What Boeing teams did to get B-1B bomber Swift Justice flying again

By Lisa Maull

t was just another day in the sky for ended in 1987, the Air Force stored B-1 techniques to recreate the unique part.” Swift Justice, a routine mission for tooling in the Arizona desert at Davis- The B-1 was flown (under ferry-flight one of the U.S. Air Force’s B-1 Monthan Air Force Base. restrictions) to the Boeing Recovery and Ibomber fleet. The team eventually found the correct Modification Services Center in Long When a temperature warning light tooling in the desert and then worked with Beach, Calif. There, a team led by Mark illuminated, the crew was not overly Boeing’s C-17 tooling group to remove Hayes, a C-17 Maintenance Operations concerned. They landed the bomber the corrosion and grime from 20 years of Support manager, removed the damaged at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., anti­ outdoor exposure. part and installed the new one as well as cipating nothing more than routine Next, Specialty Materials Inc. in Lowell, associated structural panels and other maintenance and a quick fix. Mass., the original boron and epoxy sup- components. “We appreciate the opportu- It was Dec. 4, 2007. plier, provided 14,000 feet (4,267 meters) nity to showcase our talents,” Hayes said. But this would be no easy repair job, of 4-inch-wide (10-centimeter-wide) “It gave us a sense of pride that the B-1 and the story of what happened in the unidirectional tape to fabricate the new team wanted to work with us. Hopefully, months ahead to get the bomber ready part. Cytec Engineered Materials Inc., this will open doors for future modification for duty again is a testament to the in Tempe, Ariz., supplied the adhesive jobs with other programs at Boeing.” ingenuity and perseverance of a dedicated film and primer. A few months ago, after 15 months team from across Boeing, its suppliers Boeing’s Composite Fabrication & As- spent grounded, Swift Justice roared and the Air Force. sembly Center near Seattle performed the down the runway of the Long Beach air- After the bomber landed at Ellsworth, layup and cured the part in its 90-foot- port to return to its base in South Dakota. mechanics discovered that an engine deep (27-meter-deep) autoclave. The cen- “This B-1 effort is a perfect example of bleed air duct had ruptured, severely ter’s layup crews worked around the clock reaching out and applying capabilities from damaging the jet’s “backbone,” its upper for 11 days to meet deadline. across the enterprise,” said Mahesh Reddy, center longeron. But that 47.5-foot-long “I worked with composite experts B-1 program manager. “It’s a great example (14.5-meter-long) part, made from boron- across Boeing to gather data and of what can happen when diverse groups epoxy composite, is unique to each knowledge on boron-epoxy composite within Boeing work with engineers, aircraft aircraft, with no spares available. fabrication,” said Lamar Dearth, manufac- mechanics, suppliers and our customer to “It seemed impossible at first,” said turing engineer at the fabrication center, find a solution.” n Michelle Voorheis, technical lead from the who wrote 357 planning pages needed [email protected] Boeing B-1 airframe team, of the effort for the fabrication effort. “I also drew needed to recreate the damaged part to extensively on the technical people of return this valuable asset to flight. the Boeing Research and Technology PHOTO: The 47.5-foot-long (14.5-meter- organization. This enabled me to plan Voorheis’ team, along with Air Force long) replacement longeron was installed project engineer Brian Koehl, first had to the teardown of the damaged longeron, on B-1 bomber Swift Justice at the Boeing find and restore the original tooling for the salvage and recondition the titanium Recovery and Modification Services Center part. When production of the B-1 bomber component, and master the fabrication in Long Beach, Calif. MICHELLE VOORHEIS/BOEING

OCTOBER 2009 / BOEING FRONTIERS BOEING FRONTIERS / INTEGRATED DEFENSE SYSTEMS 47