GSM2 Russell Ferrell who served on the AOR 4, SIMA Norfolk and plankowner DDG 58 found the website.
GSE1(SW) Michael Colello, FFG 11, FFG 29, SIMA Norfolk and ACU 4 signed in and said Hi.
Ex-GSM1 Kelly who commissioned the FFG 34, AUBREY FITCH, dropped us a few lines and he says hello to all his ex-shipmates.
GSM1 (SW) Clinton Deemer, FFG 41 McCLUSKY, wants to know if anyone of you old/ex FFG sailors remember guidance about safety chains installed in the clean side of the main propulsion intakes. Contact him at cjdeemer@aol.com. Should these chains be removed ? Let's get your opinion.
For you active duty 501-K17 types, be aware of combustor and turbine vane case configurations. If you have a 501-K17 engine with a split combustor case (GTC 21 Incorporated) the total travel and rear of vane settings are DIFFERENT then one without split combustor case. ALSO if that 501-K17 engine has an Inconel (vice Hastelloy) turbine vane case (GTC 36 Incorporated), identified by part number 23009372 vibropeened on the outer case, the setting for the rear of vane is different. Best advice, check the S9234-BP-MMI-010/MOD 104 GTGS.
Calling all you retired GS types. GSCM(SW) Ret. Steve Lancaster is trying to locate two old shipmates. Brent Hale who went from GSCS to Warrant and who served on the CG 49 VINCENNES, and with me on theEX-USS MERRILL, DD 976. Also, George Bridges, Ex-GSEC who also went Warrant and served on the CG 49 VINCENNES. If anyone out there can provide Steve Lancaster any information, contact him at email: Slancaster@ci.hutchinson.mn.us
Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and stay in touch. Our email address is fiorillo_joe@mail.aera.com.
The only thing I'm really not looking forward to in 2000 is all the BS and hoopla that goes with it being an election year. There seem to be more Republican candidates for The Presidency than there were dwarfs in Snow White. And now that I have endured watching a (one and only) debate amongst these truly "eloquent politicians" I am more convinced that the names applicable to the Seven Dwarfs could be easily be assigned to this fine bunch of political wanna-be's. I know what you Navy types are thinking, that we got John McCain up there, ex-Navy, ex-Viet Nam POW. And believe me I admire a man for serving in combat and abiding by the Code of Conduct when captured. But this hard headed Italian has already ordered his Senate voting record just to make sure that "white man no speaketh out of both sides of mouth."
GSCM (SW) Ret. Bernard Coker called to say hello from Schenectady, NY where he is attending the GE school to become a field service representative in the central region of the USA. Bernie retired from Great Lakes and continues to live around the Chicago area. At least we know we have one good rep out in the civilian world.
Joe Potak, ex-GSM1 dropped me a line via the net from Tunisia. Joe commissioned the MERRILL back in 1967 and did a fine six year hitch before enrolling in college and getting his degree. He won't admit it but I taught him everything he knows about gas turbines. And Joe, just for your information I have located Admiral Gee (Retired) in Florida. Admiral Gee was the commissioning CO on the EX-USS MERRILL DD 976.
You CPO types out there, if I didn't mention it in a previous writing, there is a fine web site to locate and stay in touch with the community at www.goatlocker.org. The Master Chief who set it up has done a real fine job with it and there are lots of retired and active Anchor Wearing Types in his data base.
For all you 501-K17/34 types, remember to look at the fuel manifold pressure when you start that 501K. It should be 145-160 at light-off, 2200 RPM. If your out there scratching your head trying to figure out why you keep shutting down on a "Fail to Fire," take a good look at that fuel manifold pressure the next time you initiate a start. One DD have several fail to fires in a row so they decide to call a FTSC guy who watch the next attempted start and directed them to look at the fuel manifold pressure. After being "steered" in the right direction the "rep" then quizzed them and after playing twenty questions the "technicians" aboard decided to change fuel nozzles.
Another, not so nice situation has been occurring in the Fleet with PTO shafts. As these shafts get older there seems to be a growing incident of the teeth on the shaft becoming bent or breaking which causes the speed pick-up to not to receive a speed signal (very basic explanation). Well you know what happens when a 501-K17 loses a speed signal. GTG shuts down generally on an underspeed alarm and you can waste a few hours, days, trying to figure it out; ask the snipes on a West Coast DD. You need to hook up and "O" scope and check all 40 pulses from the PTO shaft. You can also motor the engine and check the signal inside the electronic governor control, however it isn't 100% foolproof that all the teeth are intact and providing a consistent speed signal. As my old retired GSEC told me once, "Don't be a dope, use the scope."
