Aerial Multiaxis Platform Enhances Air Force Depaint and Maintenance Operations Published Dec. 12, 2006 By Plans and Programs Directorate AFRL/XP WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- AFRL partnered with US Technology Corporation (Canton, Ohio) to develop and implement a low-cost and highly effective aerial-based, semiautomated system for performing maintenance, repair, and overhaul work. This revolutionary system, the Aerial Multiaxis Platform (AMP), successfully integrates advanced depainting concepts with coordinated control technology developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, providing the depot community with simple, reliable access to the surfaces of large aircraft such as the C-130, C-5, and C/KC-135. Aircraft coating removal is the most labor-intensive task performed by aircraft maintenance depot personnel. A typical maintenance cycle for large aircraft requires the removal of exterior coatings approximately every 6 years. Aircraft access during depot maintenance is difficult; the physical demands and toxic environment are a significant source of both worker compensation claims and employee turnover. AFRL's new functional, production-hardened aerial platform for depainting environments provides an operator-controlled depaint manipulator with multiple nozzles for performing abrasive blasting, as well as an aerial workstation that allows efficient access to aircraft surfaces with minimal ground clutter. AMP's ergonomically friendly operator interface reduces collisions, injuries, and operator stress and fatigue 70%-100%. It optimizes labor by maximizing worker efficiency and decreasing abrasive blasting time and costs. In addition, the AMP system's design reduces depot depaint flow time 40%-50%--the equivalent of 4-5 days for a C-5 aircraft. The improved positioning accuracy and aboveground access for completing aircraft maintenance tasks eliminate ground-based scaffolding, hoses, and other inefficient clutter. The AMP system does not require a heavy hangar structure; furthermore, its flexibility to be deployed from an existing facility or incorporated into a new one further reduces direct costs. AMP's improved, heavy-duty, off-the-shelf winch motors are centrally located above the basket on a crane rail structure and provide man-rated lifting capacity up to 3,600 lbs. The system also provides increased material handling/hoisting capacity up to 6,000 lbs for precision crane application.