MATERIAL SUPPORT ISSUES FOR AGING ROTARY WING AIRCRAFT

This paper will deal with some of the main problems concerning material support of older models of rotary wing aircraft and some of the decisions which need to be made in order to keep the support adequate to maintain readiness goals which have been established. The paper will examine material support issues such as the management of consumables, management of repairables, proper implementation of engineering changes, and replacement of components which have reached their service lives. These issues will be examined from two different viewpoints: first, whether they are generic issues with specific issues, and second, whether the trend in managing these issues is becoming more positive or degenerating. The paper reflects the views of the senior logistics manager for 341 fielded H-46 aircraft and emphasizes the day-to-day realities of that task rather than the theoretical aspects involved in logistics planning tasks.