Aerospace Purchasing Blog

Airplanes represent remarkable feats of engineering, gracefully navigating the skies with precision. Amid our admiration for their sleek exteriors and powerful engines, one pivotal component frequently escapes our notice while remaining essential for ensuring the safety and seamlessness of flight: stabilizers. In this article, we will embark on an exploration of six key facts about airplane stabilizers, aiming to illuminate the vital role these often-overlooked components play in the realm of aviation.

Aircraft models can be classified in several ways, including by engine type, purpose, or size. Another less common characterization is the tail assembly, though it allows aircraft to be grouped based on the design of their empennage. Depending on the application, the empennage may feature a V-Tail, cruciform, boom-mounted, or conventional design, but one of the most common across all uses is the T-tail. This intuitive configuration can be identified by the vertical and horizontal stabilizers found on top of the fuselage. Each of the mentioned formats varies in arrangement significantly, and each has certain benefits and disadvantages. In this blog, we will look into the advantages and downfalls associated with T-tail aircraft.  

Aircraft have very high-powered engines, and their performance is often a result of increased crankshaft revolutions per minute (rpm), as compared to older engine options. Consequently, aircraft often have reduction gears to limit propeller rotation speed so that there is efficient operation without the risk of damage. Whenever the speed of blade tips approaches the speed of sound, the efficiency of the propeller decreases. Therefore, reduction gearing can be used to both reduce wear and increase the efficiency of the engine. Overall, it allows the engine to operate at a higher rpm, developing more power while slowing down propeller rpm. To carry out this purpose, many types of reduction gearing are used alongside various forms of propeller shafts.

When aircraft fly at the high altitudes that they typically operate at, atmospheric air is not in a  condition that is safe for humans to breathe. This is because of low air pressure and temperatures, making it important that fuselages are sealed and pressurized. To supply breathable air to passengers, atmospheric air or engine bleed air is fed through a number of devices that ensures that it is pressurized, heated, etc. before being vented into the cabin. In order to keep passengers comfortable, healthy, and safe, the air supplied to the cabin needs to be cleaned of any impurities or particulate matter. To do this, aircraft utilize air filters.

During flight, a pilot has to pay attention to a variety of different factors, as they must monitor many important aspects of flight at once. As such, the cockpit of any aircraft is equipped with a myriad of instruments to make the many tasks that comprise safe flight possible in a single chamber from the pilot’s seat. With various control panels, gauges, and monitors, there are many instruments a pilot must learn how to operate, and many are further organized into control panels for compact operations. One such panel is the mode control panel, that of which contains the instruments needed to adjust the airplane’s flight mode. For your better knowledge, this blog will explore the specific functions of this panel, bringing you one step closer to a comprehensive understanding of a pilot’s responsibilities.

Rather than following a fixed path, airplanes regularly change direction in the sky, either as part of a route or to respond to weather disruptions. Regardless of their unique role and characteristics, nearly all types of aircraft support rotation along three axes of flight. These three axes are pitch, roll, and yaw, and they are often facilitated by control surfaces on the wings and tail of a plane. In this blog, we will discuss both the meaning of each of these movements, and the mechanisms that control them.  

Both personal and commercial aircraft feature an immensely complex electrical system that supports both vital avionic equipment and nonessential systems. With a combination of batteries, generators, alternators, electrical buses, and an intricate network of monitoring devices, nearly every region of the aircraft is integrated with electrical wiring or other similar elements. Given the significance of this self-contained network of components, it is critical for anyone involved in aviation to have a baseline understanding of how electrical power is generated, stored, and distributed throughout the aircraft. In this blog, we will discuss the various parts associated with the aircraft's electrical system.

Aircraft engines take advantage of different types of fuel induction systems as per an aircraft’s needs. Within small aircraft engines in particular, there are two main types of induction systems, those of which include the carburetor system and the fuel injection system. Today, we will be outlining how fuel induction systems bring in outside air, mix it with fuel, and deliver an optimal fuel-air mixture to the engine cylinders, as well as provide a brief overview of carburetor and fuel injection systems. 

A propelling nozzle is a cone-shaped apparatus that aids in generating a propulsive force in aircraft jet engines. It operates to constrict flow and maximize the force of gasses moving through the engine to create a desired propulsive force. Moreover, propelling nozzles can vary from aircraft to aircraft, with each working in different ways.

For an aircraft engine to kickstart operations for thrust generation, there often needs to be some type of external system or energy source for starting. Starters may come in varying forms, some being more manually operated while others may be automatic and electrically controlled. Air turbine starters in particular are a common option for various aircraft, capable of providing considerable torque for starting processes while being much lighter than their electric counterparts.