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Aviation History
1985
1985 - 0082.PDF
DEFENCE 187 US Navy A-6s are grounded because of wing fatigue, but only 24 of these are at sea Wing fatigue grounds Intruders WASHINGTON D.C. ~ The United States Navy has grounded or restricted 187 of its Grumman A-6 Intruders after Grumman reviewed wing-fatigue testing and revised the original fatigue life limits set in the 1960s. The new fatigue calcu lations have revealed that wing fatigue life is now between 2,000hr and 3,000hr, and not 4,400hr as previously estimated. Taking the 2,000hr as the 100 per cent base line, the Navy has issued flight restrictions on A-6Es. Those aircraft which have completed 150 per cent or more of the new fatigue life have been grounded immediately. Those aircraft that have completed between 120 per cent and 150 per cent of fatigue life are restricted to 3g manoeuvring, and those between 100 per cent and 120 per cent of the 2,000hr-level are restricted to 4-5g. Aircraft below 2,000hr are unaffected. Of the 187 aircraft affected, 64 are grounded and 112 restricted. The total figure includes 11 of the Navy's 66 KA-6D tanker conversions of the Intruder. As Navy policy is to send its newer aircraft to sea, only 24 of the affected aircraft are on carriers. Grumman says that the Navy will bear the cost of re- winging the affected aircraft, which will take six months and cost about $2-5 million for each A-6. The work will mainly be carried out at Naval Rework Facilities, with Grumman assistance, but both Grumman and other contractors could be called in to help. Grumman says that, contrary to some reports, it does not have a new method of computer-testing A-6 wings for fatigue. "All we have done is to apply modern fatigue- estimation techniques to an old aeroplane and revised the original calculations made in the early 1960s. Since then, the A-6 mission profile and weights have changed con siderably, as have the methods of fatigue calcula tion. In the old days the effects of blocks of airloads on the wing were calculated; now we 'fly' the wing through a series of specific missions and sequence events such as cata pulting, gust loading, evasive manoeuvring, weapons de livery, landing, and arresting. "After sequencing all these fatigue spectra, we revised our calculations, looked at some of the aircraft, and found that there is evidence that our new calculations are correct. We've not had an A-6 lost because of wing fatigue, but we've found a few very small hairline cracks around fastener holes of maybe 3/l,000in deep, so small they don't even show up with dye penetrant." Free F-104s— at a price OTTAWA Canada might have to pay to make a free gift of 20 CF-104 Starfighters to Turkey. Defence Minister Robert Coates denied in the Cana dian parliament that it will cost $40 million to refurbish the aircraft before handover, but it is understood that the aircraft will have to be modified to the tune of $6 million at the request of Turkey. Coates says that Canada is prepared to do the work as Turkey is a fellow Nato member. But he has denied that the aircraft are being donated to support de* Havilland Canada's DHC-5. Buffalo tender for the Turk ish Air Force's transport* aircraft requirement. > Turkey requires up to 40 ( aircraft to replace its Douglas C-47 fleet, and is also looking^ at the Casa CN-235 and the Aeritalia G.222. A decision isv imminent but Turkey, keen to, bolster its newly-inaugurated aircraft production capabili ties, is anxious for significant J technology transfer as part of | the deal. Royal Ordnance \ Factories privatised LONDON w After 450 years of being the UK Government's (or Royal- Houses') defence equipment manufacturer, on January 2 the Royal Ordnance Factories became a private company under the name Royal Ordnance pic. Initially, Secretary of State for Defence Michael Heseltine will be the sole- shareholder, but he intends to introduce private capital at' some time in the future., Flotation of the whole company is favoured. Royal Ordnance will be a London-based holding com pany for four Royal Ordnance divisions with responsibility for manufacturing ammuni tion, explosives, small arms,, and large-calibre weapons, and fighting vehicles. In 1984 the company won its third Queen's Award for Export Achievement, and it has recently won major orders for combat engineer tractors to the Indian Army and 81mm mortars for the US Army. Together with Thorn-EMI it won an £85 million order for a new artillery fuze for the British Army. Current international developments include, in the USA, a 155mm gun turret with BMY, the 105mm low- recoil gun on the Cadillac Gage Stingray, and vehicle intercom systems together with E-Systems. In Egypt, Royal Ordnance has a contract to fit its 105mm gun to Soviet-built T55 tanks. In aviation, RO produces the, Aden cannon and several types of bombs and rockets. FLIGHT International, 12 January 198$
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