What does the flight engineer do? Flight engineers are responsible for operating the systems in older airplanes. Before sophisticated computers, complex systems on airplanes such as the electrical, pneumatic, fuel, and hydraulic systems required specially trained operators. Flight engineers were essential for the safe operation of airplanes in the past. Modern jets do not require […]

While each airline has a distinct livery, the vast majority of the plane is almost always white. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule. A notable one is Air New Zealand, which painted its aircraft black as part of a $13.3 million marketing partnership with Tourism New Zealand.  While the entire fuselage was painted […]

FADEC Location Starting Fuel Air Oil Thrust Reverser

“An indication of a hard landing on the main landing gear is a peak recorded vertical acceleration that exceeds 2.2 G (incremental 1.2 G). This vertical accelerometer data must be measured by the flight data recorder accelerometer at a data sampling rate of at least sixteen (16) samples per second. This vertical acceleration G-level threshold […]

The rear pressure bulkhead, installed at Fr 80/82,divides the pressurized rear fuselage from the cone / rear fuselage, which is not pressurized. It is a monolithic composite panel, made from carbon fiber and stiffened by nine stiffeners integrated to the front face (carbon fiber skin laminated on a foam core). The bulkhead is attached to […]

At some of the other point in your life, you must have gone through the word endoscopy. In simple words, the endoscopy of an aircraft engine is known as boroscopy. Let us understand this in a more practical way. A person X is walking on the road and unfortunately, he meets an accident. He was […]

Depressurization of the aircraft cabin as a result of structural failure, pressurization system malfunction, an inadvertent crew action or a deliberate crew intervention. Loss of pressurisation is a potentially serious emergency in an aircraft flying at the normal cruising altitude for most jet passenger aircraft. Loss of cabin pressure, or depressurisation, is normally classified as […]

Airbus starts the assembly of its first #A321XLR front fuselage. The nose and front fuselage assembly has started in France, following the earlier accomplishment of the centre wing box. “This is a key milestone for the A321XLR. We are on track to support the aircraft’s entry into service by 2023”, said Martin Schnoor, Head of […]

✔ Non-discrimination is the Key, allowing healthy Competition are among basic principles behind such best practices agreements. ✔ This is not the first time , IATA had done this with CFM International to guarantee competition in the CFM engine aftermarkets in 2018. ✔ Aftermarket Best Practices : 👉 OEMs like Rolls-Royce will not prevent the […]

Metal particles in the lubrication system of an aircraft engine or hydraulic system may be an indication of wear. Chip detectors are used to monitor these systems to provide early warning of impending failure so that maintenance can be performed on a timely basis. The detector houses magnets incorporated into an electric circuit. Magnetic lines […]

Majority of airplane structure made from light weight carbon fiber reinforced plastic (#CFRP). Lower cabin altitude pressurization (6000 ft) due to CFRP strength lower Pressure with higher Humidity gives improved air quality in the cabin, larger flight deck and larger passenger windows. Flight deck with liquid crystal display (LCD) primary display system (PDS). – Common […]

On 18th June, we witnessed the collapse of NLG (nose landing gear) of an 8 years old British Airways Boeing B787-8 (G-ZBJB) aircraft while parked on a gate. Is this event a first timer ? What kind of repairs are expected ? ✔Ofcourse , the Dreamliner NLG collapse is not for the first time ! […]

✔Generally , the direction of the runways are determined as a part of airport design, where the designers research the prevailing winds – the direction of wind to aid aircraft takeoff and landing. ✔Runway numbers are based on the magnetic compass direction they are oriented to and consist of two numbers. ✔If the magnetic direction […]

Aerospace (or aeronautical) engineering can be studied at the bachelors, masters and Ph.D. levels in aerospace engineering departments at many universities, and in mechanical engineering departments at others. Argentina: Universidad Nacional de CordobaUniversidad Nacional de La PlataUniversidad Tecnológica Nacional, Facultad Regional HaedoInstituto Universitario AeronáuticoUniversidad Nacional de San Martín Australia: Australian Defence Force AcademyRMIT UniversityMonash UniversityUniversity […]

1989 – British Airways Concorde flying from Christchurch to Sydney. G-BOAF, was operating a charter flight from Christchurch, New Zealand to Sydney, Australia. The aircraft lost the upper part of its rudder early in the flight. She was climbing and at approximately Mach 1.7 at FL440, the pilots heard a bang, which they thought came […]

You might have seen vortex generators – those little fins that protrude from the front of an airplane like the 737-800, or a Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) aircraft like this Top Cub. These little fins are amazing; they create vortices just like your wingtips do. How does that help? The vortices pull high […]

