Dover to be active hub for C-5 isochronal inspections

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  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFPN) --  Air Mobility Command officials announced Dec. 8 Dover Air Force Base, Del., as one of three sites selected for future C-5 Galaxy cargo aircraft isochronal inspections.

According to AMC officials, Dover AFB was selected as the active-duty C-5 ISO site because of facilities, maintenance support, base support, manpower requirements and other supporting data.

Isochronal inspections are thorough examinations of the entire aircraft. During these ISO inspections, aircraft maintainers look for and repair problems in every system, from nose to tail and wingtip to wingtip.

Two additional C-5 ISO inspection sites, one at an Air National Guard base and another at an Air Force Reserve base, will be announced at a later date.

According to AMC officials, the Air Force is reducing C-5 ISO inspection sites from eight to three to increase the availability of C-5 aircraft and reduce supporting costs.

"C-5 availability will increase due to centrally scheduling the inspection from a fleet-wide perspective and reducing flow days (the number of days it takes to complete one C-5 ISO inspection) to a consistent number across the fleet," said Brig. Gen. Robert McMahon, AMC Director of Logistics.

According to AMC officials, this reduction in waiting time will add an estimated average of 2.5 availability-days to every C-5 in the fleet, which equates to about 300 more sorties per year, or 10,000 pallets.

"Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Air Force airlifters have maintained a heavy operations tempo," General McMahon said. "This 'appetite for airlift' has placed an enormous amount of stress on an already-aging airlift fleet."

The general said with no end to the sustained airlift requirements in sight, every C-5 sortie, every pallet moved, is important. He said each additional C-5 brought "into the fight" means more sorties, and more sorties means better support to the warfighter.

As part of the Total Force ISO consolidation, a portion of the active-duty manpower will be used at the Dover ISO inspection site, while the remaining active-duty personnel will be integrated with forces at the Reserve and Guard sites.

AMC officials said in addition to increasing efficiency by streamlining the ISO inspection process, consolidating the inspection sites will save on manpower and resource requirements.

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