Success Stories

High-tech equipment undergoing operational evaluation by the U.S. Navy will soon be presented with a stern, real-world environmental test.

The ESP+ hand-held standing wave reflectometer, a device designed to enable maintainers to troubleshoot aircraft wiring and identify where a fault is located, will deploy to Afghanistan shortly. There, it will be used to help technicians reduce troubleshooting time on aircraft with wiring problems by as much as 85 percent, said Andrew Yang, Tiger Team lead with the Aging Aircraft Integrated Product Team at Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, FL.

"When technicians are troubleshooting wiring problems on an aircraft," Yang said, "a lot of their time is spent finding where the fault is. For some, it seems 85 to 90 percent of their time is spent trying to find the problem and its location, and only 10 to 15 percent of the time is actually conducting the required repair."

That's where the capabilities of the ESP+ come in. Built by Eclypse Corporation using patented NASA technology, it not only tells the technician what the problem is, but where the problem is located in the wire.

The ESP+ is deployed for operational evaluation with units at Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, N.C. and Tinker AFB in Oklahoma. Positive reports from the field of the unit's performance and durability indicate that even the rugged climate of Afghanistan will not cause it any problems.

"Even though this is the first time it is going to be operated in a forward theater, I think it will work fine," said Chad Madden, wiring team leader for the AAIPT at NAS Patuxent River. "The device is very user-friendly, and I don't anticipate there will be any trouble in its use."

Even though he's confident the unit will work well, Madden looks forward to getting performance reports of the ESP+ from Afghanistan, a place known for its fine grade of sand and dusty conditions, both of which are hard to find together in the United States.

"The only thing that might be an issue is the data port on the side," Madden said, but other than that, it's a completely sealed unit.

"This is the best test we could hope for," Madden continued. "The equipment will be in the hands of technicians who are on the front lines. There's no soft-balling it there - it'll either work or it won't, and I'm betting it will."

Author: Stephen Gude
References / sources:
Tester News and information for Naval Air Station Patuxent River Personnel, dcmilitary.com