Download - Royal Australian Navy
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Aircraft Battle Damage<br />
Repair and Contingency<br />
Maintenance in the<br />
Aviation World<br />
Picture this, you and nine other Aviation Technician (AT) maintainers<br />
are posted to an FFG S-70B-2 Seahawk Flight during a declared<br />
contingency. Far from home and any hope of Deeper Level<br />
Maintenance (DLM) support, you have, through necessity, become a<br />
fairly self-sufficient team. By day five of the operation, the aircraft is<br />
averaging eight flying hours a day and is considered an important<br />
force multiplier for the ship’s involvement in the operation. The aircraft<br />
is also heavily involved in up lifting stores and troops in support of<br />
allied operations. Your team is working hard to keep the aircraft<br />
available by undertaking scheduled maintenance tasks between each<br />
sortie, where possible. It’s just before lunch and the team, who have<br />
been working hard since before sunrise, are savouring the thought of a<br />
well-cooked steak. Suddenly, the Helicopter Control Officer (HCO)<br />
reports that the aircraft has declared a PAN and is returning to the<br />
ship immediately. The pilot has reported taking ground fire and the<br />
aircraft has fluctuating hydraulic pressure.<br />
The aircraft returns on deck<br />
without further incident and a<br />
cursory glance reveals evidence<br />
of gunshot damage to the STBD<br />
transition section, hydraulic fluid<br />
is evident down the side of the<br />
cab. The OOW phones the<br />
hangar, the ship’s CO wants an<br />
immediate report, and expects<br />
his aircraft back in the air before<br />
he finishes lunch. All hope of a<br />
well-cooked steak vanishes from<br />
their minds as the team start<br />
dragging the aircraft's Structural<br />
Repair Manual (SRM) out of the<br />
correctly secured-for-sea<br />
bookshelf and the Flight Senior<br />
Maintenance Sailor (FSMS)<br />
starts the Hostile Action Report<br />
(HAR).<br />
An unlikely scenario? Not really.<br />
A realistic timeframe? Now that<br />
depends.<br />
As the world stage continues to<br />
change shape, the above<br />
scenario is more likely to<br />
become a reality. Therefore, with<br />
a slight shift in focus the RAN<br />
Aviation Branch is endeavouring<br />
to better prepare its technical<br />
sailors for just such a situation.<br />
Accordingly, armed with newly<br />
acquired Aircraft Battle Damage<br />
Repair (ABDR) techniques, finely<br />
honed Sheet Metal Repair (SMR)<br />
skills, appropriate tooling and the<br />
right attitude, AT sailors are<br />
becoming increasingly prepared,<br />
and expected, to ‘do the job’<br />
themselves.<br />
NAVY ENGINEERING BULLETIN SEPTEMBER 2003<br />
The recent Gulf Conflict saw a<br />
contingency declared for the first<br />
time since 1990 and as a result,<br />
RAN aircraft operating in the AO<br />
were able to adopt Contingency<br />
Maintenance (CMAINT) policies.<br />
CMAINT prioritises aircraft<br />
operational availability over the<br />
longer-term preservation of<br />
material condition, or economic<br />
considerations, and is intended<br />
to reduce maintenance<br />
downtimes without reducing<br />
safety - a ‘force-multiplier effect’.<br />
ABDR is normally a subset of<br />
CMAINT that utilises modified or<br />
unconventional rapid repair<br />
techniques to maximise aircraft<br />
availability without significantly<br />
compromising airworthiness.<br />
Historically, a greater number of<br />
BY LEUT NATASHA TINDAL,<br />
FLEET AVIATION ENGINEERING<br />
SUPPORT OFFICER<br />
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