Pictured from left, Jack Romano, Henrik Pettersson, Ed Laurie, Chuck Neppach, Bob Walters, Shawn Donley, Steve Moss, Dan King, Brad Morris, John Leonard, Steve Naylor Rick Ryan and Mike Bonner receive letters of recognition this spring for their contributions to ensure the safety and operations of the F/A-18 A-D aircraft last fall during inspections of 636 Fleet aircraft. (U.S. Navy photo)
Aeromechanics team recognized for aileron hinge work
PATUXENT RIVER NAVAL AIR STATION, Md. – Some NAVAIR engineers received letters of appreciation from the Program Executive Officer for Tactical Aircraft, PEO (T), this spring, after all Fleet F/A-18 A-D aircraft were inspected last fall for fatigue cracks on aircraft deployed overseas.
Following the Navy’s decision to inspect outer wing panel aileron hinges on all 636 aircraft, the collaborative effort of engineers throughout NAVAIR ensured the safety and operations of the aircraft while awaiting replacement hinges.
Engineers in the Aeromechanics Division (Air 4.3.2), Structures Division (Air 4.3.3) and Materials Division (Air 4.3.4) from here and in service support centers in Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla., and Naval Air Station North Island, Calif., were recognized by Deputy PEO (T) Lisa Nyalko.
“Your tremendous effort as a team in finding solutions to these problems and so quickly shows how vital your work is. Thank you all for your assistance,” Nyalko said during a ceremony at NAS Patuxent River, Md..
The aeromechanics team evaluated effects in varied flight approaches, conducted 29 hours of flight simulations and ultimately identified safe flight limitations for useful mission planning. As a result, 16 aircraft were repaired and returned to the fleet.
“The F/A-18 program office and NAVAIR engineering team acted quickly to identify potential causes and effects of the problem and determine a plan of action,” Skinner said.
Among those recognized were Chuck Neppach, Shawn Donley, Jack Romano, Mike Bonner, Dan King, John Leonard, Brad Morris, Bob Walters, Steve Naylor, Steve Moss, Jim Elgie, Anne Beeson, Eric Zanutto, Rick Ryan, Russ Bruns, Kurt Gaenzle, Randy Walag, Henrik Pettersson, Steve Hynes, Rich Dudash, Tim Steckman, Andy Kolosuik, Ed Laurie, Robert Mathers and Paul Kenny.
"We brought together disciplines across the competency, the test and evaluation team at VX-23, and contractor support, to evaluate the risk posed by the possible failure of the aileron hinges,” said Capt. Stephen “Chewy” Rorke, AIR 4.3, Air Vehicle Engineering Department military director. “It is a testament to their talent and detailed knowledge that in a very short timeframe, we were able to update the Naval Air Training and Operating Procedures Standardization to provide the pilots guidance in the event such a failure occurred in flight."