3 November, 2007
- Tom Brennan report from Rota, Spain-
Fellow A-3'ers,
Many of you will be aware that there is an ongoing
project to try to re-locate an EA-3B (Ex VQ-1/VQ-2 BuNo 146457) from Rota,
Spain back to the states where it can be put on permanent display at an Air
Museum. The main reason for this move is that with all the drawdowns in
personnel, and cutbacks in funding, Naval Station Rota does not have any
capacity to provide upkeep and maintain the static display EA-3B. A second
factor is that while the U.S. has no intention of leaving Rota in the
foreseeable future, it's difficult to predict what could happen several years
down the road when such a move might be even more difficult. The current goal
is to move this proud old warrior to the USS Alabama Memorial Park in Mobile,
Alabama. This is a big project with a lot of moving parts, and we are only on
step one or two of a list of probably several dozen steps.
The bottom line is that we are now making progress. Due
to the summer and the difficulty in geting all the players engaged, as well as
a changeover of Base XO here at NS Rota, and a Change of Command at the local
US Air Force AMC Command, things didn't begin to move until late September.
In early September, I met with the new XO and we discussed the need to bring
Air Force into this project. They are a necessary player in this effort,
because, although the Navy is still the senior US service here in Rota, the
Navy no longer has any aviation expertise and capability at Rota. The local
Air Mobility Command (AMC) unit is the only source of active duty aviation
expertise, tools and equipment. Because the USAF
was just about to have a change of command, and the XO had several other
things on his plate, for the next few weeks, nothing moved.
That was where it stood until 10 October, when we had a
meeting in the XO's office with the new USAF
commander and two of his NCO's. The outcome of that meeting was that the Air
Force was onboard, and with their participation ensured, the XO got the ball
rolling. Another factor pushing it along was a mid-November deadline to get
the plane moved from the lawn in front of the BOQ so they can complete
landscaping that is part of a nearly finished BOQ renovation project.
We next met on 19 October out on the lawn around the
aircraft, with a cast of players representing all the elements we needed to
make the project begin to move. The USAF was
there in force, along with the base Air Ops, Public Works, Safety, Supply,
Housing (as the owner of the lawn), the XO and all the old A-3'ers I could
muster out on a weekday morning. Out of that meeting came a plan to move the
aircraft in a safe, respectful, and expeditious manner to Hangar 5 (the former
VQ-2 Hangar).
The consensus of the meeting was that personnel and
equipment are readily available to make this movement in a safe manner.
However, this will not be an easy move. The primary issue is getting the
aircraft from it's current location on a slightly sloping patch of grass onto
a paved parking lot, and then across a ditch out onto the active roadway.
Once the aircraft is on the paved roadway, the final movement to Hangar 5
should be a relatively easy movement.
The base Public Works Office will facilitate the movement
by preparing a level, compacted gravel roadway, surfaced with metal plates,
from the current location out onto the road. The same provisions will be made
to ensure a safe, level platform for a crane to operate from on the grass.
The NAVFAC Crane shop will provide a crane adequate to lift the aircraft up to
and above the level of the K-Loader deck. This will be done with Belly Straps
as an aircraft sling is not usable due to severe corrosion in the lifting
points. The crane operator will be the same Spanish employee who was involved
in the last move of this aircraft about four years ago.
At the meeting, NS Rota Supply was directed to expedite
shipment of EA-3B Wing/Fin Fold Jury Struts as well as Identifying funding to
pay for the Crane and the Public Works road surface preparation.
The local AMC unit will be the primary player in the
movement, using a self-propelled K-Loader (Cargo Loader) as a transport
platform for the move. One precursor to the movement was folding the wings to
ensure clearance from obstacles, as well as reduce the amount of side to side
movement while on the K-Loader. With a lot of hard work from active duty Air
Force NCOs and retired A-3 maintainers, that has been accomplished.
