MILLVILLE, N.J. –The last step for a Boeing [BA] CH-47F Chinook helicopter off the production line is a stop at the facility here to add final Army-mandated modifications, before fielding to its new unit, an official said.
“Our input is the factory output–my rate is predicated on their rate,” said Sebastian Arrigo, Site Manager-Millville for Boeing. Right now, four helicopters come off the line every month, so the Millville site also processes four helicopters a month. That will change in February when the production line increases to five helicopters per month.
The H-47 Mod Center is based at Millville, the first Army airfield that opened August 1941 and was home to the first P-47 Thunderbolts, Arrigo told visiting reporters.
It’s a short hop, about 20 minutes, for the new heavy lift helicopters to arrive from the production line at Boeing’s Ridley Park, Pa., site.
With a permanent workforce of about 50 and another 50 who come and go, the Millville site consists of two hangars and has a capacity of 21 Chinooks.
The work is done under the Initial Production Fielding Support contract, which covers the modifications and New Equipment Training Teams who fan out to the units, Arrigo said. The work covers additional equipment the Army wants, but was not included in the main production contract for one reason or another. For example, the requirement came after the contract was in place.
The most recent mod work option was awarded in April 2010; another option will come up next spring. Boeing holds an annual lease at the airport that parallels the contract out to 2014, he said.
As Boeing works on its proposal for a new multi-year contract for CH-47F helicopter, the mods done here are “on the table” Arrigo said, and could be rolled into the new contract and become part of the work on the production line. However, other mods could be done at Millville in future.
Once the helicopters arrive, a team of about eight takes about 30 days to add a standard package of 14 mods to the helicopter. The modifications consist of small things such as adding new brackets, or larger items, such as new seats, radios and antennas.
Halfway through the process, time is built in to catch up if work has fallen behind or the helicopter entered the process late.
Every modification is checked and receives a quality assurance check as well. The mod center work complies with Army quality assurance standards, Boeing company standards and the facility’s own standards. All of this combines for a higher standard, ensuring quality, safety and a high standard of work, Arrigo said.
Once the modifications are installed, the Chinook is moved out of the hangar for a maintenance operation check, where the mods are again checked and troubleshooting done.
Next, the helicopters move to the hangar next door to the Flight Status Crew, where they are once again checked, undergo pre-flight checks and ramp maintenance. Then they’ll go for a ground run, and a one to two hour flight. Here is where Army aviation crews will arrive to go over the aircraft, and prepare them for flight to their new units. Once the final checks are done, the helicopters lift off toward their new station, or are prepared and shipped to their new units.
At this point, the new CH-47Fs have fewer than 20 flight hours, Arrigo said.