Sun, Apr 18, 2010
Will Repair Crash Damage, Work On Cabin Designs
In addition to beginning work in March on the final lot of
aircraft in the OH-58D Safety Enhancement Program (SEP), Bell
Helicopter is also supporting the Army's Kiowa Warrior program with
crash damage repairs and a C-to-D cabin conversion build line.
In March the Army awarded Bell a contract to modify the final 30
OH-58D aircraft scheduled to enter the Kiowa Warrior SEP program.
Work on the first aircraft in Lot 13 has already begun at Bell
Helicopter's facility in Fort Worth, and the final aircraft are
scheduled to be completed by the end of 2011.
As they move through Bell's SEP Line, the Kiowa Warriors are
being upgraded with an improved engine, improved computer control
system and related new wiring harnesses. The improvements are part
of a series of safety and performance modifications the Army has
implemented to keep the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter safe and
mission effective throughout its lifespan. When Lot 13 is complete,
a total of 371 Kiowa Warriors will have been modified to the SEP
configuration.
Bell is also supporting the Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD)
with crash damage repairs on OH-58D aircraft. Three cabins are
currently at Bell for repairs. As work on each cabin is completed,
it will be shipped to an AMCOM Aviation Field Maintenance
Directorate site for installation of dynamic components.
In April 2009 the Army exercised a contract option to have Bell
convert one OH-58A cabin into a new OH-58D cabin and complete the
non-recurring engineering effort required to establish a cabin
build line. Modification work on the first A cabin has begun.
The completed D cabin is scheduled for delivery to CCAD next year.
A cabin build line will enable the Army to acquire new OH-58D
cabins from Bell to replace Kiowa Warrior aircraft whose cabins
have been damaged beyond repair.
The US Army fleet of Kiowa helicopters has accumulated more than
600,000 combat flight hours and nearly 2 million total flight
hours. Despite unusually high usage rates and daily combat missions
in a harsh operating environment, the OH-58D continues to maintain
the highest OPTEMPO and highest readiness rates of any Army
aircraft in theater.
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