ARMY AL&T


The Beginning—UH-60A to A Recap


The benefi t of recap/rebuild is clear. Many of the recapped aircraft deliv- ered to the ARNG have been deployed to theater in support of Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/ OIF). The Utility Helicopters Project Offi ce (UHPO) conducted detailed monitoring of eight of these aircraft and found that they experienced a fully mission-capable rate that is 11 percent higher than UH-60As in the same units that had not been recapped. Additionally, since 2003, the UHPO has monitored two UH-60A recapped aircraft at Fort Rucker for reliability, availability, and maintainability. Six years and counting into the compari- son, the recapped aircraft continue to demonstrate the following improved performance relative to two non- recapped aircraft monitored at the same location for the same period:


• 16 percent reduction in unscheduled maintenance ratio.


• 46 percent improvement in mean time between mission aborts.


• 58 percent improvement in mean time between mission-affecting failures.


• 17 percent improvement in mean time between essential maintenance actions.


• 25 percent improvement in mean time between system failures.


The benefi t of a recapped aircraft is also not lost on the ultimate customer, the Soldier. User feedback is consistently


The benefi t of recap/rebuild is clear. Many of the recapped aircraft delivered to the ARNG have been deployed to theater in support of OEF/OIF.


very positive and, at the same time, rewarding to the men and women of CCAD, the UHPO, and Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.—all of whom make this possible. In the words of CPT Paul Saiz, Aviation Maintenance Offi cer, New Mexico ARNG, who accepted and fl ew home another recapped UH-60A, “[It is] another great product.”


Moving Forward—The Next Chapter in UH-60 Recap


In July 2007, CCAD, in partner- ship with the UHPO; the Aviation and Missile Command; the Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center (AMRDEC); and Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., inducted a prototype UH-60A aircraft to be recapped and upgraded to the UH-60L confi guration. The initiative was unprecedented in Army aviation acqui- sition. The UH-60L capability is a force multiplier in overseas contingency oper- ations, delivering and supporting the most capable, reliable, and sustainable weapons platform to the battlefi eld. UH-60A to L recap/upgrade, program- matically known as the UH-60A to A to L Recap Program, leverages the proven reliability and sustainability


benefi ts realized with the UH-60A to A recap/rebuild, and provides enhanced warfi ghting capability with the perfor- mance improvements of the UH-60L. Those capability improvements include:


• Increased range and lift capability for high/hot combat missions.


• Increased engine torque under extreme drag conditions.


• Increased contingency power for emergency conditions.


• Increased sling load mission capability.


These improvements are gained by incorporating the handful of confi gu- ration upgrades associated with the UH-60L, such as the T700-701D engine, improved durability gear box, 9,000-pound cargo hook, and associ- ated structural and electrical platform modifi cations required to apply these upgrades to a UH-60A. The end prod- uct is a UH-60L, a step further toward the divestiture of UH-60As from the utility helicopter fl eet. The benefi t of reduced operations and sustainment burden with a 2-model fl eet (UH-60L and M) will be signifi cant. The benefi ts of performance, reliability, and sustain- ability improvement, coupled with a reduced cost-per-fl ight-hour for the UH-60L over the UH-60A, and other tangible benefi ts such as obsolescence preemption and unscheduled mainte- nance avoidance, reinforce the merit of this effort.


A fi rst production UH-60A to A to L lifts off the fl ight line at CCAD en route to the Delaware ARNG. (U.S. Army photo by Ed Mickley, CCAD Public Affairs Offi cer (PAO).)


The UH-60A to A to L recap prototype successfully completed the fl ight test phase of recap and was “sold” in August 2008. This milestone culminated the demonstration and validation of the engineering, confi guration defi nition, and work instructions required to recap


APRIL –JUNE 2010 31


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72