33rd HMU conducts first HH-60 phase inspection on Kadena in two years

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Alesia D. Goosic
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  Maintainers assigned to the 33rd Helicopter Maintenance Unit recently stood up an inspection section and are currently conducting the first HH-60 600-hour phase inspection accomplished on Kadena in two years.

The inspection was performed at Kimhae Air Base near Pusan, South Korea, for the last two years and was accomplished by the 18th Equipment Maintenance Squadron the years prior.

"The 33rd HMU has stood up an inspection section to accomplish the phases organically," said Tech. Sgt. Shawn Drake, 33rd HMU inspection section NCO in charge. "The section was officially started on Sept. 26 of this year with our first aircraft roll in on Oct. 4."

A 600-hour phase inspection must be conducted after every 600 flight hours of the aircraft. This particular inspection is scheduled to take 39 working days with a projected roll out date of Dec. 2.

According to Drake, the unit is saving both man hours and money by doing the maintenance in-house. Not paying for the contract or sending personnel TDY for the drop-off and pick-up of the aircraft, and not having to ship parts from Kadena to Kimhae is saving the unit $375,000 per inspection.

Although a significant amount of time and money is saved by conducting these inspections at Kadena, it is the experience gained that's possibly just as important.

"By conducting these inspections locally our crew chiefs and specialists are provided the opportunity to examine and repair systems more in-depth than they are afforded to on a daily basis," said Capt. Kevin Kulz, 718th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron maintenance operations officer.

"There are parts that get removed from the aircraft during this inspection that most of the young guys on the flightline have never seen pulled," Drake added.

There are 519 parts that must be removed from the aircraft in order for maintainers to access the 1,080 inspection items that must be checked during this 600-hour phase inspection process. Once the parts are removed, any discrepancies found must be fixed or changed to meet standards.

"This phase totaled approximately 500 discrepancies that required work," Drake said.

Kulz said this inspection has given the 33rd HMU Airmen the opportunity to perform tasks rarely accomplished.

"For example, during the current Phase on A6210 they removed and replaced the main gear box, essentially having to disassemble the entire head of the helicopter," Kulz explained. "Performing these types of heavy maintenance tasks allows technicians to gain a better understanding of the systems and their inner workings."

During the long hours of the phase inspection, the Airmen use the extra time to correct delayed discrepancies and work on aircraft beautification.

According to Kulz, some planning and a lot of hard work has this phase inspection on the track to success.

"The men and women of the 33rd Helicopter Maintenance Unit have aggressively and enthusiastically conducted this phase, the first on Kadena in over two years," Kulz said. "They developed a good plan, worked to procure the right test and support equipment and really have set themselves up for success. As with everything they do, they take high pride in their work and it shows."