Defense
T-38 Cradle System
HPS Fabrications supplies cradle systems to the US Air Force for T-38 Talon refurbishment. Each set is 12 cradles that follow the fuselage stations, every one custom fit to its station, so together they support the whole fuselage while the work is done.
| Customer | US Air Force |
|---|---|
| Sector | Defense |
A structure that carries the aircraft, not just people around it
A cradle does not deploy. It sits in position and holds something heavy exactly where it needs to be while work happens around it.
That makes it easy to treat as secondary equipment, and it is exactly the category where under-engineering causes the most damage. The cradle is not the valuable item; the aircraft resting in it is.
Twelve cradles, one per fuselage station
A T-38 set is not one cradle. It is 12 cradles that follow the fuselage stations, and each is custom fit to the aircraft’s shape at its own station. Together they support the whole fuselage during refurbishment, so no single point carries more than it was designed for.
What the design has to account for
- Every station is a different shape, so every cradle in the set is its own fit
- The load is shared across all 12, and each one has to carry its share
- Access matters: a cradle that carries the load but blocks the work is useless
- Handling and rigging loads while the aircraft is being placed, which are often worse than the static condition
- Repeatability: this is a fixture, and it has to hold the same position every time
That is analysis, not estimation, which is why it starts with our licensed professional engineers rather than at a weld bench.
How it is built
Structural steel fabrication by certified fabricators, on fixture tables we designed and built ourselves. Welds inspected in process, then coated in our own paint booth.
The photographs below are B-52 shoring cradles we have built: the same kind of work, for a much larger aircraft.
Related work
HPS builds a range of Navy and Air Force support equipment, including aircraft maintenance platform stands, elevated maintenance platforms, and the escape trunk cofferdam for Navy submarine work.
More on defense fabrication.
In the shop and on site
B-52 shoring cradle 
B-52 cradle, side view 
B-52 cradle in our shop
Common questions
T-38 Cradle System: questions buyers ask
What does the cradle do?
It supports the whole T-38 Talon fuselage during refurbishment. A set is 12 cradles, each placed at a fuselage station and custom fit to the shape of the aircraft at that point.
Can you build to an Air Force drawing package?
Yes, and we can also work the other way: tell us what the assembly has to support and our engineers will design it.
What else do you build for the Air Force?
Aircraft maintenance platform stands and elevated maintenance platforms.
Talk to us about a defense project.
Send a print or describe the problem. Either works.
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