Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) gave students throughout Eastern North Carolina a hands-on look at careers in engineering as part of the depot’s 2023 National Engineers Week outreach efforts.

Engineers from the depot visited four elementary schools, 18 middle schools and four high schools and engaged with more than 2,700 area students.

More than 30 FRCE engineers participated in the outreach efforts, visiting area schools to discuss science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) as well as the role engineers play at the depot.

Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) marked a milestone in its support of the F-35 Lightning II program when the depot recently completed its 100th F-35 parachute repack.

According to Fleet Readiness Center East Commanding Officer Capt. James M. Belmont, the depot inducted its first F-35 parachute in February 2022 and quickly established an efficient workflow.

Following years of rigorous testing and evaluation, a cold spray metallization technology that was initially demonstrated at Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) is now being fielded on the H-1 line at the depot’s detachment on board Marine Corps Air Station New River.

The new system will aid in reducing aircraft maintenance turnaround times and decreasing costs, said Jessica Templeton, the Air Vehicle and Materials Engineering lead with the Naval Air Systems Command Fleet Support Team’s Advanced Technology and Innovation Team at FRCE.

Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) recently secured designation as the Depot Source of Repair (DSOR) for 81 major structural and dynamic components of the U.S. Air Force MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopter, the planned replacement for the UH-1N Huey. FRCE performs maintenance, repair and overhaul of the legacy UH-1N platform at its North Carolina Global TransPark detachment in Kinston. Current projections place the start date for the new work in fiscal year 2028.

The U.S. Air Force recently selected Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) as the stateside depot source of repair (DSOR) for the HH-60W Jolly Green II, the air service’s new combat rescue platform. FRCE will conduct all helicopter airframe programmed depot maintenance for Jolly Green II aircraft located within the continental United States, which represents about 70% of the platform’s total expected workload.

Snowy white walls, smooth sliding windows and a new roof are just a few of the improvements that the eye could see at Fleet Readiness Center Southeast’s (FRCSE) Hangar 101 ribbon-cutting ceremony onboard Naval Air Station Jacksonville on Thursday, Jan. 19.

After three years of work, Hangar 101, which previously held FRCSE’s F/A-18 Hornet Production Line, was unveiled two months ahead of its expected March 2023 completion date.

Since Fleet Readiness Center Southeast (FRCSE) inducted its first F-5N Tiger II, the depot has forged forward despite the challenges associated with standing up a new product line. 

When Nikki Gill began her career at Fleet Readiness Center East 14 years ago, she never planned on being a supervisor. After several years doing technical work as a production support engineer, however, a management opportunity arose within the depot’s Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Engineering Department – and Gill felt ready to take on a new challenge.

Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) wrapped up a successful process improvement project which enhanced the depot’s ability to deliver parts, components, and aircraft to the warfighter.

With the aid of data visualization tools, supervisors and machinists within the command’s Repair Machine Shop successfully reduced the turnaround time for parts and components coming out of the shop.

Based on the recommendation from the V-22 Joint Program Office, the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command and U.S. Navy issued a time limit, via fleet bulletin, on the V-22 Input Quill Assembly, effective Feb. 3, 2023.

The imposed time limit will restrict flight on a subset of V-22s until the Input Quill Assembly is replaced. The Input Quill Assembly is an element of the proprotor gearbox, which houses the aircraft clutch.

This recommendation is based on a progressive increase in Hard Clutch Engagement events and ongoing engineering analysis.