11 juin 2018 | International, Aérospatial

Yokota airmen improve gas mask with 3D printer, potentially saving Air Force $8 million or more

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Tokyo-based airmen used a 3D printer and American ingenuity to modify a standard-issue gas mask into an aircraft oxygen system, potentially saving millions of dollars and improving aircrew safety.

The idea of hooking up the M-50 joint-service, general-purpose mask to an aircraft was hatched during brainstorming sessions by airmen from Yokota's 374th Maintenance Squadron and 374th Operations Support Squadron.

“We took the mask and added some off-the-shelf parts and some 3D-printed parts and converted it into a piece of equipment that can work in an aircraft,” said Senior Master Sgt. David Siemiet, an aircrew flight equipment superintendent.

Gear used now — the Aircrew Eye/Respiratory Protection System, or AERPS — is expensive, heavy and fault prone with long waits for replacement parts, said C-130 Hercules pilot Capt. Matthew Kohl.

When the ubiquitous, light and cheap M-50 is connected to an oxygen system, air flows through its chemical filters to the user, whose eyes are protected by goggles, Siemiet said.

To build their prototype, the airmen looked at an Army system that hooks soldiers' masks to air blowers to overcome the stifling environment inside a battle tank.

The airmen came up with a cap that blocks airflow into one side of the mask and an adaptor that allows it to attach to a hose that can be plugged into an oxygen system.

The modification, which the airman call “AERPS Ultra,” uses a few standard parts and two components made on a 3D printer that aircraft materials technology craftsman Sen. Airman David Petrich bought for a few hundred dollars of his own money.

It costs only about 75 cents to modify one mask, and the project has the potential to save the Air Force at least $8 million and countless man hours, according to Tech. Sgt. Eric Lundeen, another aircraft materials technology craftsman involved in the project.

The M-50 weighs less than a pound, a lot less than the 40 pounds of chemical-protection gear now used by aircrew. Unlike the current system, the lighter masks don't need a power supply that must be hooked to on-board electricity and uses expensive batteries, Petrich said.

“You can wear the mask onto the plane and latch in and you are good to go,” he said.

The mask modifications can be done on base without the need to pay a contractor, Siemiet added.

https://www.stripes.com/news/yokota-airmen-improve-gas-mask-with-3d-printer-potentially-saving-air-force-8-million-or-more-1.531504

Sur le même sujet

12 août 2020 | International, Naval

US Navy commissions another Littoral Combat Ship amid renewed push to fix the program
By: David B. Larter WASHINGTON – The U.S. Navy Saturday commissioned its latest littoral combat ship amid a top-level push to fix the ship's nagging reliability issues and forge a path to make the small surface combatants useful in the years ahead. The monohull Freedom-variant LCS St. Louis was commissioned at a private event in its namesake city, the 22nd LCS and 10th Freedom variant to join the fleet. There will be 35 LCS in the fleet once all are commissioned. Change is in the wind for LCS once again, which has already seen several shakeups to its system. A high-level effort is underway to address problems with its complicated drive train built for high speeds that have limited the ships availability for tasking as well as to finally field its long-delayed mission packages. Mission packages will make the ships either a surface warfare hull, a mine hunter or an antisubmarine ship. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday told Defense News in a July 16 interview that he was preparing to increase LCS deployments by two-and-a-half times over the next two years to finally shake out how to best employ the ships, as well as develop a plan to finally field the mine and ASW mission modules. “There are things in the near term that I have to deliver, that I'm putting heat on now, and one of them is LCS,” Gilday said. “One part is sustainability and reliability. We know enough about that platform and the problems that we have that plague us with regard to reliability and sustainability, and I need them resolved. “That requires a campaign plan to get after it and have it reviewed by me frequently enough so that I can be sighted on it. Those platforms have been around since 2008 — we need to get on with it. Experts who spoke to Defense News in July said the Navy would most likely need to accept less capability than they had planned for the ships to have if the service is to get the most out of the ships. https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/08/10/us-navy-commissions-another-littoral-combat-ship-amid-renewed-push-to-fix-the-program/
9 juin 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Sécurité

Equinor extends CHC Helicopter contracts in Norway
Recently, Equinor confirmed extensions for both its Tampen/Oseberg and Heidrun contracts with CHC for one year, effective from September 2020 to August 2021. This is for three Sikorsky S-92 search and rescue aircraft and three super puma A332L/L1. The aircraft are located at the Johan Sverdrup, Oseberg, Statfjord B and Heidrun rigs, and cover the area expanding from the Northern North Sea into the Norwegian Sea. The contracts offer the opportunity for further extensions. “We are delighted that we continue to enjoy Equinor's confidence in our ability to not only execute their service safely but also with outstanding efficiency and levels of customer service,” said Per Andre Rykhus, general operations manager, CHC Helikopter Services Norway. “We will continue to evolve our services and embrace the latest technology to best meet customer needs, building on our decades of experience in Norwegian oil and gas activity.” https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/equinor-extends-chc-helicopter-contracts-in-norway/
5 mai 2020 | International, Aérospatial

Filière aéronautique et défense : reprise d’activité et perspectives de relance
Défense Filière aéronautique et défense : reprise d'activité et perspectives de relance Dans la filière aéronautique et défense, «la reprise de l'activité est assez rapide après un arrêt quasi complet», avait observé il y a une dizaine de jours Eric Trappier, président du GIFAS et PDG de Dassault Aviation, au moment de son audition à l'Assemblée nationale. Un constat partagé par le président du CIDEF (GIFAS, GICAT, GICAN), Stéphane Mayer : «au début de la crise, nous avions jusqu'à 60% des entreprises qui étaient à l'arrêt ou très perturbées. Aujourd'hui, nous observons une généralisation progressive des reprises mais avec un niveau très variable entre 30 et 60%, au maximum 70%, des effectifs au travail», dont 20 à 30% sur site. L'étape du 11 mai marquera la poursuite de l'amélioration voire «une accélération de ces ratios», a souligné M. Mayer. La Tribune rappelle que le GIFAS s'est mis en ordre de combat depuis le début de la crise : Eric Trappier a décidé de réunir autour de lui sur une base hebdomadaire les principaux dirigeants de la filière : Guillaume Faury (Airbus), Philippe Petitcolin (Safran), Patrice Caine (Thales), ainsi que le président du Groupe des Équipements Aéronautiques et de Défense Patrick Daher (Daher), le président du Comité Aéro-PME, Christophe Cador, PDG de Satys, et le Délégué général du GIFAS, Pierre Bourlot. Un plan de relance est en préparation dans la défense. Dans l'aéronautique civile, Eric Trappier rappelle que renouveler les avions «permettrait de redynamiser le secteur aéronautique et de rendre les compagnies aéronautiques encore plus vertueuses en ayant des avions plus verts». M. Trappier a rappelé que les États-Unis ont déterminé «deux priorités stratégiques de relance : l'aéronautique et l'industrie de défense», soit un plan de 50 milliards de dollars. «Est-ce que l'Europe va en mettre un en place ? Nous y travaillons, le commissaire Breton y réfléchit sérieusement», a-t-il expliqué. La Tribune du 5 mai

Toutes les nouvelles