An Antonov An-124 suffered a runway excursion at Guarulhos Airport (GRU) in São Paulo, Brazil, early on May 11, 2021.  The plane, registered UR-82007 and belonging to Antonov Airlines, was operating flight ADB3829 from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) United States with a stopover at Paramaribo Zanderij International Airport (PDB) in Suriname. The freighter […]

The standby magnetic compass is a backup magnetic heading reference. The standby magnetic compass is below the overhead panel. The standby magnetic compass has a circular heading indicator card. The card floats in a case filled with liquid. The liquid does not permit the card to move quickly. There are two magnets in the standby […]

A spin is an aggravated stall that typically occurs from a full stall occurring with the airplane in a yawed state and results in the airplane following a downward corkscrew path.As the airplane rotates around a vertical axis, the outboard wing is less stalled than the inboard wing, which creates a rolling, yawing, and pitching […]

Two suppliers Bridgestone and Michelin Main gear configuration– 22 inch forged aluminum wheels– 50×20.0R22/34PR radial tires (787-8)– 54×21.0R23/38PR radial tires (787-9 and -10) Nose gear configuration– 16 inch forged aluminum wheels– 40×16.0R16/26PR radial tires Author – Deniz Turan

HOT SECTION INSPECTION WHICH PARTS ARE INVOLVED?A hot section inspection (HSI) involves examining the condition of the turbine blades, the combustion chamber, the stators, the vane rings, the compressor turbine disk and the shroud segments WHEN SHOULD YOU DO IT?required when the engine reaches the halfway point of its time between overhauls If the 4,000 […]

Main engine start is usually from the APU auxiliary starter generators (ASG).The ASGs supply 235v ac. If the ASGs are not available, 115v ac externalpower sources supply the power. The power goes to the autotransformer rectifier units (ATRU) on the P700/800 rack. The ATRUs supply 270v dc to common motor start controllers (CMSC) also on […]

✔ A Fuel jettison system is available to avoid safety compromise and the necessity for heavy maintenance tasks, that could arise due to a potential overweight landing. ✔ Against a popular rumour, in regular flight operations, there is no draining of fuel before landing. This would be neither permissible nor economical for the airlines. ✔ […]

The votices are formed at the inlet of a jet engine or the fan. This happens because, as the engine sucks in the air, a region of low pressure is created in front of the fan. If there is water vapour present in the atmosphere or in the region of low pressure, they condenses to […]

Jet engines are so expensive, because they are getting more and more sophisticated and fuel efficient. Some engines are reliability wonders, have logged between 30 000 hours up to 50 000 hours time on wing without having to visit the engine workshop.(CFM56) They are so reliable, it is very difficult to shut them down, as […]

Landing Gear system is one of the critical subsystems of an aircraft and is often configured along with the aircraft structure because of its substantial influence on the aircraft structural configuration itself. The purpose of the landing gear in an aircraft is to provide a suspension system during taxi, take-off and landing. It is designed […]

A prosecutor in Marseille has said the Germanwings plane may have been deliberately crashed by the co-pilot, with the pilot locked out of the cockpit. How could this situation arise? After 9/11, changes were made to the security of cockpits in an effort to make hijackings more difficult. According to the US Federal Aviation Administration, […]

Photo Credit – Youssef BAL

What is a PDA or TOFA ? What is the safety implication ? Who is responsible to limit their occurrences ? ✈A PDA (Parts Departing from Aircraft), also called TFOA ( Things Falling-Off Aircraft ) is any piece of equipment falling from an aircraft, ranging in size from a simple rivet up to a fan […]

Strategic Lateral Offset Procedures (SLOP)SLOP are approved procedures that allow aircraft to fly on a parallel track to the right of the center line relative to the direction of flight. An aircraft’s use of these procedures does not affect the application of prescribed separation standards. SLOP allows pilots to fly either the centreline, 1NM or […]

Sidesticks are spring-loaded to neutral. When the autopilot is engaged, a solenoid-operated detent stiffens both sidesticks in the neutral position.If the pilot applies a force above a given threshold, the autopilotdisengages and the sidesticks operate under normal artificial feel loadsand sends an input to the computers. The hand grip includes 2 P/Bs: An autopilot disconnect/sidestick […]

To start the engines a sequence of events is required to allow fuel flow, to rotate the engine and to provide ignition energy.During the starting cycle the engine needs to be rotated until the fuel has ignited and the temperature of combustion is sufficient for the engine to rotate without assistance.At this point the engine […]

MAJOR RISK FOR AVIATION: Volcanic ash and impact on aircraft  Over the past twenty years, there have been 80 cases of planes caught in clouds of volcanic particles: the ashes nearly led to the loss of two Boeing 747s, with nearly 500 people on board, and damaged 20 others.  devices, with repair costs reaching hundreds […]