Eielson's last Hawg nestles into new pin at Robins AFB

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Nora Anton
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  The last A-10A Arctic Hawg was strapped in and transported via C-5 Galaxy to its new home at the Museum of Aviation Flight & Technology Center at Robins AFB, Ga., the morning of Oct. 6.

The aircraft, tail number 75-0305, was being used for weapon's ground training since it's inactivity in 1996 due to the Air Force's need for trainers versus flying aircraft.

Dennis Oliver, the museum's chief of restoration and maintenance, said the Pacific Air Forces offered it to Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, after the A-10s left Eielson.

The intent was for the aircraft to be used in the Air Force's museum, but Wright-Patterson had no use for it and loaned it indefinitely to the museum at Robins to be used as a static display outside the main entrance across from the static B-1 Lancer.

"We just had to find a way to get it down here and are responsible for all maintenance to be done to it," said Mr. Oliver. "Wright-Patterson officially owns it, but it's ours indefinitely."

"This was a huge team effort to get this plane transferred down to Georgia in record time--three months for dismantling, weight and balance specs, tie down calculations, building supports and crating, coordinating the C-5, and final transport approval," said Capt. Eric Withrow, 354th Maintenance Squadron maintenance flight commander. "Communication is key when you're dealing with subject matter experts at four different Air Force bases."

Master Sgt. Timothy McIntosh, 354th MXS section chief, said the actual disassembling of the aircraft took a team of eight maintainers a mere three days to complete.

"We took off both outer wings, both vertical stabilizers and the horizontal stabilizer," said Sergeant McIntosh. "This is also the first time that an A-10A has been dismantled at field level."

He said this kind of maintenance is usually done by the Ogden Air Logistics Center, depot maintenance team, from Hill AFB, Utah, where all C-130s, A-10s and F-16s go for maintenance.

Disassembling and transporting this aircraft was quite unorthodox compared to how aircraft under the same conditions are usually transported.

"We didn't remove the landing gear and engines like the depot team would have," said Sergeant McIntosh. "Because of that, all the loading procedures had to be re-written and updated."

He expounded by explaining that usually the landing gear, center wing and engines are removed and crated for shipment, rather than being transported in the cargo aircraft.

"We saved about four days of maintenance by doing it this way and getting it approved," he said.

Captain Withrow said that generally getting approval for transport from the Air Transport Licensing Authority takes around 120 days to receive and authorize. And although this was a museum asset--never to fly again--it still required an ATLA certification letter for transport.

"The last A-10 certification letter was done in 1986, so some revision was required after 22 years. We're helping write the book on future A-10 transportation," he said.