Some C-130 operators have indicated they have discovered corrosion in the forward and aft fuselage-to-wing fillet panels on their aircraft. In many cases, removing the panels causes damage and takes a significant amount of time to repair because of having to drill numerous blind rivets.

As a low-complexity modification, Lockheed Martin offers a kit that replaces the blind rivets with removable fasteners on these panels. Nutplates are installed along the rivet line and become the permanent attachment points for removable screws. No other changes are required to the aircraft. Once the modification is made, maintainability and inspection of this area of the aircraft becomes repeatable and affordable.

Other potential corrosion prevention techniques and solutions can easily be implemented once the Wing Fillet Panel Modification Kit is installed.

The kit is applicable to all C-130 aircraft and is recommended for installation during heavy maintenance by the operator or by an authorized Hercules Service Center. The kit comes with all required parts including panels and hardware and a detailed Service Bulletin.

Estimated Aircraft Availability Benefit: 0.162%