Tail enclosure streamlines maintenance inspections

  • Published
  • By SrA. Alexander Brown
  • 439th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, Mass. --  Its dimensions impose itself anywhere -- 65 feet tall, 222 feet wide and 247 feet long. Working on a C-5 Galaxy demands a lot of space.

Imagine having to fit those dimensions inside a building. It didn't happen at Westover until 1990, when crews built the towering pull-through hangar.

But soon, two buildings will be able to contain the Air Force's largest aircraft.

Crews broke ground April 1 for the $4.2 million mobile tail enclosure that will become part of the regional isochronal inspection dock. The maintainers' goal is to have a controlled environment, so Airmen can work on the C-5s' T-tails -- no matter the time nor anything Mother Nature brings to the flight line.

"It will increase productivity for sure," said MSgt. Jeffrey Schillawski, RISO day shift supervisor with the 439th Maintenance Squadron. "When you are fighting the elements, it will always take a lot longer."

Since the RISO's beginning in December 2006, Westover's maintenance workers have drastically improved the efficiency of the C-5's nose-to-tail inspection process.

They've reduced the process to scrutinize the inside and outside of a Galaxy from 50 days to an average of 16.

Maintenance centers at Dover Air Force Base, Del. and Robins AFB, Ga., also have mobile tail enclosures.

The enclosure is expected to be operational next spring. Until then, maintainers will conduct inspections in the pull-through hangar.

"This will enable us to continually become more efficient and better suited to withstand New England's notoriously cold winters," MSgt. Schillawski said.