Photo By Pam Goodhart | 241117-A-BS696-1000 CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. Members of the Letterkenny Army Depot...... read more read more
CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. – Letterkenny Army Depot recently made history with a new type of workload added to its always-evolving capability list.
The LEAD Directorate of Industrial Operations Process Support Division checked rotary wing aircraft off the list of a multitude of military components that run through the depot’s paint shops.
During August 2024, talks commenced on an upcoming community Open House event at the nation’s second busiest National Guard Training Center, Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania. Maj. Morgan Gaylor Henry, Fort Indiantown Gap’s Mission Training Complex executive officer, contacted Letterkenny to begin discussing a proposal to repaint a helicopter currently on static display at the post.
“A few years ago, Letterkenny’s paint shop started a partnership with the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, repainting their static displays, so the paint department was no stranger to this type of request,” said Jeff Barnhart, DIO PSD chief. “However, the requirement from Fort Indiantown Gap brought the depot its first aircraft, a rotary wing Vietnam era UH-1 Iroquois ‘Huey’ helicopter.”
Once the helicopter arrived at the depot, Greg Shaver, PSD equipment specialist, and his team members utilized the laser ablation process to begin removing the Huey’s existing coatings.
One of the biggest differences of this effort, compared to what the artisans in the LEAD paint shops are used to, was the thin gauge metal used on the aircraft.
“The laser is irreplaceable on this type of work as it saved us a lot of time by irradiating the coating off with no degradation to the thin substrate,” said Shaver.
In the next phase, the Huey was ready for paint and additional artisans from the depot made quick work of getting the chemical agent-resistant coating reapplied. The team worked to restore the fixed-wing aircraft into what it looked like when it was produced for the Vietnam War.
Once the artisans finished the paintwork, transportation experts moved the helicopter back to Fort Indiantown Gap.
To provide additional support, PSD members traveled to Fort Indiantown Gap to complete on-site paint repair on two other aircrafts, an AH-1 Cobra and an OH-6 Cayuse “Loach,” which both performed various missions during the Vietnam War.
“Overall, this was truly an awesome project to be a part of,” said Shaver. “Aside from being an aviation enthusiast, knowing the history of this aircraft and that my team and I were able to bring it back to its former glory is something I am very proud to be a part of.”
“We have a lot of hard-working employees who take pride in the work they do every single day, supporting the warfighter, and building a reputation of doing exactly that,” said Barnhart. “This non-standard workload breaks up the normalcy and shows off the true talent of these men and women. I want to thank the Letterkenny Army Depot and Fort Indiantown Gap leadership teams for this opportunity.”
| Date Taken: | 12.20.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 12.20.2024 09:32 |
| Story ID: | 488066 |
| Location: | CHAMBERSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 21 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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