The last A-10 Thunderbolt II from Eielson Air Force Base was loaded onto a C-5 Galaxy and transported on October 6 to its new display location at the Museum of Aviation, Flight and Technology Center at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia.
This aircraft, tail number 75-0305, had been used for ground-based gunnery training at Eielson; it had been inactive for flight operations since 1996, reflecting the Air Force’s need for training airframes rather than operational ones.
Dennis Oliver, the museum’s restoration and maintenance manager, noted that Pacific Air Forces had offered the aircraft to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio after the A-10s left Eielson.
The plan was to use the aircraft for the Air Force museum, but Wright-Patterson had no need for it and instead loaned it indefinitely to the Robins base museum for static display outside the main entrance, opposite the B-1B Lancer.
“We absolutely had to find a way to get it here, and we are responsible for all its maintenance,” said Mr. Oliver. “Wright-Patterson officially owns it, but it is in our possession for an indefinite period.”
“Transporting this aircraft to Georgia in record time required a massive team effort: three months for disassembly, weight and balance calculations, tie-down calculations, fabrication of supports and crating, coordination with the C-5 crew, and final transport approval,” explained Captain Eric Withrow, Maintenance Flight Commander for the 354th Maintenance Squadron. “Communication is key when working with experts spread across four different air bases.”
The actual disassembly of the aircraft occupied a team of eight technicians for three days, noted Master Sergeant Timothy McIntosh, a section chief with the 354th Maintenance Squadron.
“We removed both outer wings, both vertical stabilizers, and the horizontal stabilizer,” he added. “It was also the first time an A-10A has been disassembled in the field.”
He noted that this type of maintenance is usually performed by the maintenance team from the Ogden Air Logistics Complex at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, where all C-130 Hercules, A-10, and F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft undergo maintenance.
The disassembly and transport of this aircraft were quite unusual compared to standard procedures.
“We didn’t remove the landing gear or the engines, as the depot maintenance team would have done,” Sergeant McIntosh explained. “As a result, all loading procedures had to be reviewed and updated.”
Typically, the landing gear, center wing section, and engines are removed and crated for shipment rather than being transported on the cargo aircraft itself.
“We saved about four days of maintenance time by doing it this way and obtaining the necessary approval,” he concluded.
“Obtaining transport authorization from the Air Transport Licensing Authority (ATLA) generally takes about 120 days, Captain Withrow noted. Although the aircraft is destined for a museum and will never fly again, ATLA certification was required for its transport.
“The last certification for an A-10 dated back to 1986, so an update was essential after 22 years,” he explained. “We are helping to define future transport procedures for A-10s.”
Published October 19, 2007
By Airman 1st Class Nora Anton
354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska
