PPI Technical Services to train Thailand Air Force on C-130 military aircraft system repair, testing

TUKWILA, Wash. PPI Technical Services in Tukwila, Washington, won a contract to train maintenance personnel in the Royal Thai Air Force and its Directorate of Aeronautical Engineering (DAE) division on repair and testing procedures on the country’s fleet of C-130 Hercules military aircraft.

Specifically, PPI staff will instruct Air Force and DAE maintenance specialists on proper repair and hydraulic testing procedures related to the valve housing system, part of the C-130’s 54H60 propeller propulsion system.

The C-130 Hercules turboprop military transport aircraft, designed and built by Lockheed Martin, employs four engines and uses the Hamilton Standard 54H60 propeller system.

The Thailand Air Force recently acquired a valve housing hydraulic test rig: a large, complex test bench to simulate inflight conditions to the aircraft’s constant speed propeller governing system. The valve housing unit is an especially important component to the 54H60 system; it regulates the hydraulic pressure necessary to keep the propeller system at its constant speed for various phases of flight operations.

Proper operation of the valve housing test rig and repair knowledge of the intricate mechanical system of the valve housing unit is essential to keep propeller systems safe and operational.

PPI Technical Services personnel will begin training the Thai maintenance technicians in-house, at the company’s training facility in Kent, Washington. Two months’ of training in Washington will be followed by a week of in-country training on the Thai’s rig, officials say.

PPI Technical Services is a single-source partner providing a wide variety of technical resources that help military and civilian operations perform better. From years of technical training experience, PPI-TS offers training and training expertise. From decades of international defense contracting, they offer the knowledge and technical know-how to get business done. And from the years of key relationships built with both industry and government, PPI-TS offers the ‘connection’ necessary to bring parties together.

The Directorate of Aeronautical Engineering was formed in 1922 and is a division of the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF). Its core mission is to plan, coordinate, trace, control, develop, and conduct all affairs that are related to Aeronautical Engineering and Supply Division within the RTAF. Directorate of Aeronautical Engineering also manages all knowledge, as well as controls, evaluates, and inspects all Aeronautical Engineering Affairs.

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