DDG 85, McCAMPBELL, is named in honor of Navy Captain David McCampbell (1910-1996), the Navy's top ace with 34 confirmed aerial victories and recipient of the Medal of Honor. He was up there firing the "whole nine yards" during the Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. During the Battle of Leyte Gulf he shot down at least nine enemy aircraft.
Ex-GSM1 Charles Michael marks checked back in with us. He had served on CG 53 and CG 55 and got out around July 1999.
GSMC(SW) Kelly K. McKenzie is still out there and has served on the CG 49, CG 54 and DDG 54.
Looking for an engineer and logistician type to work in the DC area for a defense contractor (Not the company where I work). Good deck plate engineer (degree a plus but Not Required) and a logistician that is familiar with the Navy supply, distribution, procurement, provisioning and shipbuilding and alteration programs. Contact Joe Fiorillo; address to appear at the end of this newsletter. Promise, I receive No finders fee for this.
We are just not capable of sending everyone in the database a Holiday card. So the best gift we can give to you is our effort to keep this web site up; thank you Dave Wright for letting us use a piece of your site. Also in the spirit of giving, tell a friend about the site so we can continue to grow into the next millennium. I got a call about a week or so ago from a guy in Philadelphia that is responsible for maintaining three 501KB power plants. He had lots of questions and I gave him lots of answers; most of them were right. Then I directed him to an ex-GS living about fifteen miles from his plant who was "looking." We now have one very happy ex-GS and one very happy facilities manager who came together because of this web site.
Have a great New Year and stay in touch !
Ralph W. Camp found the site and stated that he was the first ever GSCM in the Naval Reserves. He was in Class 27 at the Senior Enlisted Academy (I was in Class 25) and was a plankowner on the HEWITT and OLDENDORF. Ralph had a tour at NAVSEACENPAC and was Walter Price's sponsor when he made Chief. Ralph is now working at Code 9531 at NSWCCD-SSES, Philadelphia.
Rob Schiller is now a GSCM(SW) in the reserves and works at the Pentagon making sure the lights stay on. Rob has a few V16 rock crushers and a couple Solar 1302s to maintain. Schiller was a plankowner on TICONDEROGA.
Steve Moore did nine years, COMTE DE GRASSE and GALLERY, (1985-1994) and left as a GSEC. He has completed a BS and MS in electrical engineering and is working on his PhD in electrical engineering.
Harry P. Goodell GSEC (SW) Ret. Harry has a new email address at h.goodell@worldnet.att.net.
CMCS Ret. Joseph B. Thornburgh who had a great tour at PHMRON Two MLSG would like contact with old shipmates. Email Joe at thornburghjb@2ncb.navy.mil.
GSE1 (SW) Donald C. Schuler, did six years on PHM3 and CG49 and provides his email for friends and shipmates; turbohead@compaq.net.
Now here is a guy with some very "historical" gas turbine experience under his belt. Greg Bender found the site and informed me he was the Chief Engineer on the USS PLAINVIEW AGEH-1, that had LM1500 engines. He was also the second MPA on the ELLIOTT. Greg retired from the Navy in 1988 and is working in Arlington, VA.
So what is happening in the Navy? Well, the DD21 "cat is out of the bag" and it is destined to be an electric drive combatant. The paper in Norfolk had a front page story with a great picture of an artist's conception of what this 2008 ship will look like. Now there is also other proposed ideas to "right-size" the Navy. Many SPRUANCE class ship decommissioning dates have been moved up (earlier) and PERRY class decommissioning dates have been moved back (later) to allow for I guess a better force structure and to get more bangs for the buck.
GSCS (SW) Ret. Dave Wright spent a week in Norfolk on the MITSCHER observing a compressor changeout.
GSMC Ret. Steve Morgan accepted a position with TMA in Arlington. Steve will be working with organizing and scheduling PSAs.
Get ready for some modifications to the fuel and lube oil systems on the AG9130 generator sets to make them more reliable and easier to maintain.
