New Black Hawk rehab plant opened

FORT WORTH, Texas, July 9 (UPI) -- A new facility will speed up refurbishing of U.S. Black Hawk helicopters used by the Army in Iraq as well as the National Guard's domestic missions.

The opening of the Black Hawk Retrofit Center in Fort Worth, Texas, will enable technicians to work on as many as 10 choppers simultaneously and ramp up the work flow as the Black Hawk racks up flight hours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Texas Aviation Services, which operates the Fort Worth facility, says it expects to get more UH-60 aircraft in shape faster as Army and National Guard aviation units rotate through the theater. The wear and tear on equipment has raised protests from some state governors concerned that their National Guards might not have the helicopters needed to respond to a natural disaster.

A major advantage to the expanded overhaul capability is that Texas Aviation Services is a partner in a massive project to rewire the UH-60. Electricians and other workers require about 6,000 man-hours per copter to replace all of the wiring in the aircraft, perform the required cockpit changes and throw in a new coat of paint.

"We are proud to be serving our military with this important helicopter upgrade project," company President Tim Woodard said in a statement last Friday. "We have expanded our hangar capacities and program management skills specifically to take on even more Black Hawk's and other government programs."

Texas Aviation Services has been performing helicopter maintenance since the 1970s and was acquired last month by the Texas holding company Ranger Aerospace.