By Mike Barton
Public Affairs Specialist

Fleet Marines got a new look at the level of support available from Naval Air Depot Cherry Point artisans recently during a heavy-duty repair of a CH-53 helicopter at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C.

Structural sheetmetal mechanics, John Ericksen, on the depot’s H-53 line, and Bill Alvey, assigned to the depot field team at New River, completed work last month to replace a damaged aft transition bulkhead on one of the heavy-lift helicopters. This was believed to be the first such repair by depot artisans outside of the Cherry Point facility.

The depot’s ability to take such a repair outside of the depot proper is largely due to an invention created through the Beneficial Suggestion Program here more than a decade ago. Originally, the entire transition section of the helicopter – where the frame begins to taper upward from the fuselage to the tail pylon – had to be removed to facilitate such a repair. This required use of a fixture large enough to encompass the entire transition section. The new tool eliminates the need to remove the transition, allowing for the removal of only the tail pylon and the aft bulkhead, thus saving time and effort. The new tool attaches to the transition and guarantees correct alignment of the new bulkhead.

Alvey is one of three permanently assigned members of the New River field team, supervised by Chuck Fisher. The team provides depot-level, in-service repair to aircraft stationed at the air station. Additional artisans deploy to assist the team on a frequent “as-needed” basis. It is not unusual for depot artisans to deploy to repair fleet aircraft. According to Terry McClellan, the Overhaul and Repair Field Team Shop supervisor, the depot may have anywhere from 25 to 150 artisans deployed “doing jobs all over the world.”

The advantages to providing this type of support are numerous. The most significant is the time and cost saved by doing it in the field versus here. “The Marines don’t lose custody of their airplane,” explained Rick Harris, Sheetmetal Shop supervisor on the H-53 line. In a case like this one, for example, that means depot artisans only do the work on the bulkhead. The rest – disassembly prep, reassembly and flight testing – is done by the Marines.

That leaves space free in the depot’s H-53 hangar for other helicopters that must be repaired in house. Another bonus is the interaction between depot artisans and the Marines that they support. According to Fisher, artisans have a good relationship with the Marines. “They all know Alvey,” said Fisher.

“The Marines were very supportive,” echoed Ericksen. “Before you hung up the phone, they were getting it … they wanted their airplane back.”

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Cutline: (From left) Sgt. Shaun Pierce, Bill Alvey, John Ericksen, Cpl. Michael Roberts and Sgt. Hernani Conceicao discuss the work done on the helicopter behind them. The two NADEP artisans recently completed the first in-field replacement of a CH-53 aft transition bulkhead for Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 461. (Photo by Larry Conley)