Maintainers from AMC were provided with a complete set of
A-3 Airframes Manuals on CD for their study and preparation, and over the past
two weeks, they, along with support from retired Chiefs Kurt Beulow and Tod
MacAvoy, and PO1 Steve Gonzales, have managed to get the wings folded. The
biggest problem with folding the wings and tail is that there appears to have
been a dedicated program of cannibalizing components, either at the time of
decommissioning of the aircraft or later. The Hydraulic system is riddled
with open lines and missing components. This has required folding the wings
and the tail as separate components, and necessitated hooking a hydraulic
power directly onto the actuators, rather than farther "upstream".
Our Prime Directive on this project has been: 1) to work
safely, and 2) to avoid damaging the aircraft. This objective has made
gaining access to the Fin Fold Actuator very difficult.
Access to the fin fold actuator is very difficult with the tail erect. In
every manual reference we found to working on/near the tail fold actuator
and/or gust locks, the first step is always "First, fold the tail......" We
are not done trying to get the tail folded, but we should be able to safely
move the plane with the tail erect, and that may be the way it gets shipped.
While they were working on the wings, I took on the nasty
job of trying to clean up a decade and a half of muck while the plane is still
outside. For an uncertain period of time during the 15+ years that the plane
has been on display, the top hatches were open to the elements. It took two
days, wearing rubber gloves and a respirator, but I cleaned out over 3 full
garbage bags of dirt, bird's nests, dead birds and bird "residue", just from
the inside of the plane. I also cleaned the wing butts and tail area of the
same kind of "nasty stuff", filling another three bags. It's not completely
clean, but at least we have the big bits gone and should be able to complete
the job with a shop vacuum and a pressure washer. As we will have to pass the
Customs Clearance process before we are allowed to ship the plane back to the
states, all of this is a necessary part of the move.
The next intermediate goal is to make the move into the
Hangar -- most likely before mid-November, At that point, the hard work
begins on getting the plane ready to ship. One of the major jobs is to make
the plane able to roll on it's own wheels, so we don't have to use a crane
every time we move it -- that's not only difficult and expensive, but risky to
both the people involved and to the plane. The mainmount brakes are seized
and don't turn, and the nosewheel itself is cracked and the metal is so
corroded it is crumbling. We have located a nosewheel that is non-RFI but is
able to be used coming in about a week from Ron Woltman at Raytheon, along
with a set of wing/fin jury struts.
Since we are working with part-time labor, I anticipate
at least a couple of months of work to make the plane both mobile and
seaworthy, including getting Customs approval and sealing all the openings
with tape and/or barrier paper. Our final step on this side of the pond is to
find an appropriate ship that can take the plane aboard for the one-way trip
to the states. I am working that issue from this end, and Keith May is
working it from the states. We are hoping to find a cargo ship or large deck
Navy ship (like an Amphib) that can take the plane back to the states as an
"Opportune Lift", free of charge to the A-3 Association (except for the
handling in the states).
Once the plane is back in the states, the work will not
be complete until the plane is in Mobile, Alabama and has undergone all the
necessary corrosion repair, painting and whatever else is deemed necessary to
properly display this aircraft in a manner that will make us all proud. All
of this will of course, involve a number of people and will cost some money to
accomplish.
I have mentioned a few names in this report, but there
are numerous others who are involved in this project, either as advisors,
sources of expertise, local workers or just plain "supporters". I can't thank
them enough for all their help. One of my key points of contact is of
course, Mark Swisher. He is the one who found a home for this aircraft, has
been a terrific "expediter" and is the key to getting and keeping all the
noses pointed in the same direction on this project.
I feel lucky to be in the right place to be able to help
out in the effort to save this proud old warbird and bring her back home where
she can serve as a legacy to those of us fortunate enough to have flown in the
'Whale'. As we progress, I will try to keep the you, the A-3 Association and
ultimate guardians of these aircraft, informed through periodic status
reports.
Hasta Luego,
Tom Brennan
