$75 Million Aircraft Sustained A Six-Foot By Three-Foot Crack

Fixing one of the most complex aircraft in the world is NOT for the faint of heart... or those with anything but the greatest of skills. Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW) recently added another milestone in its history of maintenance and repair services to naval aircraft by completing an unusual repair to the inner skin of a CMV-22 Osprey.

The right-hand inner composite skin of the $75 million aircraft sustained a six-foot by three-foot crack with other, but minor, composite damage. To provide a comprehensive repair, MV-22 production manager Moises Edillor said FRCSW removed and replaced the 21-foot by four-foot composite panel.

“Since the repair was the first of its kind, planning out the sequence of the maintenance to ensure the new inner skin was not damaged during the installation process proved to be difficult,” he said.

“The new skin had very few pilot holes drilled and the most challenging aspect was drilling more than 1,000 holes into the new composite skin to ensure proper alignment to the aircraft. Our sheet metal mechanics were able to install the new skin with zero defects and delivered the product with high quality craftsmanship.”

The MV-22 (pictured in flight)  is unique to other airframes serviced by the command because of its aluminum, carbon/epoxy composite fuselage and empennage. Its wings and nacelles are also composite and fiberglass. The aircraft, assigned to Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron 30 (VRM-30), was inducted by the command on January 8 as an in-service repair (ISR), or repairs outside of scheduled maintenance. In total, the ISR required more than 2,500 manhours and was completed through the combined efforts of the command’s artisans and engineering department.

“Twelve V-22 FRCSW personnel worked long hours to complete this critical repair. Trade artisans included sheet metal mechanics, mechanics, electricians and non-destructive inspection (NDI) personnel,” Edillor said.

“Engineering played a key role in the process as they worked quickly in order to create instructions to safely fix the aircraft and get it back into fight-ready status,” he added. FRCSW completed the Osprey on time and within the estimated repair cost of approximately $500,000. It was returned to VRM-30 on June 9.

FMI: www.navair.mil