Working together to improve the fleet

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Ukrainians and Czechs work together to take apart the main rotor assembly of an Mi-17 Helicopter so it can be loaded onto an Illusion 76, Aug. 25, 2012 at Kabul Afghanistan, International Airport Afghanistan. The Mi-17's will be taken to the Ukraine for a return to service inspection and longer serviceability. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Quinton Russ/RELEASED)
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Working together to improve the fleet

Posted 9/4/2012 Updated 9/4/2012

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by Staff Sgt. Melissa K. Mekpongsatorn
438th Air Expeditionary Wing

9/4/2012 - KABUL, Afghanistan -- Ukrainians, Czechs and Americans came together in a collaborative effort to tear down two Afghan Mi-17 helicopters so they could be shipped off for a return-to-service inspection, Aug. 25, 2012 at Kabul, Afghanistan, International Airport.

These two aircraft were identified as having more than 300 flying hours since their last comprehensive inspections, and so they were selected for a return to service inspection following a staff assistance visit made in May by a Department of the Army Non-Standard Rotary Wing Program Management Office 'air worthiness' assessment team.

Each of the helicopters will be transported to Sevastopol, Ukraine, where they will undergo the inspection. The RTS inspection will take a few months and several of the major components will be restored and refurbished.

"The return to service inspection is an in-depth process and we do not possess all of the materials and equipment that a depot facility would, so we contract to a company that has all that. In this case the facility is in the Ukraine," said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Robert Bandstra, 438th Air Expeditionary Wing director of Aircraft Maintenance, deployed from Special Operations Command Headquarters, Hurlburt Field, Fla.

A team of Ukrainians contracted by an American company spent a week disassembling the two MI-17's. Several components had to be removed so that the helicopters will fit in the back of the Illusion 76 transport aircraft that is scheduled to fly them to the Ukraine.

"The team had to remove the fuel tank, gear box, tail boom and other parts. The team that is here is specifically designed for this job and the RTS program," said Eugene Voina, interpreter and manager for the Ukraine maintenance team.

The civilian Ukrainian disassembly team had help from Czech airmen in place to operate the crane that lifted the main rotor transmission assembly out of the Mi-17. This was done to ensure aircraft bodies would fit into the back of the transport plane.

Beyond the disassembly, the process of shipping the two aircraft to the Ukraine involves a certain amount of staff work and coordination, where the U.S. members of the 438th AEW played their role in the project.

Once the helicopters make their way to the Ukraine, the inspection will begin. All the documents and paperwork will be reviewed for items at their 'high time intervals' or those parts with high amounts of wear and tear. Once identified, the parts will be refurbished or replaced.

"When the helicopters come back from the return to service inspection they will be in pristine, air-worthy condition," said Bandstra.

The helicopters are expected to return back to the fleet in December and will be ready to fly again.

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