Engine and Wiring BDAR Experience and Continued Airworthiness Processes and Tools.

摘要

The Aviation Engineering Directorate (AED) is the Army Airworthiness Authority for all US Army rotary and fixed wing assets. Assessing damage to aircraft in the field and making appropriate decisions on the reparability, making repairs at the lowest repair level possible and evaluating airworthiness of subsequent repairs is critical to the US Army maintaining its force projection capability. This paper will examine the experience of engines and wiring systems as part of Battle Damage Assessment and Repair program. The paper will also examine current processes and procedures for Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) including BDA tools recently developed. The paper will describe and analyze the echeloned approach of battle damage assessments employed including embedded field maintenance engineers, centralized functional expertise and depot capability at RESET locations. The paper will also describe the processes for assuring airworthiness throughout the repair process. The paper will use examples of aircraft damage from OIF and OEF in describing the practices and procedures for conducting BDAR assessments and repair. The BDA assessments will encompass primary aircraft structure, secondary structure, engines and electrical wiring system. Design tools have been developed that allow for quick assessment of field damage by analyzing vulnerable regions of the aircraft in advance with damage limits and repair concepts defined for typical damages. That design tool will be explained and examples provided where efficient BDA and repairs have been affected.