking about "removing
recently discovered corrosion".

Woppy Doo. There is ALWAYS "newly or recently formed" corrosion. The
exotic metals required corrode and get worse as they age and corrode even
more.


PM means checking if something is corroded - but this sounds like
somebody did PM and discovered that the planes have corroded parts, and
that those parts are now being fixed, which is a totally different
story.

Nope, same story.

"Juergen Nieveler" wrote in message
. ..
"Daryl Hunt" wrote:

PM is certainly being done - but they are talking about "removing
recently discovered corrosion".

Woppy Doo. There is ALWAYS "newly or recently formed" corrosion. The
exotic metals required corrode and get worse as they age and corrode
even
more.

You mean the F-22 corrodes faster than a 1970s Toyota? ;-)

PM means checking if something is corroded - but this sounds like
somebody did PM and discovered that the planes have corroded parts, and
that those parts are now being fixed, which is a totally different
story.

Nope, same story.

So we can agree that there are parts of this brand new airplane that
are corroded to the point where they have to get replaced - which means
that somebody will have to take a look at the maintenance budget.

Corrosion does occur, that's normal - but those planes are HOW old? And
need spare parts already? THAT is the real story behind this - the F-22
was supposed to be less maintenance-intensive.

I have yet to see a Toyota flying at M.1.5 and 50,000 feet. And NOTHING
corrodes faster than an old Toyota.

In rec.aviation.military Daryl Hunt twisted the electrons to say:
I have yet to see a Toyota flying at M.1.5 and 50,000 feet.

Put enough thrust behind one and I'm sure it would be possible?

And NOTHING corrodes faster than an old Toyota.

What about the late-70s/early-80s products of Fiat and Alfa Romeo?
--
These opinions might not even be mine ...
Let alone connected with my employer ...