CNAL Restores EA-18G, Boosts Readiness

摘要

Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic (CNAL) continues its commitment to improving the culture of maintenance best practices implemented under the Naval Sustainment System-Aviation effort one aircraft at a time. A recent example is the restoration and return of an EA-18G Growler to a Whidbey Island-based squadron completed under the management of Bob Alley, F/A-18 class desk inventory manager. "Originally, this aircraft suffered a hot air leak in its engine bay that resulted in damage to the side of the aircraft," said Alley, a former master chief avionics technician. The Growler departed Naval Station Norfolk in July, returning to its home at Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island, Washington, newly assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 129. The repaired EA-18G Growler had 607 hours on its airframe. An EA-18G has an aircraft lifespan of 7,500 hours. "While this aircraft was originally assigned to VAQ-140, returning these types of aircraft to the fleet helps inventory pressures because of deployments and helps to maintain readiness," Alley said. He has been working with Fleet Readiness Center Mid-Atlantic and the engineers from the Fleet Support Team in North Island, California, to restore this aircraft.