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Use of Live Aircraft Data in Aircraft Maintenance Management
Published in Stephen J Wright, Aviation Safety and Security, 2021
When a new aircraft is designed, produced and flown for the first time, the National Aviation Authority of the country of manufacture becomes responsible for the certification of the new aircraft. In Europe, the European Aviation Safety Agency has legal powers derived from EU legislation, which is devolved to the NAA’s. As part of this new certification process, the aircraft manufacturer must demonstrate to the Authority that a realistic minimum standard of engineering performance can be achieved. The aircraft OEM must also define the ongoing scheduled maintenance activities for a new aircraft with the certifying authority. These scheduled maintenance activities are usually conducted at predetermined time or use-based intervals. The defined maintenance activity is based on how the manufacturer foresees the aircraft being operated, and the type of inspection varies significantly. For example, a daily maintenance inspection may only have 20 or so checklist items, with weekly inspections being more detailed in terms of inspection items and complexity of test. An ‘A check’ inspection occurs at 4-month intervals, taking several days to complete, along with ‘C check’ hangar activities taking place every 18 months and being very complex. A typical ‘C check’ would see the engines removed and returned to the relevant manufacturer for strip and overhaul; the aircraft seats removed; floors removed; all the systems checked/tested, implementing any maintenance upgrades or modifications necessary; and the rectification of any other defects so that the aircraft is free from any Tech Log defects. A typical ‘C check’ duration would be 4 to 6 weeks of high-intensity maintenance in a hanger (working continuous shifts).
Aircraft
Published in Milica Kalić, Slavica Dožić, Danica Babić, Introduction to the Air Transport System, 2022
Milica Kalić, Slavica Dožić, Danica Babić
(passenger-to-freight conversions and hush kit installations) (Wensveen 2015). Routine maintenance of airframe includes: visual inspection, which implies that pilots and mechanics walk around the aircraft before the flight to ensure that there are no obvious problems such as leaks, missing rivets, or cracks.overnight maintenance, which is performed at the end of each working day. It is performed by workers who spend 1 to 112 hours to ensure that the aircraft is operating in accordance with the original equipment manufacturers (OEM’s) minimum equipment list (MEL).the A-check, which is cyclically conducted every 125 flight hours (approximately two or three weeks) and it includes a more detailed visual inspection of the fuselage exterior, engine, and certain readily accessible subsystems, avionics, and accessories.the B-check, which is performed every 750 flight hours (three to four months) by workers who conduct an open inspection of panels and cowlings, during which some preventive maintenance (exterior wash, engine oil spectroscopic analysis, etc.) is provided, oil filters are checked and changed, parts are lubricated, and the airframe is carefully examined.the C-check is carried out approximately every 3,000 flight hours or every 15 months, and it incorporates both the A and B checks. In addition, it includes reparation of components, calibration of flight controls, and the testing of major internal mechanisms, as well as heavy lubrication, attendance to Service Bulletin requirements, minor structural inspections, flight control rigging tests, engine baroscopic inspections, compressor washes, aircraft appearance maintenance, some corrosion prevention, and a post-check flight test.the D-check is the most comprehensive form of routine maintenance and it is carried out approximately every six to eight years, or approximately every 20,000 flight hours. During this check seats, galleys, lavatories, cockpit, furnishings, headliners, and sidewalls are removed from the passenger cabin to enable careful structural inspections. Moreover, the aircraft is rebuilt in order to return to its original condition as much as possible.
Maintenance and Repair Work
Published in Engineering Studies, 2019
All these restorative practices deserve to be investigated in order to further feed collective reflection on this part of technical and engineering activity, which is important in establishing sociotechnical performance and maintaining a sociomaterial order. However, there is much more to study than repair after breakdown, adjustment, re-design, and ordinary maintenance. In some technical sectors, there are special major maintenance practices, which require a complete stoppage in use and production in order to make a general revision and restoration. This is the case for airplanes, which have to pass through regular overhaul checks or heavy maintenance checks (D-check, every 4–5 years), in addition to their daily check (after 24–60 flight hours), A-check (every month or 500 flight hours), B-check (every three months), and C-check (every 12–18 months). The heavy maintenance check is performed in a maintenance hangar and lasts at least two weeks to three months, depending on the type of aircraft, its age and the number of flight hours.17 All its components are inspected and repaired if necessary. There, an airplane is exposed to a systematic check, including of any part of its structure. The heavy maintenance check also offers an opportunity to install the latest improvements or to make changes in response to staff and user feedback. It involves the performance of more than 10,000 complex, precise, and strictly regulated tasks. Thus, the check is important engineering work in itself, requires substantial planning, and, of course, costs several million dollars.