Friday, March 29

Coast Guard Grounds Helicopters: Spare Parts Shortage

Google+ Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr +

The Coast Guard has grounded some helicopters, including those used in search-and-rescue operations, because it doesn’t have enough spare parts. And the situation can get worse with the coming of hurricane season. Read this story in military.com:

The Coast Guard’s short-range search-and-rescue helicopters are flying at 70% of their potential scheduled hours due to a parts shortage, a situation that could worsen as hurricane season approaches, the service’s top officer told Congress on Wednesday.

Six Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopters are currently grounded, with four more expected to be out of circulation by June. That’s roughly 10% of the fleet, Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz told the House Appropriations Committee’s homeland security subcommittee April 28.

Hurricane season begins June 1 and runs through Nov. 30. Last year was the most active hurricane season since records were first taken in 1851, with 29 named storms, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Schultz said the service must “take immediate action” to transition its entire rotary wing force over to MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters.

“Aerospatiale Airbus, the parent company, stopped making the [MH-65 Dolphins] in 2018. We have the biggest fleet in the air — we’re at 98 — and things like the gearbox, it’s very difficult to get the parts,” Schultz said.

The Coast Guard began flying MH-65 Dolphins in 1984. They are used for various missions, including search and rescue, drug interdiction, polar deployments, environmental protection and homeland security.

The service utilizes Dolphins across the U.S. and deploys them aboard cutters. Their bright orange airframes can be seen frequently over the skies of Washington, D.C., as crews conduct overflights of the National Capital Region.

The Coast Guard initiated a service life extension project for its MH-65s in 2018, with an aim to extend operations until 2035. The service awarded contracts for replacing the critical components of the aircraft, including canopy, center console, floor assembly, floor boards, side panels and other parts of the frame.

From fiscal 2019 through fiscal 2021, the Coast Guard budgeted $115 million for the component and avionics upgrades for the aircraft.

The most recent groundings, however, are largely due to the unavailability of parts, officials said. Maintainers have had to get creative, including issuing a contract last week seeking spare parts, and crafting some on their own.

The Coast Guard Aviation Logistics Center in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, is using 3D printing to make obsolete parts such as cooling ducts and antenna mounts, Schultz’s spokesman, Cmdr. Jay Guyer, said.

But the most challenging and needed parts — the main gearbox and associated components — are difficult to make via additive manufacturing and even harder to achieve Federal Aviation Administration certification, Guyer said. Read more:

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/05/05/coast-guard-grounds-some-search-and-rescue-helicopters-it-struggles-find-spare-parts.html

 

Share.

About Author

Leave A Reply