Photo By Master Sgt. J. L. Wright Jr. | JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Narom Orr uses a grinder to prepare an aircraft component for...... read more read more
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – When the U.S. military decided to extend the lifespan of the F/A-18 Hornet an additional 2,000 to 4,000 flight hours, it had an immediate effect on the employees of Fleet Readiness Center Southeast (FRCSE).
Pushing the aircraft beyond the original 6,000 flight hours requires an increased level of maintenance and repair on many of the aircraft’s components. One of the most important components, its wings, requires extensive inspections and repair before it is ready to push past that original limit.
Very few of the 3,500 employees working at FRCSE perform this unique type of repair, making them equally as important to FRCSE as the wings are to the jet itself.
“In anticipation of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, we are pushing the Hornets up to 10,000 flight hours,” said Randy Parker, FRCSE Wing Shop program manager. “Extending the aircraft beyond the original lifespan means we are crossing into the unknown. We don’t know what to expect when we get a new wing in for repair.”
When each wing is brought in for rework, it is disassembled and inspected for damage. Usual repair could be anything from minor corrosion to spar replacement. Normal throughput time for each wing panel is 2,200 hours.
“We have both civil service and contractors working in our shop,” said Parker. “All our employees are extremely good at what they do and they all work really hard at putting out a high-quality product as fast as possible.”
Fifty-two percent of the Navy and Marine Corps F/A-18s are currently in a non-reporting state, meaning they are in need of repair and are not being used by the fleet. Therefore, FRCs have shifted into overdrive trying to get these aircraft repaired and back to the squadrons as fast as possible. FRCSE plans to expand the workforce in the Wing Shop to about 30 employees in the near future in preparation for increased production next fiscal year, according to Parker.
“Next year, we will be working almost twice as many aircraft as we are now,” he said. “That means we will be working somewhere around 140 inner and outer wing panels – we’re going to need more help. Hiring new personnel will allow us to operate two full shifts to meet that goal.”
FRCSE Artisan Phillip Hinton has 14 years’ experience working in the Wing Shop. He said he loves his job and is ready for the increased workload; he also looks forward to having more employees around.
“I love what I do,” said Hinton. “I grew up watching F/A-18s fly around, and now I’m the one keeping them in the air. It’s really cool to tell people that I work on Hornets every day.”
| Date Taken: | 06.17.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.17.2015 12:51 |
| Story ID: | 166986 |
| Location: | NAVAL AIR STATION JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, US |
| Hometown: | TRINIDAD, CU |
| Hometown: | DENVER, COLORADO, US |
| Hometown: | GREEN COVE SPRINGS, FLORIDA, US |
| Hometown: | HOUSTON, TEXAS, US |
| Hometown: | JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, US |
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| Hometown: | MACON, GEORGIA, US |
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| Hometown: | TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA, US |
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