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Rainbow Fittings


miamiair
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How extensive a project is it to remove and replace the Rainbow Fittings?

Thanks in advance.

It's done on a routine basis at depot. However, it does require removal of outer wing, not something you want to do in the field. What a cluster f&*@ it was when we found out those rainbow fittings were the weakest link.

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I understand that the work is carried out at the depot level. I have read that the alignment is a must before any work is accomplished. Additionally, the outer wings have to be removed. Other than what you find in the -3, (57-199-XX) is there any other guidance for this task?

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I understand that the work is carried out at the depot level. I have read that the alignment is a must before any work is accomplished. Additionally, the outer wings have to be removed. Other than what you find in the -3, (57-199-XX) is there any other guidance for this task?

I'm pretty sure that the depot folks work from engineering packages developed by WR-ALC

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I can tell you that, when I was travelling on wing change teams for WR/ALC, we had work packages to follow. After we removed the wings, special two-man teams would come out and do a "planarity check" on the rainbow fitings and then realign the fittings by milling down the nodes that extened too far out in the plane. They also gave us shimming requirements for when we mounted the wings back on.

Once the wings were reinstalled, a team would come back using optical tools and tape measures to check the alignment of the wings.

It was more guided than the instructions that we have in our maintenance manuals.

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I can tell you that, when I was travelling on wing change teams for WR/ALC, we had work packages to follow. After we removed the wings, special two-man teams would come out and do a "planarity check" on the rainbow fitings and then realign the fittings by milling down the nodes that extened too far out in the plane.

Roughly, how long did it take?

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Roughly, how long did it take?

I know it took a WR-ALC field team almost 30 days to replace a single cracked bottom rainbow fitting. Not sure how long it takes to do at WR-ALC proper.

I believe LM Greenville had thought it would take about 45 days to do a complete set(lft,rt, upper & lower), however that really didn't work out too well..I believe it usually ran into about double that.

C-130 depot work is a major part of what LM Greenville does for a living so I can imagine what it would take for an outfit that has never done it before. It's the tearing it down, putting it all back together and the disturbed system checks that really eat up the time.

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Roughly, how long did it take?

From the time that we arrived on base until we left, an outer wing replacement took two to three weeks. The outboard engines were removed prior to our arrival, but the wings were installed and the engines back on and all checks completed before we left. Keep in mind that we were a military team, so things like weekends and overtime was not an issue.

Inboard rainbow fitting replacements are a different story.

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  • 5 weeks later...
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not really hard at all if you have done it before and have the tooling. I led a team that completed a complete center wing box swap out and rainbow/ corner fitting change in 90 calendar days. WR takes months and months and monts.

Not entirely true. The aircraft gets a lot more than center wing box and rainbow fitting swaps here.

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Not entirely true. The aircraft gets a lot more than center wing box and rainbow fitting swaps here.

That's true partone..Warner Bubba does much more than a CWB when the aircraft goes down for a change, depending on the timing..I know a large portion of SOF aircraft were getting PDMs done in conjunction with the CWB..it's all a big scheduling thing to ensure maximum return for the time the aircraft is down.

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Typically, in major structural component replacements, fasteners (like rivets and hi-loks) that have to be drilled or punched out, require oversized replacements. Sometimes reaming is also required.

Also, there is a rainbow fitting tool for reaming the wing attach bolt holes after the new rainbow fitting is installed, and milling of the nodes for planarity.

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You might be better off reaching out to a few of the MROs that perform that work to see about a travel field team to come do it for you vs. train you.  Problem with training is the proficiency aspect...if you don't have many to do, your people will never become proficient.  Cheaper and faster in the long run to pay someone to come to you and do it.  Marshall Aerospace Group in England, L3Harris in Crestview FL, Lockheed etc.

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