Rotary-wing aircraft are powerful machines that allow us to reach places that are inaccessible by fixed-wing aircraft or on foot. However, they can also be dangerous if not operated with caution. For this reason, we will outline why it is essential to understand the safety considerations associated with operating rotary-wing aircraft such as helicopters.
Dowel pins are a common form of industrial fastener, capable of joining two or more parts together in an assembly. While dowel pins may be made from wood, metal, or plastic, they tend to always be short, cylindrical rods that are tapered, slotted, or grooved. As dowel pins find common use in maintaining accurate alignment for machine components or for acting as location guides, it can be useful to have a basic understanding of such fasteners and their various types on the market.
Even the largest aircraft depend on millions of small parts, many of which are a form of actuator. Actuators are devices that convert electricity into pressure, temperature, or mechanical movements. As such, nearly every process on an airplane depends on some type of actuator. Though it would take many more articles to discuss each and every actuator device aboard an aircraft, many of them can be separated into major categories. Generally, there are hydraulic and pneumatic systems, as well as new actuator technologies like hydraulically amplified self-heating electrostatic (HASEL) actuators.
Avionics are defined as the electronic systems found on aircraft, spacecraft, and satellites. In fact, it is these systems that make flight possible, allowing pilots to operate aircraft safely. The term “avionics” comes from combining “aviation” with “electronics,” and it is a term familiar to many in the aerospace world. In this blog, we will cover the seven systems that make up the basics of avionics.
If you own or operate an aircraft, it is important that the vehicle is well maintained to uphold performance, safety, and reliability of all parts and systems. It is often required to carry out various types of inspections on a regular basis, and regular maintenance can prevent the chance of needing to carry out costly and time-consuming repairs. As such, one should become familiar with the basic types of maintenance that must be carried out, alongside common tips to extend surface lives and deter wear and tear.
Since engines wear out as a result of high temperatures, vibration, friction, corrosion, and damage from the ingestion of foreign objects, this combination of stressors, coupled with the high speed of the rotating engine, causes mental fatigue over time. To ensure your engine remains reliable and durable, routine engine maintenance is paramount. In fact, maintenance, repair, and overhaul operations can increase the service life of an engine, eliminating the need for extensive and expensive repairs in the long run.
As aircraft are subjected to a wide-range of environmental extremes and unprecedented stressors, they may experience fatigue or structural failure over time. To be considered airworthy, aircraft undergo rigorous testing before being deemed safe and certified for flight. According to Boeing, equipment and structural failure accounts for about 20% of aircraft accidents, while mechanical failure is attributed for nearly 80%.
When certain devices conduct signal transmission for their standard operations, they may take advantage of frequency-domain multiplexing, that of which is a technique that serves to divide the total bandwidth into non-overlapping frequency bands for carrying separate signals. This is highly beneficial when one needs to send multiple independent signals over a single cable or optical fiber, and such multiplexing is made possible through passive RF filters known as diplexers. As a filter component featuring three ports, two frequency bands may share an antenna so that separate signals can be transmitted and received simultaneously. In this blog, we will discuss diplexers in more detail, allowing you to have a better understanding of how they are used.
Compressors, transmissions, drill presses, and other such apparatuses are all important assemblies for various applications and industries, and all of them share a reliance on an often overlooked component known as a quill shaft. Such components are quite small, coming in the form of thin, solid shafts that are designed to undertake the amount of torque that a larger shaft would. This is made possible through their ability to operate at higher stress levels, carrying torque similarly to a torsional spring as it twists along its length. Quill shafts have found implementation in various assemblies pertaining to diverse industries, and it can be useful to have a general understanding of their use.
Welcome to ASAP Aviation Procurement, your solution for aviation and aerospace parts in need of immediate purchase. Commonly applied to rotary aircraft, abrasion strips are necessary for the overall health of a helicopter and its rotor blades. In this blog, to better understand the purpose and function of abrasion strips, we will dive into how they are applied, and discuss visual identifiers you should look out for during routine maintenance inspections which may signify the need for replacement or repairs.