F-15s Undergo Extensive Inspections

U.S. Air Force maintenance personnel are now performing methodical and time-intensive inspections on all Boeing F-15A/B/C/D Eagle fighters in the wake of the F-15 grounding order issued on December. 3. The F-15 stand-down follows additional information received from the ongoing investigation of a Nov. 2...

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U.S. Air Force maintenance personnel are now performing methodical and time-intensive inspections on all Boeing F-15A/B/C/D Eagle fighters in the wake of the F-15 grounding order issued on December. 3.

The F-15 stand-down follows additional information received from the ongoing investigation of a Nov. 2 F-15C mishap, which resulted in the loss of that aircraft. The Missouri Air National Guard Eagle was on a training mission. The aircraft crashed in a wooded rural area after the pilot ejected. The USAF Accident Investigation Board (AIB) that was convened found serious defects that indicate potential structural damage in the rest of the fleet.

Maintainers at Langley AFB, VA have found no cracks or evidence of fatigue in F-15 longerons so far; however, throughout the Air Force, maintainers have found cracks in the upper longerons of eight F-15s (as of Dec. 10). Four of these aircraft are assigned to the Air National Guard's 173rd Fighter Wing, Kingsley Field, OR; two are assigned to the 18th Wing, Kadena Air Base, Japan; another is assigned to the 325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall AFB, FL; and one assigned to the ANG 131st Fighter Wing, St. Louis, MO.

Every aircraft will undergo all previously published time compliance technical order inspections. However, unlike in recent weeks, the cleared aircraft will not immediately return to flight. Technical experts at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, GA, are developing new inspection techniques based on findings in parts of the mishap aircraft. These inspections will be performed as soon as the new inspection techniques are available for the affected F-15s.

Maintenance crews are working around the clock worldwide stripping paint and performing non-destructive inspections in the F-15's upper longeron just aft of the canopies.

Each of the 20 F-15s assigned to Langley AFB require a minimum inspection time of 12.5 hours. Some F-15 models elsewhere require inspections that take more than 20 hours. The B and D models are more time consuming because they have two seats. The rear seat requires removal to access the upper longerons.

Inspections involved more than just a visual check. After the paint is stripped and bare metal is exposed, airmen from the non-destructive inspection shop apply chemicals that reveal cracks under a black light. Other inspections in hard-to-see areas are done with a bore scope - a tool that uses a tiny camera and fits in tight areas.

Pieces of the crashed jet were retrieved and sent to the Air Force Research Lab to see what may have caused the aircraft to disintegrate. That information is going to engineers who will determine how to inspect, what will be inspected and the form in which it's done.

Despite the Air Force-wide stand down of F-15 Eagles, Kadena Air Base pilots are maintaining their skills and capabilities through virtual means.

Members of the 18th Operations Support Squadron and Boeing civilian contractors with the unit have stepped up and provided increased time in flight simulators.

The F-15 Mission Training Centers, or flight simulators, are recreations of the F-15 cockpit that simulate flight and combat within the aircraft, and allow 18th Wing pilots to continue to train, even while on the ground.

"The primary simulator training that we do does not differ from the training we do day-to-day when the F-15s are flying," said Capt. Matthew French, a pilot with the 67th Fighter Squadron. "We normally use the simulators to augment our daily training."

The simulators are capable of recreating many of the scenarios and challenges pilots would face while in combat and offers some benefits that even the real thing can't match.

Kadena AB is one of a few installations within the Pacific Air Forces that can link up with Distributed Mission Operations (DMO). The DMO links Kadena AB simulators to those at other bases, such as F-15 simulators in Alaska, or F-16 Fighting Falcon simulators at Misawa AB, Japan.

The simulators can also link up with the Kadena AB airborne warning and control system simulators, which offer training for E-3 Sentry pilots who usually rely on the F-15s for their training as well.

The increase in operations tempo for the simulators places more burdens on the 18th OSS contractors to maintain the equipment and provide the training.

While the simulators at Kadena AB have allowed the 18th Wing F-15 pilots to continue their training and keep their proficiencies in ways that wouldn't have been possible otherwise during the stand-down, the pilots are looking forward to being in the air again

"We would obviously much rather be airborne," said one F15 fighter pilot. "As good as they are, the simulators can't fully replace or replicate actually flying the aircraft."