NADEP North Island: demystifying the depot. North Island's hangars in San Diego - Naval Air Depot NADEP

0 Comments | Naval Aviation News, Sept-Oct, 2002 | by Mike Hammond

When all agree the aircraft meets the requirements of safety and a top-quality product, the aircraft is removed from the depot's books. Military pilots, either those assigned to the depot or from an active squadron, fly the aircraft to the organization designated to receive it--which, due to the vagaries of deployment and training schedules, may not be the same as the one it left.

Tessie Pino, overhaul and repair supervisor in the depot's F/A-18 team, explained the challenge current operations place on the depot. "With the war going on right now, we have many 'must-meet' aircraft scheduled. Actually, we had the first aircraft that came back from Operation Enduring Freedom, which had 11 bombs painted on it for 11 missions. It's being worked on right now as a must-meet, and will be returned to the fleet soon to join the war again."

NADEP North Island strives to develop new technology and procedures to streamline the depot process. Their engineers and artisans pioneered new procedures in the late 1980s to disassemble an F/A-18 Hornet where it was never designed to be taken apart in order to replace the center section, nose or tail. This imaginative effort has saved $150 million to date and will extend the service life of today's Hornets until the Super Hornet E/F models phase into fleet units. Similarly, the depot instituted phased depot maintenance for the C-2A Hawkeye and E-2C Greyhound, in which the entire tail section of a C-2 or the center support section of an E-2 is removed and replaced by one that has been prepared ahead of time. These aircraft typically complete the NADEP process in half the time as in years past.

The depot can also manufacture many E-2/C-2 replacement parts that are not available through any other means, which can be used in the depot or to supply the fleet as needed. And the depot's artisans have taken the turnaround time for individual aircraft components from an average only a few years ago of 70-90 days to under 30 days. Efforts like these ensure that aircraft spend less time in the depot and are thus more available to the squadrons and aviation units of the fleet, providing greater opportunities for training time and improving readiness.

NADEP North Island also brings in-house engineering and logistics support to the table. The depot's logisticians provide innovative solutions to the challenges of getting pans, materials, equipment, skills and expertise to the right place at the right time, allowing the fleet and its aviation units to function fully and capably while deployed. In a time when information is at a premium, the depot provides a flow of publications and drawings that the fleet needs to take care of its immediate problems on site.

Two laboratories at the depot also provide critical services to the fleet and the depot. The Navy Primary Standards Laboratory ensures accurate calibration of the electronic, microwave, flow, pressure, mechanical and other systems in the modem Navy's aircraft, surface vessels and submarines, which are crucial for mission effectiveness. The Materials Engineering Laboratory supports investigations into breakdowns and wear in the materials used in today's aerospace systems, and assists the depot in its efforts to identify environmentally friendly materials for use in its processes.