NSWCCD-SSES is heavily involved in finding out why the fuel nozzles on the 501K generator sets seem to foul up and clog after abnormally short periods of operation. Those of us that have been around since the seventies remember the single flow nozzles and the 1000 hour maximum operating time allowed on these nozzles. Then when we were introduced to the dual flow (pilot and main) nozzles we were all amazed at how much better the engine started but these nozzles also seemed to clog and foul. Now we have been through a couple of generations of dual flow nozzles and "to clean or not to clean" philosophies and we still can't find a fuel nozzle configuration that has any amount of meaningful operating life. Film at eleven.
If you are on a DDG51 class ship with titanium lube oil coolers please pay heed to the hardware and insulation and grounding requirements once these coolers have been installed. Titanium is an "unforgiving" metal and therefore all prescribed maintenance practices and lay-up and flushing procedures must be strictly adhered to.
One final word, DON'T mess with ANY mechanical adjustments on the liquid fuel valves. All of them were factory set by Woodward. If you have installed a new liquid fuel valve and have performed the required calibration of the electronic governor control and you still are experiencing fail to fire, start over temperatures or slow/stagnated starts, verify the electronic adjustments and is all checks out, contact a FTSC.
Now there is also a Navy Locator at http://publicdirectory.smartlink.navy.mil. This is for locating active duty, reserve and Department of Navy civilian service personnel. Have a great year and stay in touch.
GSMC Ret. Al (Elmer) Boyd found the website and it is always good to hear from Al. Al retired and worked with me here in Arlington and then decided to head back to San Diego. After doing a bang up job working with a contractor that supports FTSCPAC, Al winds up in the Deep South (Alabama) and is back working on gas turbines and a few "rock-crushers" for Florida Gas.
GSCM (SW) Ret. John Hughes found the site and is still basking in that warm California sun. John was a plankowner on the late HARRY W. HILL, and spent time at FTSCPAC finding and fixing all those little mechanical and electrical gremlins the folks on the ship seem to miss. GSCM (SW) Hughes was my instructor when I went through the GS course in 1977 and taught the LM2500 portion of the pipeline. John was one of the "original" 413 that were authorized to convert when the rating was first began in 1978.
GSMC (SW) Chuck Van Zant has served on the RADFORD, MOBILE BAY, SCOTT, ARLEIGH BURKE, PUGET SOUND and at SIMA and ETG in Norfolk.
Rumor has it that GSCM(SW) Ret. John Dentone and GSCS(SW) Ret. Morgan Finnell are running a marina down in Key West. Hopes it's close to a Budweiser outlet, so neither one will ever get to thirsty.
Ran into GSCM (SW) Eckenroth about a week or so ago. He is stationed up here in Arlington, VA and supports NAVSEA. Dick has got his papers in and will probably remain in the Crystal City/Arlington area when he retires.
Now here are a few words from a "real class" guy, GSCM(SW) Doug Stackpole, USN (Ret.). He states in his email to me that "All the knowledge that guys like Dave Gideon, Chuck Wells and Jim Crawford imparted on me really paid off." Doug was an IC2 when he converted and retired in 1996. He is now the Customer Service manager for Virginia Trane in Roanoke, VA. He commissioned the FIFE, two years on STUMP, two tours on COMTE DE GRASSE and a tour at SURFLANT and the 20H5 trainer in Norfolk. Doug, just for information purposes, GSCM(SW) Retired Bill O'Sullivan works at the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Roanoke, as a trainer/maintenance supervisor.
Now just a bit of tech talk before I wander off into something else. You folks in the fleet have heard about the new effusion cooled combustion liners and believe it or not they are being installed on both the 501-K17 and 501-K34 gas turbines. These new liners have lots of little holes in them and this is intended to extend the liner life. Now, remember that these new liners have a different set of inspection standards then the previous convection cooled liners. So when you look at these new liners for that Semi-annual PMS check make sure you have the liner inspection criteria for the effusion cooled liners.
In case I didn't mention it before, GSCM(SW) Bernie Coker USN (Ret.) now works as a GE field service representative in the Chicago, IL, midwest region.
Here is a public site that no Navy junkie can do without. Sign on to www.nvr.navy.mil. This is the official Naval Vessel Register and lists just about anything that floated or flied and belonged to the good old USN. Active ships/units are listed. So if you had a grandfather that made the WWII trip, you can find out when that ship went in and went out. They even have a section for those ships that "sink on purpose"; submarines.
Finally, if you're still on one of those haze gray classics, when you get GGTB (General Gas Turbine Bulletin) "0" compare it with the previous revision of this document. GGTB NR. 0 gets issued twice a year and lists all the active and rescinded technical directives. Compare it with the previous revision and see what new technical directives have been issued and if they are applicable to your installed equipment; gas turbines or enclosures. If something new has been issued and you don't have a copy of it, check www.navygasturbines.org and look for a copy of that technical directive. By doing this bit of pro-active research you will ensure that your equipment is configured with the "latest and greatest."
