The USAF Approach to Attaining Structural Integrity of Aging Aircraft

As a result of fatigue failures in operational aircraft that occurred thirty-six years ago, the United States Air Force established the USAF Aircraft Structural Integrity Program (ASIP). Since that time this program has handled many technical challenges that were encountered in the course of acquiring new aircraft and maintaining the structural integrity of in-service aircraft. These challenges have motivated some changes in ASIP from its original form, but its goal of maintaining structural integrity has not changed. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss the basic concept of the USAF Aircraft Structural Integrity Program and some of the technical challenges that were met as it was applied to USAF aircraft.