Phase maintenance kicks birds out of the hangar and into the sky

Photo By Monica K. Guthrie | Pfc. Carlos Del Bosque, sitting, and Pfc. Thomas Nash, both members of Company B, 603rd Aviation Support Battalion, check the torque of a tire on a Chinook at the Combat Aviation Brigade flight line in Baghdad, Oct. 19.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

10.22.2007

Story by Spc. Monica K. Guthrie 

3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division

By Pfc. Monica K. Smith
Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Routine, or phase maintenance is required for each aircraft in the Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division. The constant need to conduct these phase maintenance inspections cycles aircraft through the hangars continually. The relentless flow of incoming aircraft requires Soldiers to quickly and efficiently conduct maintenance and test flights to avoid a backup of aircraft or a delay in mission readiness.

"Phase maintenance is a scheduled period, after so many hours of flight time, an aircraft has to be inspected and repaired so it can continue on its flight schedule," said Sgt. Raymond Lindholm, technical inspector in Company B, 603rd Aviation Support Battalion. "It is preventative maintenance so you can catch something before it happens, like a (preventative maintenance checks and services) on a truck, only more in-depth for a helicopter."

Each aircraft receives maintenance after a specific amount of hours in flight. The Chinooks receive maintenance after 200 and 400 hours, Apaches at 150, 250 and 500 hours, and Black Hawks after every 360 hours in flight.

An entire company has been dedicated to phase maintenance. Over 300 Soldiers from Co. B, 603rd ASB, work around the clock to ensure the aircraft are inspected, repaired and ready to fly as soon as possible.

"We've cut our time into less than half, which is faster than the Army expected us to do," said Spc. Art Flores, phase maintenance team leader, Co. B, 603rd ASB.

The various maintenance procedures specify the amount of time Soldiers are allocated to complete each phase. For the Chinooks, the 200-hour phase maintenance usually takes 30 days to complete; with Soldiers working 12-hour shifts, 24-hours a day, seven days a week, that time has been reduced to around 11 days. The 400-hour phase has been reduced from about 40 days to 15 days.

"When we first got here things were slow but now it's a cycle," said Lindholm. "It's continuous so there is really no down time. It gets pretty packed in here sometimes. Birds are always coming in and out."

Though the Soldiers work on the aircraft quickly, they do not sacrifice quality of work for quantity of birds they send back into the fight.

"If it's close to being bad, we're going to replace it," said Flores. "Not that it needs to be replaced but we're not going to run the risk of it going bad during a firefight because that's putting the pilots' lives at risk and that puts the infantry guys at risk."

After the aircraft has been serviced, technical inspectors check to ensure all repairs and maintenance procedures have been performed correctly. Then test pilots fly the helicopter and test out various parts of the aircraft to further ensure each repair has been completed. The test flight also ensures no new problems have surfaced that may put other pilots, or their crews, in jeopardy.

"We make sure the helicopter doesn't come out of the air and kill the people on board," said Lindholm. "The helicopter has to be able to finish the mission. We'd have a lot more (downed aircraft recovery team) missions without phase maintenance."

• Date Taken: 10.22.2007
• Date Posted: 10.22.2007 11:43
• Story ID: 13179
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