KC-135 Airframe Teardown Research and Data Management

S&K Engineering and Research personnel performed extraction, disassembly, and coating removal services in support of the KC-135 teardown program. Our personnel managed and performed these tasks on some of the most complex sections of the KC-135 aircraft, including the cockpit, tail cone, and center-wing sections. More than 38 teardown sections were processed, comprising over 2,000 individual parts. S&K Engineering and Research personnel also developed a Teardown Data Management System (TDMS) to facilitate data entry, access, review, and storage for Air Force program management.

S&K Engineering and Research personnel performed the work in accordance with the teardown protocols managed by the Air Force Research Laboratory for use on the KC-135 teardown. These protocols identified critical work instructions in documentation, technical procedures, and other guidelines to ensure validity of the data collected during the teardown. Our personnel have participated in the development of several of the teardown protocols generated for the KC-135 teardown program, including authoring the “Teardown Section / Part Identification and Tracking,” “Teardown Section Extraction,” and “Teardown Data Management System – User Manual” protocols, as well providing contributions for several other protocols, which have become Air Force standards.

To supplement data analysis, S&K Engineering and Research personnel developed 3D models for the complete KC-135 airframe structure.

KC-135 images courtesy US Air Force.