Nigeria completes maintenance of FT-7

摘要

THE NIGERIAN Air Force (NAF) has undertaken in-house maintenance of a Chengdu FT/F-7 for the first time. Engineers and technicians from 131 Engineering Group carried out the 400-hours scheduled maintenance inspection at NAF Base Makurdi. Conclusion of the work was revealed on August 7 during a visit to Makurdi by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, along with other senior officers. The commander of 131 Engineering Group, Air Commodore Pius Oahimire, said that conducting such a high-level inspection, without any foreign assistance, was an historic achievement. He said the work had cost the NAF just N3m, compared with a bill for more than N30m Nigeria would have faced if the original equipment manufacturer or an external maintenance facility had been employed. Maintenance was completed in three weeks and involved removal, servicing, testing and reinstalling the engine and other major components.