JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Leaders from the P-3 aviation community gathered at Fleet Readiness Center Southeast (FRCSE) Sept. 29, to recognize the extraordinary efforts of the P-3 Orion Product Team for repairing and returning 15 grounded aircraft to the Fleet in fiscal year 2010.

When wing damage grounded 39 aircraft, about one-quarter of the P-3C fleet in 2007, the team quickly devised solutions to repair structural fatigue to the Zone 5 lower outer wing adding 5,000 hours of service life to the aircraft.

About 290 artisans with the assistance of engineers, logisticians, planners and estimators, production controllers and others collaborated to develop Zone 5 repairs for wing planks five through nine and the lower aft wing spar.

In FY10, FRCSE scheduled 12 aircraft for the extensive labor-intensive repairs, but completed 15 aircraft, a 25 percent increase over planned deliveries.

At the ceremony, FRCSE Commanding Officer Capt. Paul Sohl told the audience that included Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 11 Capt. Mark Turner and six area P-3 squadron commanders, the delivery of the three additional aircraft represented “227 extra fly days” for the customer, the P-3 community.

“That is nearly eight months of additional flight time, eight months of additional training sorties, and eight months of additional combat air power deployed around the world,” said Sohl.

Artisans reduced work-in-process by 41 percent, increasing throughput from .67 aircraft to 1.19 aircraft per month and increasing on-time deliveries by 29 percent with no additional workforce. The team used Lean methodologies, Theory of Constraints and Concerto â„¢ project management software to improve processes, prioritize work and increase turnaround times.

P-3 aircrew readiness and mission execution to support the maritime strategy have suffered because of the grounding of 39 mission-critical P-3C aircraft in 2007.

Commander Patrol and Reconnaissance Group Rear Admiral Michael W. Hewitt said that in 2003 a P-3 assessment revealed the aircraft had much less service life than expected at a time when the country was fighting a war in Iraq.

“We had no program to sustain this aircraft and no money to support it,” said Hewitt. “We really hunkered down to get to this day, and we are finally seeing the return on investment that you have given us. Your efforts are paying off in ways you may never understand, but more squadrons will deploy with better capabilities.”

During a tour of the hangar, P-3 Branch Head Gregory Wallace on behalf of the workers thanked Sohl and FRCSE Production Director Bobby Stroud for their strong leadership and solid support on the Zone 5 project.

Wallace said the Navy is providing extensive repairs and modifications to extend the lifespan of the dwindling P-3C fleet as the aircraft’s successor, the P-8A Poseidon, is developed. The projected delivery of the Poseidon aircraft is 2013.

“P-3s won’t be going away completely,” said Wallace. “The EP community will probably be around until 2025.”

P-3 Product Manager Rick Theilacker said it was truly a team effort from Naval aviation leadership down, including Commander Fleet Readiness Centers and Naval Air Systems Command Program Manager Air 290 to the artisans on the floor.

Fleet Readiness Center Western Pacific (FRCWP) in Japan assisted by increasing forward-deployed Planned Depot Maintenance (PDM) to lessen FRCSE’s scheduled workload.

“In April 2009, we asked FRCWP to take a couple of planes so we could reduce our work-in-progress from 14 to 10,” said Theilacker. “That really allowed us to focus on Zone 5 repairs.”

FRCWP has been supporting forward-deployed forces since the 1950s. Over the last decade, FRCWP decreased P-3 maintenance turnaround times and set the stage for increasing P-3 capacity at NIPPI Corporation, a major depot maintenance contractor located adjacent to Naval Air Facility Atsugi. NIPPI has been providing maintenance support since 1955.

The Zone 5 repairs took the efforts of not only the Fleet Readiness Centers but also five civilian contractors to quickly repair and return these assets to the Fleet.

The Lockheed Martin P-3 Orion has been the Navy’s frontline, land-based maritime patrol aircraft since the 1960s according to the U.S. Navy Fact File. The most capable Orion version is the P-3C, first delivered to the Navy in 1969.

The four-engine turboprop aircraft was originally designed as a land-based, long-range, anti-submarine warfare patrol aircraft. Its mission has evolved to include surveillance of the battlespace, either at sea or over land. The P-3 continues to prove its value, especially as a vital part of international counter-drug operations and law enforcement.

Source: NAVAIR