When it comes to keeping tabs on assets, aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities can present a special set of challenges. Components move through various stages of assembly and disassembly, in and out of different shops, until the final product comes back together and moves back into the supply chain.

Removing coatings and corrosion from aircraft components often requires abrasive blasting, sanding and hazardous chemicals to prepare the surfaces for rework. Engineers and artisans at Fleet Readiness Center East recently observed a demonstration of a quicker, more efficient way to clean these parts for repair, using laser light to remove corrosion and coatings from containers and aircraft components.

New storage solutions are delivering big benefits on the F-35 Lightning II aircraft modification line at Fleet Readiness Center East, with everyone from aircraft maintenance professionals to program leadership noticing improvements in safety and efficiency.

Leaders from the Advanced Measurement Services and Reverse Engineering Labs (AMSREL) at three Fleet Readiness Centers recently convened at Fleet Readiness Center East to chart a path for the new division and learn from each other’s successes.

Job rotations are just one way NAVAIR provides employees the opportunity to develop their careers and learn new skills.

With many employees working remotely, job rotations have gone virtual.

Ralph Williams, an industrial engineering technician based out of Fleet Readiness Center East in Cherry Point, North Carolina, participated in a virtual job rotation with the Human Capital Management Dept., based out of Patuxent River, in October 2020.

Aviation maintenance professionals at Fleet Readiness Center East always do their work by the book. Mechanics are required to consult maintenance manuals as they perform their repair and overhaul tasks on military aircraft, and it’s critical that those manuals contain only the most current information.

Artisans at Fleet Readiness Center East can now move V-22 fuel bladders more safely and efficiently thanks to a new sling developed in partnership with private industry.

FRCE received the first V-22 sponson fuel bladder sling assembly – also known as a “dog bone” – in late summer. The new sling, first used in FRCE’s clean and blast shop, allows aircraft maintenance professionals to securely lift the flexible fuel bladders designed to fit in a V-22 Osprey’s sponsons, which are projections from the side of the aircraft that hold the fuel cells and landing gear.

New test equipment at Fleet Readiness Center East has positioned the facility to help alleviate one of the top degraders to V-22 Osprey readiness.

The new test stand, which checks the functionality of the V-22 swashplate actuator, cuts testing time in half to produce “ready for issue” components for the supply chain. The swashplate actuator is a flight-critical control that guides the aircraft’s rotors; with the component’s presence on the V-22 degrader list, every day it is in process counts.

Fleet Readiness Center East Executive Director James Ogburn, center, received the Navy's Meritorious Civilian Service Award during a ceremony Tuesday, October 6 at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. Rear Adm. Trent DeMoss, Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers, and FRCE Commanding Officer Capt. Mark E. Nieto presented the award, the third-highest honor for a Navy civilian.

Four area schools will receive help funding extracurricular activities centered in science, technology, engineering and math, thanks to Department of Defense STEM grants secured by Fleet Readiness Center East.