By Mike Hammond, TEAM Public Affairs, North Island

Feb. 13, 2001

You hear obvious pride in the voice of Frank Widick, executive director of product management for the Naval Aviation Depot (NADEP) at North Island, in San Diego, Calif., as he talks about the technology and technique.

"Yes, we invented it, and we were the first to utilize it," Widick says when asked about the center barrel replacement work being done on the Boeing F/A-18 Hornet at the Navy's West Coast depot. "The idea was born here and developed here."

The idea Widick refers to allows the Navy to break apart a Hornet where it was never designed to be taken apart, and replace the crucial center part of the aircraft that supports the wings and landing gear.

Called the center barrel, the part currently is being replaced for crash or hard landing damage sustained by aircraft in the rigorous environment of naval aviation operations. Soon, the replacement will be performed to extend the life of today's Hornets.

In 1987, the technology to make this kind of repair didn't exist. A Hornet had made a hard landing on a carrier deck, causing damage to the center barrel area beyond anyone's capability to repair it. Until 1989, it looked like an aircraft with only 160 flight hours would end up being spare parts.

Confronted with the loss of an important asset, the Navy approached the private sector seeking a way to repair the low use Hornet rather than scrap it. The private sector estimated that the cost would be $16 million, with the time to design and build the fixture pegged at three years. So the NADEP North Island team set out to implement its own idea.

They designed and built the fixture they had proposed to the private sector, and did it in 18 months for $4 million. The actual repair cost was $2 million, so the NADEP North Island team had a fixture and a repaired aircraft for $6 million, with the capability now to do more center barrel repairs, and the fleet had regained an important asset for its readiness.

Capt. Emory Chenoweth, NADEP North Island's commanding officer, points out that the public sector was the "technological innovator" in developing the center barrel replacement.

"The Naval Air Systems Command team invented the center barrel process and we used it very successfully," he said. "By being innovative, we economically recover important assets and obviate the costs of replacement aircraft. The center barrel replacement technology shows that the public sector can really be innovative and the best value maintenance provider for the Navy and the taxpayers."

Now, with seven Navy Hornet repairs completed and $150 million in costs avoided, the NAVAIR team at North Island has taken on a new challenge. The F/A-18 C/D aircraft are reaching their specified design limits faster due to increased operational usage. The Hornet was originally forecast to have a service life of 20 years. This life estimate was based on an average of 100 carrier landings per year and aircraft experiencing normal loads (fatigue).

After the Gulf War, the A-6E Intruder retired and the F/A-18C assumed its mission on carrier decks. National commitments required increased operational capability, so the F/A-18A was gradually replaced on the carriers by the more capable F/A-18C. The F/A-18C has become the carrier workhorse during the past decade, causing an accelerated wear out rate. The center barrel replacement plus effort will replace load sensitive structure with new structure, enabling the F/A-18 Hornets extended time in their strike fighter role until the new Super Hornet E/F models phase into fleet units. Widick says the center barrel replacement (CBR+) prototype effort began in December 2000 and will complete in 2001.

With 355 Hornets scheduled to receive CBR+ upgrades by 2012, the pace of the work will increase significantly in the next four years, Widick said. A second fixture planned for construction in 2001 will help in meeting the upgrade demand, with NADEP North Island artisans now working in the Maintenance, Corrosion and Paint Program performing the new work. A peak demand of 45 aircraft per year is expected in 2009, based on current aircraft usage. Average cost per aircraft for the CBR+ effort is projected at $2 million.

"Because the technology and the technique were developed here, I'm totally confident that NADEP North Island can satisfy the center barrel replacement plus requirement, ensuring the Navy achieves a timely and cost effective structural life extension (for the F/A-18 C/Ds) of 355 Hornets," Widick said.