Photo By Heather Heiney | Frank Kraus, Rolls Royce airframe and power plant mechanic, inspects a gear mounted...... read more read more
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KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Spinning propellers are what get the 403rd Wing’s fleet of 20 C-130J and WC-130J Super Hercules aircraft up into the sky to complete their missions.
However, when those planes are back on the ground, there’s no reason for those props to continue turning. That’s why the 403rd Maintenance Squadron is working with members of Rolls Royce to upgrade the engines in each aircraft by adding a propeller brake.
In order to add the propeller brakes, 403rd MXS maintainers remove the four gear mounted accessory drives from the aircraft’s engines and bring them back to the “prop shop” for Frank Kraus, Rolls Royce airframe and power plant mechanic, to work on. He then splits them open, checks the gears and all the other parts, installs the propeller brake, puts it all back together and then repaints it. The paint then has to cure for 18 hours before the gear mounted accessory drives can be re-installed back on the engine by the maintainers. The entire process takes about five working days per aircraft from start to finish.
The project started Sept. 6 and it will take about four months to upgrade all 20 aircraft.
“This wind gust modification is important for safety reasons,” Master Sgt. Kathy Wheelock, 403rd MXS engine manager said. “If the propeller spins while the aircraft is on the ground it could cause an injury to someone who walks near the propellers.”
“This upgrade also prevents wear and tear of the propeller gear box,” said Kraus, who's also a retired Air Force crew chief and has worked on C-130s throughout his career.
He currently lives in Little Rock, Arkansas and has been traveling from base to base to complete this modification on C-130J aircraft across the Air Force.
Keesler is the third base to undergo these fleet-wide modifications.
| Date Taken: | 09.28.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 11.18.2016 10:37 |
| Story ID: | 215119 |
| Location: | KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, MISSISSIPPI, US |
| Web Views: | 69 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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