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| Friday, July 27, 2007 |
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Air Force personnel doing final checks on C-17 before delivery to Canada
By FlyingNews @ 5:37 PM :: 447 Views ::
0 Comments :: Military Aviation
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small group of Canadian Air Force personnel and others are working enthusiastically behind the scenes at the Boeing plant in Long Beach, California to prepare for the arrival of the first Canadian C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at 8 Wing Trenton next month.
The members are working on a myriad of checks and balances that will allow Canada to receive its first C-17 Globemaster III strategic airlifter next month. Staff from the Project Management Office at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa and the Directorate of Technical Airworthiness have spent thousands of hours over the past several months preparing for the declaration.
The CF members are working alongside a U.S. Department of Defense agency, the Defence Contract Management Agency, which has been given the overall duty of performing quality assurance for the acceptance. "We are monitoring that work to ensure it meets our standards," says Master Warrant Officer Dan Daniels of the C-17 Project Management Office (PMO) in Ottawa, currently in Long Beach overseeing the process.
Members of the Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment (AETE) from 4 Wing Cold Lake are also on hand to ensure the aircraft checks out in the air. The aircraft will be flown several times over the next few weeks by AETE to ensure its flight performance matches the specifications that were drawn up on paper prior to its construction.
"Boeing would not want to present the aircraft and Canada would not want to accept it unless the Air Force was happy with the testing process, so AETE is going to fly acceptance tests and the PMO will perform quality assurance inspections," says MWO Daniels.
Purchasing a new multi-million dollar aircraft is not like driving a new car off the lot. The buyer, in this case, the Canadian Forces, must be absolutely certain the aircraft does exactly what it was bought to do, in the way it was bought to do it. In this case, move huge amounts of military personnel and material quickly, efficiently and securely, as promised.
"The project has been a fantastic experience," says MWO Daniels. "I am a flight engineer working on a project for an aircraft that has no flight engineers. The C-17 has no flight engineers or navigators due to the redundancy and sophisticated instrumentation on board the aircraft. So what I am doing is providing my experience and leadership to help the CF work towards a common goal.
"It doesn't matter if my occupation is involved with this aircraft or not; you can step outside of your own occupation for the good of the Air Force to develop a capability that we've never had before. For me it's thrill and an honour to work with great people and be part of developing this amazing new capability."
Once Canada is satisfied that the aircraft is good to go, a senior member of the C-17 PMO will fly to Long Beach to sign the "DD250" - Delivery Document - and then, it'll be time for Canada's first C-17 aircrew to pull the chalks, start the engines and bring the giant bird "home" to Trenton.
As for MWO Daniels, he is getting ready to pack up and move to Dayton, Ohio for his next posting. He will soon be working with a small team of four (a Lieutenant-Colonel, a Major, a Captain and himself) at the new Canadian Forces Detachment that's been stood up in Dayton to manage all maintenance requirements for the C-17 under the Globemaster Sustainment Partnership.
Canada One flew its maiden flight on Monday, July 23 from Long Beach, California over the Pacific Ocean and around Catalina Island.
Air Force Public Affairs / Department of National Defence |
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