Walk & Talk: C-130 Gas Path Covers

We are excited to begin a new series of videos that we are going put into the rotation called “Walk & Talk’s”. We’re sure you can relate, but sometimes the only way to fit a meeting or conversation in is while you take care of some other tasks. Join our CEO, Bill Smith, and Creative Director, Alex Rogerson, for a conversation about a unique offering from Heritage, C-130 Aircraft Gas Path Covers.

The text in this blog is a transcript of our video below. If you prefer to watch instead of read, go ahead and view the video. It’s also a great look behind the curtain at our plant and some of our machinery.

Alex: I wanted to ask you about our intake of exhaust covers for C-130’s. So, can you tell me what exactly is a C-130?

Bill: It's an airplane. It's an aircraft, American made, that is capable of operating off of a dirt strip or a common airstrip. It's primarily used as a craft to airdrop troops and equipment into hostile areas. It's used for a lot of other things too, but that’s its primary task.

Alex: And what are intake and exhaust covers?

Bill: It's a system that's used to preserve the gas path of the turboprop engines on the C-130, which there are four. And they’re airtight, hermetically sealed, high barrier covers that keep the interior gas path free of corrosion.

Alex: You mentioned corrosion. Why are these covers necessary?

Bill: Because if an engine sits idle for more than 30 days without running, the manufacturer of the engines won't honor the warranty. So, they unless they're preserved, which means unless they're prevented from becoming corroded, that's why they use them.

Alex: Who uses these covers?

Bill: Primarily people that use them are MRO’s, which is a Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Facility. And these aircraft, like all aircraft, are pretty sophisticated. And there's very large systems. Radar is one of them for example, that might take up to six months to do a complete overhaul on, or you may need to center wings changed out or anything of that nature so they can be in repair for numerous months at a time. And the whole point is to preserve the gas path so the engines remain under warranty while they're just sitting.  

Alex: And who makes these covers?

Bill: Heritage Packaging! How about that?  

Alex: So, we offer the solution, but how did you first hear about the packaging problem?

Bill: It was a long time ago. I was at work a little late one evening and the phone rang, and I happened to be right near it and answered it. It was a nice gentleman who I hadn’t met before, but he was working on a solution for the aircraft manufacturer to preserve the gas path. And then he asked me if I thought I might be able to make a bag shaped like a kidney bean. And I said, sure. How big? And we chit-chatted for a while and basically, you know, ground down the tip of an old soldering iron of mine, and made about a half inch diameter flat seal area. And made him a contour shape prototype overnight. And that started it all.

Alex: Was that prototype successful? Did it fit?

Bill: Yeah, he said it fit almost like a glove. It wasn't perfect but pretty close.

Alex: And how did that how did that gentleman know to call you?

Bill: We're kind of lucky in this business where people who know people will refer. So, the first couple places they spoke to kept referring them on to people that thought they might do better than the first person he spoke with. And eventually it got to me, which was very nice. We ended up being the place that designed and built them.

Alex: Cause isn’t Heritage Packaging known for taking on tasks that are unique?

Bill: We do a lot of what you wouldn't think of as packaging and make all kinds of crazy stuff: oddly shaped, oddly configured items that you typically wouldn't think could be heat sealed. That’s what we do.

Alex: So these are made right out here in this plant?

Bill: Yes, they are.

Alex: During that initial phone call, you were asked to make these covers. How did you know what material to use?

Bill: Well, in this particular case, the gentleman that called me had a particular material chosen that he wanted to use because it was his material. And it's a really good one. I had been using it for other items for approximately a year prior to his call, and it was very new to the industry when he brought it to America. He basically said, well, we need to use this material. And I said, okay, fine, that's what I would have chosen anyways.  

Alex: And why is choosing the correct material imperative for a job like that?

Bill: You want to have a material that's suitable for the environment that it will be used in and that will perform to the standards and the criteria that it’s designed to meet. So, if you use one that’s too flimsy it won’t withstand the rigors of the job. And it’ll fail, so you’ve got to have the right material.

Alex: Do you think that your experience using that material in the past helped you make a successful prototype right away because you knew the parameters?

Bill: I already knew the optimized settings to utilize. So, the right heat, the right time, the right temperature to make good seals. Once I got away from the soldering iron and actually used heat sealers it went really well.

