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Kitty Hawk receives new engine test cell

7th Fleet Release

Release Date: 12/05/2003

Journalist Seaman Christopher Koons, USS Kitty Hawk public affairs

USS KITTY HAWK AT SEA -- Since the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet has replaced the F-14 Tomcat as the primary fighter interceptor aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63), a new, highly advanced engine test cell has been installed in the ship's jet shop to facilitate the transition.

"The new jet engine test instrumentation (JETI) system is capable of running every engine in here," said Aviation Machinist's Mate 1st Class (AW) Angelo Tijam of aircraft intermediate maintenance department (AIMD). "Specifically, it can run the F-414, which is the engine the Super Hornets use."

As the Navy gradually phases out the Tomcats and replaces them with Super Hornets, carriers such as Kitty Hawk have installed the JETI to deal with the new engine's complexity, said Tijam.

Kitty Hawk's AIMD is still in the process of certifying its JETI and is running tests on it using engines such as the F-414. "It's kind of like certifying a car before releasing it to be sold," said Tijam. "We have very high expectations, since the JETI is far more advanced than the old cell."

Tijam said the ship's sea trials were the most important time in the testing of the new cell and the process will continue until at least the end of the current cruise.

"We're certifying our new system to make sure we're putting out the best engines possible," said Tijam. "The new system makes testing much easier than the old system did."

Brian Force, Naval Aeronautical Technical Engineering Command representative aboard Kitty Hawk, also characterizes the new cell as being highly advanced.

"It has a dual-battery backup system, self-contained power system," said Force. "It is also capable of running the F-404, which is used by the older F/A-18 Hornet; the J-52, which is used by the EA-6B Prowler; and the F-110, which is used by the Tomcat."

Force said the JETI utilizes the latest in computer technology.

The older system was antiquated, using dials and gauges, and not equipped to test the newer, more sophisticated engine models, according to Force. This new system knows how to communicate with the new engines.

"It's composed of three separate computers, each with its own purpose," Force said. "JETI 1 is for data acquisition, JETI 2 is a total package system, and JETI 3 is a throttle computer."

"It takes a computer to interface a computer and that's why we have it," he said.

Force noted he is one of only three people currently certifying Navy and Marine Corps personnel to test the JETI due to his expertise in the field. He has been a test cell operator since 1981.

Advances in test cell engine technology are allowing jet shops such as the one aboard Kitty Hawk to test increasingly advanced engines.

"In the future, we'll be able to run gas turbine auxiliary power units," Force said.

According to Aviation Machinist's Mate 1st Class James Brackeen, once the jet shop has tested all the available jet engines on the JETI and becomes certified, the new test cell will officially belong to Kitty Hawk.

"NATEC owns it right now," said Brackeen. "But the only engine we have left to test is the F-404."

Brackeen said he and his fellow jet shop personnel have been learning how to operate the JETI by observing how Force uses it and are looking forward to working with it regularly.

"The JETI places everything we need on one computer screen," said Brackeen. "That'll make our job much easier."