You are on page 1of 2

3/15/2019 F135 engine depot stand-up has started > Tinker Air Force Base > Article Display

 TINKER AIR FORCE BASE 

HOME  NEWS  ARTICLE DISPLAY

F135 engine depot stand-up has started


By Mike W. Ray , Tinker Public Affairs / Published July 20, 2012
0

PRINT | E-MAIL

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- A maintenance depot for the engine that powers the next-generation jet fighter is being
developed at Tinker Air Force Base.

During Phase 1 of the project, 33,000 square feet of floor space was dedicated in Bldg. 3001 recently for maintenance of the
jet's power plant, the F135 engine. The shop area will be enlarged in Phase 2 to about 60,000 square feet, "depending on the
future workload," said Mason Hopkins, the F135 depot activation program manager.

"We are bringing the workload on in phases," said Mr. Hopkins, engine test program manager with the 76th Propulsion
Maintenance Group.

"We are on track" for activation of the first two maintenance "capabilities" during the last quarter of this calendar year, said
Wade Wolfe, chief of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex Business Office. Capability Group 1 is assembly and some
disassembly of the entire engine. Capability Group 2 is disassembly of the fan module.

"We will proceed to Capabilities 3-12 in calendar year 2013," Mr. Wolfe said. Capability Groups 3 and 4 are the power module
and the gearbox. Capability Group 5 will be the augmenter and the exhaust nozzle.

"We should be testing engines by late FY2013 or early FY2014," he said.

The F-35 Lightning II jet fighter will replace the F-16 Fighting Falcon. The U.S. government has announced it will order more
than 2,000 of the F-35 aircraft, because it will be employed not only by the Air Force but also the Navy and the Marine Corps.
The Air Force will activate first and the Navy will follow "within a couple of years," Mr. Wolfe said.

Significantly, "What the F-16 fighter was to the international community, the F-35 will be to the future of the Air Force and U.S.
coalition partners," said Col. Robert Helgeson, commander of the 76th PMXG.

Tentatively, the Department of Defense plans to have two maintenance depots for the F135 engine, Mr. Hopkins said: at Tinker
AFB and at Fleet Readiness Center Southeast, Jacksonville, Fla. According to Mr. Wolfe, Hill AFB in Utah will maintain the F-
35 air frame.
"We'll need to buy some commonly used tools and equipment" for the F135 maintenance depot at Tinker, "just because of the
new capability," but some specialized equipment will have to be purchased, too, Mr. Hopkins said. "Initially we will buy tooling,
build stands, balance machines and cranes" for the repair depot, said Bob Kusbel, chief of the Business Development Branch
in the OC-ALC Business Operations Office.

Some equipment has been delivered already "and more will follow over the summer," Mr. Wolfe said.

Installation of industrial plant equipment and set-up of the front shop maintenance cells is slated to start in mid-August. New
overhead "bridge" cranes capable of hoisting weights ranging from two to five tons are scheduled to be installed in mid-
November.
Besides the equipment, new employees will be hired to staff the depot. About a dozen Tinker mechanics will start training on
the engine in August and September, under the tutelage of Pratt & Whitney trainers, Mr. Hopkins said.

The number of mechanics who eventually will be employed in the depot cannot be estimated yet, because it "depends on
many variables," Mr. Wolfe said.

"To be activating new workload is exciting," Mr. Wolfe said, "especially during this time of budget reductions."
Skip to main content (Press Enter).

https://www.tinker.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/385150/f135-engine-depot-stand-up-has-started/ 1/2
3/15/2019 F135 engine depot stand-up has started > Tinker Air Force Base > Article Display

"The F135 will be a significant part of the jet engine workload of both Tinker and the Air Force," the colonel said.

Complete stand-up of the F135 maintenance depot at Tinker will occur through fiscal year 2016, Mr. Hopkins indicated.

Historically, he said, the Air Force has had three levels of maintenance for F100-series jet engines: operational level
maintenance, performed where the aircraft is stationed; intermediate level repairs, performed at a few select bases; and
comprehensive depot level maintenance such as that which is done at Tinker.

The F135 engine, though, will have only two levels of maintenance: operational and depot. Consequently, "We expect to do
more work," Mr. Hopkins said, adding, "All of the engine testing will be done at the depots." F135 jet engines will be tested in
the south "T-9" test cell that's under construction outside Bldg. 9001.

Tinker will repair and test three variants of the engine: the F135-100, for conventional takeoffs and landings; the F135-400, an
aircraft carrier model; and the F135-600, for short takeoffs and vertical landings.

The "vast majority" of Tinker's workload on the F135 will be on modules, not whole engines, Mr. Hopkins said. Consequently,
several sets of "slave modules" will be kept here.

After being repaired, every fan and power module must be tested to confirm that it meets performance standards, Mr. Hopkins
related; slave modules will be needed to build a fully assembled engine, he explained. After a successful engine test, the
repaired fan and/or power module will be shipped out "while the slave modules will remain in our shop area for the next engine
test run."

The new maintenance depot is a public/private partnership between the Air Force and Pratt & Whitney.

"We are putting the newest technology into this depot," said Mr. Kusbel, and this technology "will help modernize our depot
operations," said Colonel Helgeson.

"This is essential to keep us a world-class maintenance, repair and overhaul facility," said Mr. Wolfe. "We are evolving to meet
the needs of the Air Force in the 21st century."

The F135 is a fifth-generation engine, the second to be maintained at Tinker. The F119 was the first fifth-generation jet engine
to be maintained here, Colonel Helgeson said.

The F135 engine's maximum thrust is rated at 43,000 pounds, which is approximately 50 percent higher than the F-16's
engine. That level of thrust is "high for a fighter," Mr. Kusbel said. It's also 20 percent greater than the F101 engine, which
powers the B-1 bomber and which is Tinker's next most-powerful jet engine, Mr. Hopkins said. The F135 engine weighs 3,750
pounds and is 18.3 feet long.

https://www.tinker.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/385150/f135-engine-depot-stand-up-has-started/ 2/2

You might also like