Alex: So you don't recommend the soldering iron?

Bill: I definitely don’t recommend that, no.

Alex: What sort of testing was performed on our end for the final product?

Bill: With pretty much everything we do, we do heat seal seam testing with tensile testers. We use burst strength testers. On these particular covers you have to seal an additional side to it so that you have an enclosed environment that can pressurize and measure the force it takes to break the seals. That's how we test them.

Alex: After the prototype was approved, what happened next?

Bill: We wrote protocols on the installation process, the appropriate cleaning that needed to take place first.

Alex: Did you have to travel anywhere to see the engines?  

Bill: Yeah, I traveled down to Georgia at one point and also got clearance because there were some C-130 J’s undergoing maintenance in Niagara Falls, NY at the National Guard air base. So, it was kind of fun because the Blue Angels were practicing that day, so that was a lot of fun. But they allowed me on site and were incredibly open to letting me do this. They gave me a lot of assistance, let me use their lifts and things and I was able to get up and get all kinds of good measurements off of the engines so we could get everything just right.

Alex: So, you got it all just right and then the orders came in?

Bill: It wasn't quite that easy but, yeah, we got it all just right and then I did a complete cost analysis and came up with pricing and started pushing the sales button and then orders came in.

Alex: And I assume, did they need to do a lot of testing on their end to make sure that these were working?

Bill: Prior to the aircraft manufacturer allowing these to be sold to all of the external users, they put it through a lot of their own tests, mounted them on several engines there and had them monitored on a daily basis for how much humidity was inside. I think the standard was, we wanted it to be less than 30% relative humidity. And for the most part they maintain less than 20%.

Alex: Is that why in some of the kits that we sell there’s a Thermo-Hygrometer?

Bill: A Thermo-Hygrometer is a device used to measure relative humidity within a closed space. We install a one-way valve in the covers through which the Thermo-Hygrometer can be inserted and get an accurate measurement on your humidity.

Alex: Can you back it up and tell me how these covers are actually used? You said that they're vacuum sealed, so how do they go on?

Bill: The covers fit into the intake. They’re shaped and it’s a kidney bean shape with an apron all the way around it that sticks outward. And so, it’s pushed into the intake, and then there’s a special 3M preservation tape that is used to affix the edge of the cover to the cowling of the engine. And on the exhaust, it fits right over the exhaust nozzle and the same tape is used there. And it’s proved to be completely hermetically sealed.

Alex: And are these covers still used today?

Bill: Oh yeah, we sell them all the time.

Alex: How long can the covers be used for?

Bill: It would depend a lot of time where they're used, but in most cases, they're kept inside a maintenance barn, or a maintenance shop if you will. I know of one case where a set of covers was left on for like 13 months and I don't think they're usually on that long, but they’re not going to go anywhere. So, it’s easy to say they could be left on for years. As long as you continue to monitor their effectiveness.

Alex: Can a business order just one?

Bill: Yes, you can order just one intake cover or one exhaust cover, or one valve. Or you can order a kit that contains four intake covers with valves, and desiccant, and tape, plus four exhaust covers, with all the goodies with it, altogether as a kit. And that’s called a ship set. You can do an entire aircraft with one kit.

Alex: What’s the quickest way to get a quote for one of these?

Bill: The quickest way is to check out the website: www.heritagepackaging.com. And send an RFQ through email to sales@heritagepackaging.com.

Alex: All right, Sounds good. And what about the rest of the engine? Doesn't that need preservation?

Bill: At times it does, yes. And we actually make a product that envelops the entire engine either when it's on the wing or when it's on a mobile stand. Mostly these days they do most of them on stand, and it’s a large cover made out of the same material that the intake and exhaust are. And it has a zip together feature. It’s an airtight zipper that allows easy installation and we sell a lot of them.

Alex: Maybe in our next walk and talk you can tell us more about those, sound good?

Bill: Love to!

Alex: Thanks so much, Bill. We know you have a busy schedule, so we're going to head on out, but we look forward to our next walk and talk.

Bill: Me too. Thanks a lot!

Thank you so much for reading/watching this month’s Walk & Talk. We hope it is a valuable resource and gives insight into your project!

If you’d like to talk to our team about a packaging solution for your specific application, send us an email or give us a call to see if an engineered flexible packaging solution is right for you.

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