F-15E jet tester saves time, money

  • Published
  • By Major Kimberly Grover
  • 4th Maintenance Operation Squadron Commander
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE, N.C. --  The 4th Maintenance Group is responsible for maintaining the oldest F-15E Strike Eagles in the Air Force. Because this aging fleet is a primary concern for the Air Force, aircraft maintainers take a close look at how to keep the jets safe for flight.
Maintainers find that electrical malfunctions of wiring and components account for more than 34% of all aircraft problems. As these wiring defects continue to increase with age, methods to improve troubleshooting and evaluating the integrity of wiring is critical.
For example, while supporting combat operations during OIF/OEF, two aircraft were found to have wire harness failures making them unavailable to support our deployed mission and our troops on the ground. These two aircraft and the increase in man hours spent on maintenance created an innovative mindset from which the Eclypse program was developed.
The Eclypse program revolves around an automated diagnostic tester with capabilities to troubleshoot, test and analyze basic components like relay panels, control panels, and most importantly, wiring throughout the aircraft.
Based on this unique blend of technical skills and an "out of the box" mindset, MSgt. Kevin Leukhardt was chosen to run a new program in the 4th MOS. He selected a cadre of highly skilled maintenance technicians from throughout the 4th Maintenance Group to include SSgt. Viscount, SSgt. Pousson, and SrA Currence. As a team, they developed diagnostic programs and local maintenance operating instructions making the Eclypse tester program operational and deployable. The final program saved time and additional maintenance costs for wing.
The number and type of wiring harnesses the tester can verify are virtually infinite, only limited by the ability of the technician to build adapter cables and write software programs for testing. Steady progress continues both in-shop and on the flight line, increasing the number of components and systems tested.
Of the 30 programs currently in use, one of the most significant success stories was testing the jets relay panel. This panel contains more than 60 relays and takes one technician approximately 20 hours to complete a manual check.  The automated Eclypse tester checks the entire relay panel in only three minutes!
Improvements in testing the radar system have also decreased due to use of the Eclypse tester. The radar wiring is now tested automatically with the Eclypse tester in 10 minutes instead of more than 60 hours manually. This type of testing eliminates wasted man-hours, repeat occurrences of the same problem and unnecessary part orders. Overall, it is contributing to increased mission effectiveness and aircraft availability.
These types of programs will reduce operational costs, repair costs and ultimately keep more aircraft available to train aircrew so they can deploy to support our nation's security.