The F-4 airframe was designed over 20 years ago for a service life of 4000 flight hours projected to be sufficient to complete the era of its usefulness in the inventory in both the USN and the USAF. However, the F-4 aircraft was slated to continue service well beyond the time when it was to have been replaced. Some 4000 F-4 aircraft are currently retained in service by the USN, USAF, and allied nations. With fatigue problems occurring in the fleet and the need for the aircraft throughout the 1980's time period, a structural integrity program was initiated to extend the life of the F-4 aircraft from 4000 hours to 8000 hours. The most comprehensive airframe fatigue test program ever conducted by the Air Force, sponsored by the Aeronautical Systems Division and the Ogden Air Logistic Center, was initiated in January 1976 by the Structures Test Branch Structures and Dynamics Division, of the Flight Dynamics Laboratory. This test program was successfully completed in April 1981 after the F-4 airframe has sustained 24,000 simulated flight hours. Actual testing and inspection accounted for only 21 months of this 63 month period, most of which was spent awaiting the design, fabrication and installation of structural modifications required to extend the service life of the F-4 aircraft. A major achievement for the test program was the physical proof that the modified structure did indeed provide the required life extension.
F-4C/D Life Extension Program
1982
119 pages
Report
No indication
English
Aircraft , Airframes , Fatigue tests(Mechanics) , Fatigue life , Fatigue(Mechanics) , Life cycle testing , Structural analysis , Structural members , Retrofitting , Modification , Fighter aircraft , Jet fighters , Test methods , Test equipment , F-4C/D aircraft , Life extension , Service life , Durability test , Flight by flight simulation
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