NAVAL AIR STATION NORTH ISLAND, CA – Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) aerospace engineers Joshua Rivera and Joanne Jordan were honored for their contributions to the Navy April 25 during the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) - San Diego Section banquet held on the campus of San Diego State University (SDSU).
Rivera was selected to receive the AIAA’s Outstanding Contribution to Aerospace Research award, and Jordan, the award for Outstanding Contribution to Aerospace Management.
Rivera earned the recognition of the AIAA through his work in conjunction with the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and SDSU to understand, manage and potentially resolve delamination issues within fastener holes of composite skins found on legacy F/A-18 Hornet fighter aircraft.
Sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, much of the multi-year project is being done aboard Fleet Readiness Center Southwest where fabrication, failure analysis and non-destructive inspections are being conducted.
Meanwhile, mechanical testing is performed at the University of California San Diego and modeling and simulation analysis at San Diego State University.
“We want to get a logistics or structural solution to this problem. We don’t do any structural repairs to these currently because the way we mitigate risk is a logistics solution, that is to inspect more, and make sure the damage isn’t growing,” Rivera said.
“So, we’re managing the problem now but it still doesn’t answer why or when this happens and when it does, if these (delamination) grow and if so, how.”
In her position as the "interim" Stress Lead for the F/A-18Hornet A-D program, Jordan was recognized for her contributions and management oversight.
Jordan assigns work to, coordinates meets with, and provides weekly updates to senior civilian and military leadership well above her paygrade.
She oversees the work of 15 stress analysts and even more contractors at any given time, performing 200 stress analyses for 10 different Navy repair sites.
The team she coordinates ensures the F/A-18A-D fleet flies safely to 10,000 flight hours in the demanding corrosive environment inherent to naval operations.
The challenge is difficult, considering the F/A-18A-D was originally designed to fly only 6,000 flight hours, and the aircraft must remain in service because there is no funding to replace them.
In spite of maintaining long work hours, Jordan also finds time to participate in the Navy’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) outreach program, and mentor students in the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics Program at local high schools.