Graham Warwick/PATUXENT RIVER
FLIGHT TESTING OF a McDonnell Douglas (MDC)F-18 coated with plastic film, instead of paint, is to be extended for a second year, and will include at least two deployments to evaluate the material's suitability for use on carrier-based aircraft. The US Navy F-18 is being used to demonstrate paintless-aircraft technology planned for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)(Flight International, 14-20 May, P34).
The F-18 was coated with polymer film - called applique - under a contact awarded to Boeing and 3M by the JSF programme office. More than 107h have been accumulated since the first flight in October 1996, including over 2h of supersonic flight. Results to date include a 12% reduction in maintenance manhours/flight hours and a 44% reduction in mean time to repair, compared with painted F-18s, says programme manager Smokey Burgess.
Competing JSF contractor Lockheed Martin, meanwhile, is flight testing a C-130, F-16 and S-3 with applique coatings under a five-year, cost-sharing contract with 3M and the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, aimed at commercialising paintless-aircraft technology.
The programme, scheduled for completion in July 2000, is intended to develop improved materials and adhesives and collect cost data on coating and maintaining paintless aircraft.
An S-3 with the aft one-third of the airframe coated in protective film has been operational since April with a US Navy squadron, and recently underwent a five-week carrier deployment. The aircraft is to be stripped, inspected for corrosion and recoated with the next generation of material for a longer-duration test, according to Lockheed Martin engineer Bill Campbell. An F-16 has been used to test the applique at higher speeds, including supersonic flight initially, with film on the horizontal tail and upper fuselage and later with applique on the wing surfaces.
Extended flight tests are about to begin with an applique-coated F-16 centreline fuel tank.
Flight tests of a US Air Force C-130 with the forward fuselage coated with plastic film began in June - the first test involving a pressurised airframe. Plans call for a WC-130 weather-reconnaissance aircraft to be coated with applique in 1998, initially the forward fuselage only, but eventually the entire aircraft, says Campbell. The team wants to finish the programme by completely coating a commercial airliner with applique, he says. Campbell expects a "useable product" to be developed before the end of the programme. He expects the first application to be military.
Source: Flight International
