Do you own a car? Then you know maintenance is a must for keeping your car running well and not leaving you stranded at the most inconvenient times. Airplane maintenance is even more important than car maintenance. After all, you can’t pull off on the side of the road if something goes wrong with your airplane! There are many types of aircraft required a different type of airplane maintenance.
Keep reading to find the type of airplane maintenance facts you need to know.
- Foreign Object Damage
Did you know that airplanes often sustain damage from foreign objects while sitting at the gate? This is ramp damage.
This happens when ground handlers, such as baggage handlers, bump the plane with another vehicle. Baggage handlers stow and remove bags before and after flights. Significant damage sometimes happens during this process.
Baggage carts, tugs, lavatory service, and catering are all potential avenues to damage while an airplane is on the ground.
- Structural Fatigue
Checking the airframe for structural fatigue is an important task for the maintenance crew. Some crucial aspects of maintenance also include checking for small fatigue cracks and multiple site damage (MSD).
MSD happens most often in aging planes. It’s when small cracks appear over time coming from susceptible areas such as fastener holes.
Many newer airplanes have newer, superior alloys and materials in their structures.
- Aircraft Corrosion
Have you ever seen an old car with a hole in the floor? It happens! This comes from corrosion.
Like MSD, corrosion is a problem seen in older airplanes. Newer models have improved sealing and finishing on corrosion-prone areas. They also have better drainage and use corrosion-proof materials.
- Repair of Composite Materials
Like your car, sometimes airplanes need a little bodywork. What causes damage to the composite materials of the airplane structure?
- Foreign objects such as rocks
- Lightning strikes
- Bird strikes
- Hail
- Moisture and chemicals
Many repairs are temporary until the next scheduled maintenance for the airplane. Speed tape works for many minor repairs.
Next time you see a maintenance working putting what looks like duct tape on the plane, don’t panic! This is a special tape that works great for minor problems.
- Over 16 Million Flights
The Air Traffic Organization (ATO) services more than 45,000 flights per day! That’s over 16 million flights per year. That’s a lot of airplanes and a lot of hours of air travel.
The behind-the-scenes aspect of all that flying is airplane maintenance.
Maintenance technicians are the unsung heroes of the airline industry.
Many Types of Airplane Maintenance
These are a few of the many types of airplane maintenance. Like cars, well-maintained airplanes age better than those not getting proper maintenance.
If you own an airplane, make sure it’s kept in a safe place such as a hangar. Enlist a top-notch maintenance team to keep your plane in great shape. Never ignore routine airplane maintenance.
If you or your business own an airplane, keep airplane maintenance at the top of your “to-do” list!
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