WISTON, England, June 20,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Aircraft need plenty of
maintenance, both routine and unexpected, to keep them in the air
and ensure they are in peak flying condition; lives depend on it.
Flight simulators are in demand around the clock to keep pilots and
cabin crew up to scratch with their training. Artemis
Aerospace looks at the components which are most regularly
replaced in each and the reasons why.
Aircraft are heavy duty workhorses and with airlines aiming for
the minimum amount of AOG time, there's a considerable amount of
wear and tear which needs continual attention.
Flight simulators enable pilots to train in every type of
weather condition, for every possible eventuality, over any country
and at any airport. The type of wear and tear which takes place on
a simulator is very different to a real aircraft, but the need to
keep them fully operational is no less urgent.
So which parts of an aeroplane need the most regular updating?
Do flight simulators wear out the same parts just as fast, or does
the pattern of dilapidation deviate? There are two distinct types;
cosmetic wear and tear, which includes worn upholstery, broken
armrests and recliners, chips, stains and spillages. It's important
to an airline's brand and reputation to present an aircraft in the
best possible state, but issues like these aren't necessarily
essential to passenger safety. Then there is operational wear and
tear, such as worn tyres or brakes and malfunctioning navigational
equipment, which is absolutely crucial both for safety and
compliance with rigorous regulations.
Aircraft are subject to stringent security inspections after
every flight; for example, the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) requires commercial operators to undertake an inspection
after every 50 hours and 100 hours of flight time. The 50-hour
inspection covers the exterior (wings, fuselage, tail and landing
gear), the interior, the engine, battery and landing gear system.
The 100 hour check is more comprehensive and covers the overall
aircraft structure, engines, propellers, landing gear, electronics
and radio and navigation system.
Such is the demand for flight simulation training that
simulators are generally in use for 22 hours a day, 7 days a week.
This leaves a very short window for regular inspections and
necessary maintenance, and a rapidly increasing backlog if a
problem is found.
Commercial aircraft have many different flight patterns and
resulting wear and tear issues. Short domestic flights rack up a
surprisingly large amount of wear and tear in comparison to long
haul flights. For example, every day there are between 22 and 40
flights direct from London to
Edinburgh with an average flight
time of 1 hour and 20 minutes. Whilst those won't all be the same
plane, that's a lot of people shuffling in and out of seats,
putting tray tables up and down, sliding hand baggage in and out of
overhead lockers and adjusting the air conditioning, so these are
items which will need very regular replacement. On long haul
flights the seats will often be put up and reclined back but,
visits to the cloakroom aside, the passenger will mostly stay
seated.
On an aircraft, some of the parts most frequently needing
replacing are wheels and brakes; the strain placed on them during
take-off and landing is immense. Batteries are another, and windows
and window frames need regular changing due to cracking and the
wiring round them becoming damaged. The type of climate an aircraft
flies through can also make a difference to wear and tear. If a
plane regularly gets iced up, propellers, engine fan blades and
parts of the wings can become damaged.
Simulator training is used for both pilots and cabin crew and
will usually involve emergency training. Cabin crew in an aircraft
are constantly busy and, apart from take-off and landing, rarely
get the chance to sit down, so their seats will get less wear than
the passengers' ones. In a crew trainer, however, different teams
will be regularly up and down responding to whatever issue is
thrown at them; the wear on seats will therefore be higher. The
controls in a flight simulator are also likely to need regular
replacement. They get much more use than those on a larger
aircraft, as pilots will be using them all the time to rehearse
their reactions to emergencies, quite likely with slightly sweaty
palms as they encounter situations they will hopefully never come
across in real life! In contrast, especially on long haul flights,
the pilot will be able to use autopilot for lengthy stretches of
the journey and remain hands off.
Flight simulators are complex machines. The visual systems
arguably require the most maintenance with cathode ray tubes,
printed circuit boards (PCBs) and power supply units getting a lot
of punishment. Switches can be used roughly in emergency
situations, fuses can blow with overuse and the hydraulic systems
which keep the simulator moving will be in constant use. In
addition, users of flight simulators get through quite a number of
oxygen masks during emergency training due to rough handling and
the sheer number of situations in which they are required to be
utilised.
Whether it's an aircraft or a flight simulator, time spent out
of action due to damaged or malfunctioning components is both time
and money wasted; this is where a reliable component supplies
specialist, like Artemis, is crucial.
www.artemisaerospace.com
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SOURCE Artemis Aerospace