Erickson Helicopters Rebuilding USN MH-53's

[SASless]

New Contracting concept by the US Navy is using a civilian Contractor to do Depot Level Overhaul work.


Aviation firm to refurbish Sea Dragon helicopters for Navy - Navy - Stripes

[finalchecksplease]

Wrong picture MH60S (HSE 26 Chargers aircraft based @ Naval Station Norfolk) instead of MH53's it says underneath the picture.
How difficult can it be to get a correct picture

[Lonewolf_50]

Originally Posted by SASless

New Contracting concept by the US Navy is using a civilian Contractor to do Depot Level Overhaul work.


Aviation firm to refurbish Sea Dragon helicopters for Navy - Navy - Stripes

Not a new concept, using a civilian overhaul agent, but each case has its own merits and demerits.

Navy has been using the OEM (civilian overhaul agency) to overhaul major dynamic components in their Seahawk fleet since the SDLM at Pensacola shut down, as well as the Navy choosing to stop overhauling Seahawks at CCAD.

IIRC, the airframe overhaul ended up being established at FRC's (Depot Level Repair sites) on both coasts, but I am a few years out of date on that.

[widgeon]

H-3 Component overhaul

Spar ( later L-3) had contract for H-3 MGB , TGB Mrh and servos for some years . Sadly there is nothing left of the company now.

[Self loading bear]

Wiring also renewed?

I understood the MH53's did not yet have their kapton wiring replaced?
Is this also part of the Erickson rebuilding?

Cheers SLB

[Lonewolf_50]

Originally Posted by Self loading bear

I understood the MH53's did not yet have their kapton wiring replaced?
Is this also part of the Erickson rebuilding?

Cheers SLB

Check out the thread on the Lawsuit against Sikorsky over a crash off of VACAPES. It's on this forum. It appears that Sikorsky alerted NAVAIR to the issue, but ...

[Self loading bear]

Lonewolf,
Exactly, that is why I put forward the question
SLB

[riff_raff]

The last part of this March 2015 article is very interesting.

"Meanwhile, personnel continue to perform a second round of fuel line and wiring inspections mandated last month by Naval Air Systems Command. So far, eight of the 28 Sea Dragons have been re-inspected. On some of the aircraft, sailors and engineers have found several hundred instances of fuel lines or wiring bundles that must be repaired, replaced or repositioned to prevent chafing. Until repairs are made, those helicopters can't be flown."

Think about that. They found several hundred instances of this problem on some aircraft that required repair.