19 December2019: Field Aerospace has carried out the US Forest Service SD3-60 avionics upgrade on the sixth of 10 aircraft 17 days ahead of schedule, with 100 per cent quality compliance. Sherpa flight deck integrations had taken off 17 days from the planned integration schedule, garnering kudos from the US Forest Service
During the acceptance inspection the forest service found no quality issues and was pleased with the modifications. They flew the Sherpa from Oklahoma City to Rapid City, SD, for refueling, then to home base in Missoula, MT.
"The US Forest Service team was extremely happy with the quality of the work and early delivery," said John Taylor, vice president and general manager of Field's Oklahoma City operations, adding "Field is pleased with the progress we've made modifying this important forest service aircraft. We delivered the latest Sherpa in record time, beating our schedule by 17 days."
Field Aerospace presumes the next four Sherpa modernisations to follow the compressed modification schedule as well.
"The modernisation extends the life and improves the operational capabilities of this aging aircraft for future firefighting efforts. The upgrade is a challenging integration of modern digital avionics into an older analog-based aircraft that yields a functionally advanced and aesthetically pleasing cockpit system," Taylor said.