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February 4, 2006
Jet fighter 'stationed' at RIT
Students' mission: Help Navy planes last longer
Nishad Majmudar
Staff writer
Airplane hangars are typically found at major airports or military bases, but now you can find one on a local
university campus.
At Rochester Institute of Technology's Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies, or CIMS, engineers from
RIT and a local firm are developing new and improved designs to extend the life of the EA-6B Prowler. It's an
"electronic warfare" plane that the U.S. Navy has used since the Vietnam War to jam enemy radar.
To get a closer look at the plane, RIT has a full-size version of the Prowler's sister plane, the A-6E Intruder,
parked inside the CIMS complex.
"It took two tractor trailers to bring it in," said Bob Kosty, an electrical engineering technician on the project.
As one part of the project, CIMS engineers and co-operative students are working with Acro Industries Inc.,
an engineering firm in Rochester, to reverse-engineer a portion of the plane's "skin," or parts of the fuselage,
to make it more cost-effective for the military.
"We're basically getting parts suppliers for the parts (the Navy) can't get anymore," said project team leader
Mike Haselkorn of CIMS. "We're reverse-engineering it, or doing it without (schematic) prints. That's the
unique thing."
The overall project is funded as part of a $24 million appropriation from the federal government's 2006
budget.
CIMS has developed a three-dimensional model of the old "skin" and made modifications using CAD
engineering software to come up with a new design.
"We were asked to take a conceptual design and make it into a working model, so we're taking their
concepts and doing a design for manufacturing and assembly to enable a product that can be submitted for
testing with the government," said Bob Mulford, sales and marketing manager at Acro Industries.
The company also has worked on aviation manufacturing projects with Lockheed Martin Corp.
"We're utilizing our engineering skills to come up with an economical way of reproducing different segments
of the plane that have high service rates," Mulford said.
Haselkorn said the project is part of the federal government's drive to extend the lives of older models of
aircraft.
Fighter jets are replaced more often, Haselkorn said, but there are other military planes, such as the B-52,
that have been part of the U.S. military's "active- duty" fleet for several decades.
2/7/2006 4:13 PM
Democrat & Chronicle: Jet fighter 'stationed' at RIT
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"This (aircraft) was supposed to go out for two to three more years, but it now has to go out another nine to
15 years, so we have to figure out how to get it out for 15 more years of service," Haselkorn said.
After CIMS and Acro Industries have settled on a model, Mulford said military pilots will conduct test flights.
"The plan is we build two flight systems, or models, that will be commissioned by the government to go
through flight testing," Mulford said. "A pilot takes them through flight testing and provides feedback on
things such as stability. If there are modifications that may be needed, we'll incorporate those."
If the prototype designs developed by CIMS and Acro Industries are approved, Acro could be commissioned
to mass- produce the design, Mulford said. "The goal of this is to build a subsequent skin and panels for the
rest of the fleet."
In other projects, CIMS technicians are testing the plane's hydraulic systems, such as the landing gear, to
point out when and how electrical failures occur in the system, Kosty said. These study efforts could help the
Navy reduce mechanical problems that occur during aircraft carrier landings.
Haselkorn said the hydraulics project will take about eight months and other testing will be done over an
18-month to two-year period.
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