Prop engraving -> cracking (fleetwide, C-130)

Getonit said:
It is only taxpayer money......gotta feed the military industrial complex for freedom and the children.
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There is also the issue of in-flight failure...which is not always a benign event.
 
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Why do I suspect the next inspection process will be to write the information on bare aluminum with a pencil?
 
WDD said:
"Any nicks or gouges there tech sergeant?"
"Nope"
"Good, now gouge your inspection OK on the propeller indicating there are no gouges"
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Not very likely AD USAF troops were involved - the depots are (or were) mostly civilian. And the quality of work varied from mediocre to execrable. Some depots were kept open as welfare jobs/political pork - more depots than needed. Every time we retrieved one of our C130Es back in the 80s it was a mess.

One crew refused an airplane and came back commercial - it'd take too long to make it flyable. Another came home gear down and the gear doors removed (loooong flight) just to get it home and to competent maintenance. I heard the Navy had the same kind of issues when submarines were in for overhaul/major maintenance.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Seriously surprised this could not be predicted & that engraving was allowed.
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Its not the first time something like this has happened even on the civilian side. If I had to guess given the age of the aircraft/props there's probably multiple engravings and they finally got to an empty spot that wasn't meant to be engraved, or someone bought a new engraver and didn't set it right. Engraving is still widely used in some areas as there are limited alternatives.
 
midwestpa24 said:
In this particular case, it was definitely not a benign event.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_United_States_Marine_Corps_KC-130_crash
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Sundancer said:
Not very likely AD USAF troops were involved - the depots are (or were) mostly civilian. And the quality of work varied from mediocre to execrable. Some depots were kept open as welfare jobs/political pork - more depots than needed.
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Yup. My understanding is that the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex in Georgia was responsible for both the USMC KC-130 crash (due to a prop blade that separated), and the most recent issues with propeller barrels being engraved.

The USAF used to have five depots I think, Warner Robins GA, Tinker OK, Hill UT, Sacramento CA, and San Antonio TX. Sacramento was closed, and stayed that way. San Antonio closed, but a good chunk of the hangar seems to have been taken over by Boeing for doing heavy maintenance on civilian and military aircraft. The USAF today only has Warner Robins, Tinker, and Hill.

But yeah, lots of it is a jobs program. I have to think being close to major metropolitan areas results in better quality of employee, and consequently better work. Tinker is right next to Oklahoma City, and Hill is near Salt Lake City. Warner Robins seems to be in the middle of nowhere in central Georgia, so I have to imagine recruiting good employees is tough.
 
Easy solution, just keep upgrading the legacy H fleet to NP-2000's!
 
fasteddie said:
Yup. My understanding is that the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex in Georgia was responsible for both the USMC KC-130 crash (due to a prop blade that separated), and the most recent issues with propeller barrels being engraved.

The USAF used to have five depots I think, Warner Robins GA, Tinker OK, Hill UT, Sacramento CA, and San Antonio TX. Sacramento was closed, and stayed that way. San Antonio closed, but a good chunk of the hangar seems to have been taken over by Boeing for doing heavy maintenance on civilian and military aircraft. The USAF today only has Warner Robins, Tinker, and Hill.

But yeah, lots of it is a jobs program. I have to think being close to major metropolitan areas results in better quality of employee, and consequently better work. Tinker is right next to Oklahoma City, and Hill is near Salt Lake City. Warner Robins seems to be in the middle of nowhere in central Georgia, so I have to imagine recruiting good employees is tough.
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That, and OKC/Tulsa are actually pretty heavy with aircraft parts manufacturing and repair companies. Fair amount of skilled labor for that industry, even if it isn't military-specific so that civilian contractors can be more easily found.
 
jrcox19 said:
Easy solution, just keep upgrading the legacy H fleet to NP-2000's!
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If there were a fleet worth of NP2000s on the shelf ready to install it would be.
 
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