C-130 News: Robins returns gunship to battle in record time

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The war on terrorism is getting a boost from the efficiency of maintenance workers at Robins Air Force Base.

Friday, crews prepared to send off an AC-130U gunship after a record maintenance stop.

 

"It typically takes 181 days to do this work package on this aircraft," said Jim Russell, director of the 560th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. "But because our customer asked us to accelerate due to the fact they need more aircraft in the field, we actually worked this airplane and were able to produce it in 100 days, which is a world record here for Warner Robins. "

For every day a plane is in the shop, it is out of commission for nightly missions in Middle Eastern combat zones.

In February 2009, Robins workers turned around another plane in 128 days.

 

"We beat our record by 28 days, but we also beat the customer requirement by 52 days," Russell said as crews made final checks on the plane out on the flight line Friday morning.

When the gunship flew into Robins Air Force Base on Oct. 23, workers were waiting.

"We hit it as soon as it touched down," said Jake Dickson, flight chief of the C-130 Air Force Special Operations Command Acceleration Plan. "Everyone was on site 15 minutes before their task was ready for execution. So everyone was in place and ready to go."

Michael Smith, the production team lead, said his job is to remove hurdles for the workers.

 

Parts had to be in place to skirt delays.

They shot for an internal target of 97 days in the shop even working around holiday schedules.

"We brought all our mechanics together in a room, so it's not a management-driven thing. It's an employee buy-in," Smith said. "We came up with a plan and our guys executed."

They stripped the paint, reworked the fuel tanks, removed the gun booths, checked avionics and performed extensive maintenance repairs.

 

"Bear in mind this airplane has been flying five years since the last PDM (programmed depot maintenance), so it had a lot of structural issues. It had a lot of metal bond issues that we had to work through," Russell said.

In the continual churn of defense budgeting, the quick turnaround time could boost business and help secure the future of Robins.

"There's 536 C-130s out there in the Air Force inventory, so by proving that we can take this work on and actually do it quicker and do it safely and do it in a quality fashion, we're actually building capacity to bring on additional airplanes out there that need this type of work," Russell said.

The plane will soon be back at Hurlburt Field in Florida and resume its mission.

Crews are already on the fast track with five more aircraft awaiting accelerated maintenance: three MC-130H Combat Talons and two more C-130s.

"I'm excited," Dickson said. "This shows the benefits and gains from a well-informed, choreographed team. Synchronization was key."

Smith reiterated that the record-breaking task was a team effort.

"It makes you proud to stand by the mechanics and watch this thing take off in 100 days and share it with their joy," he said. "And stepping up and supporting our troops."

Source: http://www.macon.com/news/local/military/article58665318.html

Read more here: http://www.macon.com/news/local/military/article58665318.html#storylink=cpy

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Warner Robins ALC vital to AFSOC mission

2/12/2016 - ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- When you're leading troops across unpredictable terrain or taking fire from enemy forces, it's comforting to know an Air Force AC-130U gunship has got your six from somewhere above.

The mission of these "Spooky" gunships -- operated by Air Force Special Operations Command -- is so critical overseas that they're currently experiencing a high operations tempo. And, because they're used so much, it's important to upgrade and maintain them as quickly as possible so they can get back to the warfighter.

That's where the AFSOC Acceleration Plan comes in, an ambitious undertaking by the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex to perform programmed depot maintenance on six MC-130H Combat Talons and AC-130U gunships this fiscal year.

Last week's successful delivery of the first aircraft from that plan equates to a successful mission accomplished by a team that spans across AFSOC, Lockheed Martin, the 402nd Aircraft Maintenance Group, 560th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Defense Logistics Agency and many others.

On Jan. 29 -- just days away from that initial delivery -- a crew flying a combat-ready AC-130U from Hurlburt Field, Florida, landed at Robins to the anticipation of hundreds of base employees. The crew spent a few hours on the flight line, giving the workforce the unique opportunity to tour the aircraft and thanking them for their dedication.

Among the crew was Maj. Gen. Eugene Haase, AFSOC vice commander, who made the hour-long flight to Middle Georgia from the Gulf Coast.

Working closely with Robins leadership on the acceleration program during the past year, Haase described the quick turnaround at Robins as directly proportional to aircraft availability downrange.

"This has been a real success story," said Haase about the AFSOC Acceleration program. "The quicker we get them out of the PDM line here, the quicker we can get them into the battlespace and also train with them back at Hurlburt Field."

Capt. Karl Cirulis, an AC-130U pilot with the 4th Special Operations Squadron, said there's a high demand for gunships all over the world, resulting in the need for their continued upkeep in the depot.

"Every time we fly we're pushing the aircraft to the limit ... just to get airborne we're using maximum power," he said. "Any time we're pushing them out as far as maintenance, it alleviates the stress put on the aircraft downrange. The maintenance here is vital to us."

Looking out at a line filled with dozens of visitors -- many of them C-130 mechanics, waiting for a few minutes to tour the inside of the aircraft -- Jim Russell, 560th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron director, highlighted the significance of the visit.

"Now they understand how important their maintenance piece is to the overall mission of AFSOC," said Russell. "To have the operators standing by every piece of equipment, explaining how things tie in to what they do, was a pretty unique aspect."

Seeing an AC-130U in battle-ready form was an eye-opening experience for work lead Tim Martin.

"To see the work we do in action feels pretty good. It makes the work worth it," he said.

While it's not every day a gunship arrives on the Robins flight line for several hours of morale boosting and appreciation, it was a welcome addition before its voyage home.

"We're grateful that AFSOC took an afternoon to fly a sortie here and have our civilian Airmen see the aircraft in its full configuration," said Col. Jennifer Hammerstedt, 402nd Aircraft Maintenance Group commander. "A lot of people know what the gunships do and what AFSOC does for the warfighter -- but to meet the air crew and ask them questions sends a great message to our folks about who is on the receiving end of what we produce."

The significance of the acceleration workload across other maintenance squadrons at Robins remains to be seen. Lessons learned are also being studied by maintenance group and squadron commanders from the Ogden and Oklahoma City air logistics complexes, who toured the AFSOC acceleration line last week, according to Russell.

"Being able to slash nearly 50 percent of the time it usually takes to get one of these aircraft out is monumental," said Lt. Col. Joseph Wimmer, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Special Operations Forces/Personnel Recovery, Fixed Wing Branch material leader. "The less time that this aircraft spends in the depot means more time we have in the ability to get them modified, enabling them to do the things they need in order to support the warfighter, troops on the ground and our national objectives overseas."
 

Source: http://www.afmc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123468887