O-2, OV-10 Maintenance QC
submitted by: Alva Leon Matheson
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We frequently had O-2s come back from a mission and the G meter would indicate 4.80 Gs. We would visually inspect the aircraft for damage and if it looked good, we would put it out for another mission. Later on we began to have a lot of trim problems and they began to be repeat problems. After a lot of non-productive searching, we decided to have the booms shot with a sextant. After we leveled the aircraft, Civil Engineers came down and performed the shoot. We had booms that were as much as five inches out of alignment. (The booms could not take the stresses put on them from the high G forces.) We re-rigged the aircraft (often using some Kentucky windage) and test flew the aircraft. When an airplane did not check out, we put a maintenance man at the end of the runway and the pilot would stop for another adjustment. The first one was a real “booger” but after that, we got pretty good. We advised Higher Headquarters of the action taken and went back to the mission.
I have one other strong memory. One day we were advised to send some support people to the port to assist in unloading and de-preserving four new OV-10 aircraft. We did not have any OV-10 Technical Data or trained OV-10 maintenance people to do this. But we decided to send some of our best troops to do this very important task. They were instructed to write up some aircraft discrepancy in the aircraft forms so it would not fly on an initial Functional Check Flight until there were some qualified OV-10 people available. They found some paint flaking from an insignia and entered that in the forms. Nevertheless, the aircraft were flown to NKP . In the end it all worked out well; for within two weeks we received experienced maintenance troops for the OV-10 and the very necessary Technical Data.
On another occasion we were having a Higher Headquarters Inspection when I was advised that an O-2 had landed with belly damage. Seems that the FAC had been down pretty low, fired something and when he pulled up, the crap, mud, blood, grass and perhaps other things splattered the under side of the aircraft.
I instructed my maintenance people to take the airplane by the wash-rack, clean it up a bit and hide it in the hangar. Unknown to me at the time, a maintenance Inspector was in the office and overheard everything I’d said. I told (perhaps
23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron asked) him to not repeat it or put it on paper. He was a good troop and it never showed on any report.
Now, back to the aircraft. It was literally gut-shot with small rocks and other abrasive wounds. We scab patched it and all was well.
We all had our jobs and did them well, but it’s a damn shame that so much was lost over a political situation.