combat aircraft

‘BUFF’

REGENERATED

When B-52H serial 60-0049 su ered a

cockpit  re at Barksdale AFB, the USAF

determined that it would be cheaper

to regenerate an aircraft from storage

at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance

and Regeneration Group (AMARG) than

attempt to repair the stricken ‘BUFF’.

The selected aircraft was B-52H serial

61-0007, which had entered storage on

November 13, 2008. It left for Barksdale

AFB on February 12, 2015. After

having equipment transferred from

the damaged 60-0049, it was  own

to Tinker AFB and entered the depot

maintenance process in December

2015 before being completed, painted

and  own out to join the 5th Bomb

Wing at Minot AFB, North Dakota, on

September 27, 2016.

Re-attaching a 2,600lb  n is no mean

feat. It starts with the attachment of a

screw jack to the fuselage and a hand-

crank procedure that can take several

individuals anywhere from two to four

hours to complete.

Post-dock is when the aircraft is

moved out of the hangar; it gets fueled,

avionics are checked and engines run

up. The aircraft is then turned over to

the 10th Flight Test Squadron (FLTS) for

the functional check  ight (FCF). Some

aircraft will receive a complete repaint,

but that tends to be at every other visit.

A touch-up is the other option. ‘This

averages out to a complete repaint

about every 10 years,’ says Davis. ‘The

touch-up is basically applying paint

on every place where work has been

performed, such as aircraft skins that

may have been replaced or hatches that

were removed and repaired.’

A complete repaint on a B-52 requires

52 gallons of primer and 100 gallons of

top-coat. This comes after 4,000 separate

operations and 32,000 hours of work

that are typically carried out on each

B-52 in PDM.

Injecting new life

On current estimates, the 76-strong

B-52H  eet could  y until 2050. One of

the most signi cant modi cations on the

horizon is the long-awaited re-engining

project. GE Aviation has revealed that

the company plans to o er two engine

options to the USAF. These will include

the CF34-10 and the more advanced

Passport engine, which it believes are

‘good candidates’ for the program. Both

engines will o er the USAF excellent

reliability but the Passport will provide

greater fuel e ciency. The CF34-10

is already in service on Embraer 190

Above left

to right: The

B-52 needs

its vertical

stabilizer to

be lowered to

starboard in

order to avoid

it hitting the

ceiling.

B-52H 61-0017

entered PDM

with The Lone

Star Lady II

nose art. It

re-emerged as

Hawg Wild, as

carried here.

B-52H

60-0062 Cajun

Fear having

re-emerged

from the PDM

line, ready for

the functional

check fl ight.

INDUSTRY REPORT // B-52H MAINTENANCE

92 December 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net