Challenging weather conditions don’t typically come to mind when thinking about Jacksonville, FL, but IAP-Hill staff maintaining equipment at Naval Station Mayport would be quick to correct the record.
Nearly surrounded by water, Mayport Station abuts the Atlantic Ocean to its east, and sits south of the Fort George Inlet along with a maze of salt-water tributaries feeding into the St. Johns River, which positions the base to blunt nor’easters often.
These storms produce strong northeastern winds that come off the ocean and cover nearby areas with salt water, dust and feathers, which wreak havoc on exposed machinery – particularly 400 Hz frequency converters that wind up with pools of salt water gathering inside their casing. When water and salt sit in the machines, it erodes them and eventually shorts out the transformers – a problem IAP-Hill Electrical Technician Mike Wells has become accustom to repairing.
So when representatives from ITW Military Ground Support Equipment, a company that manufactures 400 Hz converters, visited the Naval Station to look at its converter systems before building new equipment, it presented an opportunity to collaborate and build a better product. ITW representatives were introduced to Wells, who is responsible for upkeep on seventeen 400-Hz converters, and his feedback ultimately led to a better system.
400 Hz converters supply power to all grounded aircraft by converting 60 Hz power into 400 Hz needed to power the systems of grounded aircraft instead of running the aircraft’s loud and inefficient power systems.
“Mike has kept notes – he lives with these machines – and this company came down to look at our systems before they built their equipment,” Alan Wingate, the IAP-Hill Supervisor of Electric, HVAC and Machine Shops, said. “ITW met with the customer, and they met with Mike, and Mike gave a number of recommendations to them after he showed them some of our issues on the airfield.”
The recommendations Wells made have been adopted and put into practice on a new machine ITW is calling the “Mayport,” in honor of the setting that spurred its development.
“When they came down here, I showed them the converters that wouldn’t hold up, and I drew up what we needed to make them handle the weather better. I reduced the electronic components and the size of the transformer. The cooling system they made based on these drawings is very good – it’s sealed off so that even if water gets into it, it’s compartmentalized,” Wells said.
With the 400 Hz Mayports now on the market, IAP-Hill has begun replacing its 400 Hz fleet with them through attrition, and cost savings grow as fewer man hours are needed for ground power unit repairs.
“So far, these are the best sealed converters I’ve seen,” Wells said. “On the older ones I make daily repairs. With the Mayports I haven’t had any problem. We’ve had one as long as 150 days so far.”
Wells added that the Mayport models will be useful in any environment with high winds that pick up sand, dust and other debris and carry it into the components of the converters.
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