Continue to spread the word about our website to the active and retired GS community. Like GSCM(SW) Ret. Stackpole stated previously, we owe a lot to those who "brought us up" in the Navy and shared their knowledge and experience. Keep the lines of communication open.
Mars Quinto (GSCM-NRF, Ret.) found the website. Mars was active duty from 1975-1984 and Naval Reserve 1984-1996. He served on the USS BRONSTEIN and USS LEFTWICH (GSCS Ron Cook, Ret. and Vic Estoesta were also on the LEFTWICH). He did curriculum development at SSC Great Lakes 1984-1988 as a contractor for the machinery systems control maintenance course. Mars is now at NSWCCD-SSES (and has been since 1988) where he is working in the Controls Code, SSES 9553. He is also working on a Sailor to Engineer website that SSES is developing. This website will allow the sailor to contact NSWCCD-SSES with machinery engineering issues by email. Sounds like a great website to me and I will be looking forward to see it on-line. Stay in touch Mars. (Note: GSCM(SW) Bob Schiller is probably the only E9 GS we have in the Naval Reserves at this time. If I'm wrong, the mail will be hot and heavy).
Breathers on the upper bearing cartridges for the generator bearings for the 2000KW generator on the Model 104 generator sets is not supported in the supply system, not listed on the generator APL, I couldn't find it in our on-line supply database and to top it all off the part number in the technical manual/IPB is wrong. It is a PMS requirement, 3113 R-11, to inspect this breather and if it is clogged, replace it. If the breather cap filter becomes clogged, oil leakage will result past the bearing seals, along the shaft and maybe into the generator windings and brushes. So here is the correct part number for the breather, 806401051, made by General Dynamics Corporation, Electro Dynamics Division, Avenel, CAGE Code 95402. Phone number is 1-732-636-9100, POC is Jerry Cannella.
Steve Moore and Ex-GS that served on the USS COMTE DE GRASSE with Doug Stackpole found the website.
GSEC (Ret.) Lutz put together a nifty website for the pendulum putter. If you are a golfer or brag about being one, this might be right up your alley (or fairway). The website is www.pendulumputter.com. He also was part of a team that did a 30 minute infomercial for Fox Sports.
For you DDG51 types with that 301 sequencer. Proper seating of the circuit cards in the motherboard in the 301 sequencer card cage is essential for sequencer operation. Some of the circuit cards have been found to have excessive comformal coating on the edge of the card that seats in the motherboard. Too much coating will not allow the card to seat correctly. Also if the motherboard is not correctly aligned in the card cage, the circuit cards may not properly seat in the motherboard. This will require repositioning the motherboard in the card cage. If this probably is being encountered, contact the FTSC for technical assistance. A procedure to align the card cage is being verified.
Lots of folks out there have contacted me about GSCM(SW) Danforth who was the second Gas Turbine detailer. After leaving BUPERS GSCM(SW) Danforth did a couple of CMC tours and last I heard he was at SURFLANT as the Force Master Chief. I'm sure he is retired by now. So if you have any updated information, please contact me.
Also, as far as we know, GSCM (Ret.) Joe Byrnes is still managing that Holiday Inn in Bath, Maine.
GSCM(SW) Barry Hemphill found the website and was one of my students back in 1980 at SSC Great Lakes. Barry is now the CMC on LSD 39, USS MOUNT VERNON. As he put it, it doesn't have the horsepower of a gas turbine ship but it still can deliver the goods, only slower.
Now for you 501-K17 and K34 type fleet sailors this one has been around awhile but about once a week I get a call about it. You don't have to lockwire the four bolts on the six fuel nozzles IF, and that is a BIG IF, you use lockwasher P/N MS35338-139 and bolt P/N MS9034-06. DO NOT use the drilled head bolts, P/N 6814120 or 23033462-01 with the lockwashers. These bolts are too short, 0.375 inch versus 0.500 inch, and not enough threads will engage the diffuser case if they are used with the lockwasher. Use of the lockwashers on all four bolts on each fuel nozzle make nozzles installation so much easier.
Well I'm running on empty and must wrap this up before I get back on the soap box. Stay in touch and remember that you will always be a part of this community. Fair winds and following sea.