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A-10 Wing Removal


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Interesting photos Vipers4Ever :D

Is that an engine/ordnance loading cart converted to hold the wing? :thumbsup:

Also..on a completely off-topic note. I was curious what kind of side-by-side that is in the first photo. I've seen something similar, but it wasn't a stretch model like you guys have there..

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Interesting photos Vipers4Ever :D

Is that an engine/ordnance loading cart converted to hold the wing? :thumbsup:

Also..on a completely off-topic note. I was curious what kind of side-by-side that is in the first photo. I've seen something similar, but it wasn't a stretch model like you guys have there..

I'm not sure of the make and model, our weapons maintenance crew uses that to pull their tool box around. And for the trailer the wing is on, a depot crew came in to repair the wing, I believe they brought the trailer with them.

Edited by helyun302
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I'm not sure of the make and model, our weapons maintenance crew uses that to pull thier tool box around. And for the trailer the wing is on, a depot crew came in to repair the wing, I believe they brought the trailer with them.

Gotcha..if you happen to see it sitting around, mind having a quick look for me? :thumbsup:

That or if you happen to be in conversation with the crew again someday, perhaps they'd know.

Edited by AnthonyWan
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Wow, cool pictures. Now that would make for an interesting diorama scene.

As for the cart holding the wing. I may, and very well could be wrong, but that looks a lot like what Ive seen in pic's of engine maintenance, when the engine is pulled out of an F-15 or similar, and transported w/.

Edited by Adam Baker
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Must have been a buzzard.....anything smaller couldn't do that much damage. Somewhere there is a pic of a Mtn. Home 'Vark that got hit by a buzzard and the radome looked like so much expensive spaghetti....with some avionics hangin in da' breeze. BTW thanx for da pix.

Edited by Angels49
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I believe that those parts have just been removed to aide in the removal of the wing. They appear to be on the left side of the a/c. They are visible in the 1st & 4th pictures.

You can clearly see the damage that the bird caused. The whole right aileron is missing! Must have been a hell of a bird to do that much damage to the trailing edge.
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I believe that those parts have just been removed to aide in the removal of the wing. They appear to be on the left side of the a/c. They are visible in the 1st & 4th pictures.

The only damage that I see is what looks like a small hole in the leading edge of the left wing near the top of the picture. Is this is where the bird strike was?

Steve

Steve

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well if you look on the right wing about 2 to 3 feet outboard of where it's been taken off the plane. the surface that the leading edge is bolted to is bent up pretty bad. it looks like maybe a foot or so of damage. i would venture a guess that the leading edge in that area is where the bird hit. it looks like that would be a very difficult surface to straighten out. i could be wrong, but that is what looks like the damaged area to me. as a matter of fact, in the 5th picture i believe that might be blood streaks going down the top of the wing?

Bill

Edited by niart17
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Sigh.... That was a joke, guys. I was referring to the commonly held belief that A-10's are vulnerable to bird strikes from the rear. Oddly enough, this is wrong. The Hawg can fly just barely faster than most birds, but enough to keep them from ramming into the back of the airplane.

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Sigh.... That was a joke, guys. I was referring to the commonly held belief that A-10's are vulnerable to bird strikes from the rear. Oddly enough, this is wrong. The Hawg can fly just barely faster than most birds, but enough to keep them from ramming into the back of the airplane.

I knew that you were joking. i was answering Steve. i'd heard the only reason A-10's had mirrors in the canopy frames was so they could watch out for birds coming up on their tails, because nothing else would ever be behind them.

i would be interested to see what the damaged wing looked like before disassembly.

Bill

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I knew that you were joking. i was answering Steve. i'd heard the only reason A-10's had mirrors in the canopy frames was so they could watch out for birds coming up on their tails, because nothing else would ever be behind them.

i would be interested to see what the damaged wing looked like before disassembly.

Bill

Ok, I agree with that. But is that a tear in the aluminum on the left wing also? Does not look like worn off paint.

Steve

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Actually the damage done by the bird is barely noticable, its in the 5th, 6th and 7th pics. Its the little dip on the top front edge about 1.5 feet from the removal point. The damage was such that the tension had to be taken off for repair. And I'm not sure what kind of bird it was, something native to northern Louisiana.

And for AnthonyWan, the vehicle is made by Club Car, its their 4x4 version. With weapons constantly driving it around I didnt find a specific model number, sorry.

Brad

Edited by helyun302
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  • 4 weeks later...

Hello, from what I recall doing A-10 wing removal for C-5 Transport, the three jigs holding the wing were designed to adapt to the engine cradle (Seemed the same type I used back in the J-79 Phantom days) and were positionable like an engine by sliding them back and forth on the beam, then locking them in place by the knobs you can see in photo 4. The system allows fine wing adjustment (using Hydraulics of cradle) while removing or installing the bolts along the production break. The bird strike damage viewed in photo 5 shows severe damage to forward spar-skin stringer. Also seen in photo 5 are the hydraulic lines with caps that Just clear the width (by @ 2 inches!) of the front opening of a Lockheed C-5 Galaxy. Engineers...

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