Maintenance shop mends broken wings

9/16/2003 - DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. (AFPN) -- Experts in the A-10 Thunderbolt II "Hog Up" program here are extending the aircraft's lifespan by taking old wings and rejuvenating them.

Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center experts are reinforcing the aircraft's wings, repairing corrosion in fuel tanks and beefing up areas prone to cracks, according to Jeff Peterson, the regeneration center's A-10 project manager.

In the wing shop, scattered among rows of airplane wings, wing support structures and tool carts is a daily workforce of about 57 civil service employees and contract workers. These workers are divided into the prep crew, the outboard wing section crew and the center wing crew.

All work is carefully coordinated among the three crews as they modify the aircraft wings.

"They must work together to produce a structurally-modified wing prepared for re-installation on the A-10 aircraft," Peterson said.

The prep crew starts the process by opening fuels cells for cleaning, removing all false flaps and stripping off the paint down to the bare metal, Peterson said. Once modifications are complete, prep crew members check for pressure leaks, structural cracks and foreign object damage.

The outboard wing section crew replaces all leading edges with structurally sound edges modified to fit the wing, Peterson said. This crew also attaches stainless steel straps to strengthen the wing's mid section.

The center wing crew accomplishes the bulk of the wing modifications, Peterson said. They inspect the body of the wing for cracks and stress fractures, and they strengthen the wing structure by adding steel straps to surfaces carrying the heaviest flying stresses.

The "Hog Up" team usually has 16 wings in the shop at any given time. They generally complete two wings a month and bring in two more wings for repair to keep the number at 16. Regeneration center officials anticipate this workload will continue into 2005.