combat aircraft

airliners. Developed to power large

business jets, the Passport powers the

Bombardier Global 7000. Rolls-Royce is

proposing its BR725 turbofan from the

Gulfstream G650 business jet.

The USAF will select the winning engine

by the end of June 2019. It has allocated

$727.5 million for development work

in Fiscal Years 2019-23, with production

expected to commence during FY2022.

A radar upgrade is also now planned and

should start in 2020.

The aircraft structural integrity program

(ASIP) is a key element of keeping these

old warhorses  ying. Connie Davis says,

‘In the last nine months we have been

creating relationships on our PDM line

with our enterprise partners’. This is

intended to streamline the throughput of

these complex aircraft through the PDM

process. The range of non-standard items

thrown up by such an old airframe means

there is no such thing as a standard day

here. ‘The  ow days per aircraft are going

in the right direction,’ she says. ‘These

aren’t the only measurement of PDM

timing; defects we  nd have a big impact

on what we are doing. Recently we made

a 20-day improvement to our in-dock

 ow, which starts at gate two.’

For Davis and her team the job isn’t just

about performance, but about pride and

detail. Each B-52 now carries nose art

and squadrons typically want this to be

preserved despite the extent of the deep

maintenance. This is well outside of the

work speci cation, but it’s an important

factor. Davis says of the paint team, ‘We

make sure they know about it and that

they preserve it.’

Across the USAF, everyone is being

challenged to  nd e ciencies to improve

readiness. The Tinker PDM is rewriting

a very old and well-thumbed rule book

when it comes to the ‘BUFF’. The fact that

the type has a formidable safety record

is largely thanks to the diligent work

here, which ensures bomber crews at the

two B-52 wings can step to Code One

bombers on a daily basis.

Aircraft enter programmed depot

maintenance about every fi ve years —

we induct 17 aircraft a year

Connie Davis, 565th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron

Below left: B-52H
61-0017 arriving at
Tinker for PDM in
2015.

Below: Pristine
B-52H 60-0058
on the fl ight line
after completing
depot-level
overhaul. The
aircraft emerged
from this process
almost two
weeks ahead
of schedule on
September 14,

2018. USAF/
      Greg L. Davis

http://www.combataircraft.net // December 2018 93