When designing, manufacturing, and procuring commercial aviation parts, it is helpful to have a referencing standard and cataloguing system to help establish order and ease of learning. The ATA 100 is a numbering system that has established itself as such a commercial aircraft documentation standard, allowing for pilots, maintenance technicians, and engineers to quickly and easily understand various aircraft systems and components. Read more >>

When flying or designing an aircraft, it is always crucial that it is designated as an “airworthy” part. Airworthiness refers to an aircraft’s ability to be considered safe for flight. These standards and certificates are regulated and upheld by various international agencies, including but not limited to the International Civil Aviation Organization, European Aviation Safety Agency, NATO, and European Defense Agency. These requirements for airworthiness are not just for the aircraft, but even for each and every component as well. When sourcing parts, one may recognize some of the common standards, such as TSO and PMA, but what do these designations mean for the parts they encompass? Read more >>

A main bonding jumper is a conductor that acts as the link between the equipment grounding conductor and the grounded service conductor. The purpose of the main bonding jumper is to fasten the EGC (equipment grounding conductors) to the neutral conductor of the electrical service. In other words, it carries the ground-fault current from the service enclosure as well as from the equipment grounding system that is returning to the source. You can read more about the main-bonding jumper and its uses below.  Read more >>

O-rings are in use throughout many aircraft and operate as an important sealer whenever they are applied. However, while acting as a sealant, o-rings are susceptible to extrusion and failure. To prevent this, many o-rings in are coupled with an anti-extrusion ring. Anti-extrusion rings are designed and manufactured to act as supplemental support and guarantee the seal performance of an o-ring. Sometimes called back-up rings, an anti-extrusion ring is an inflexible ring that holds an elastomeric seal in its correct shape and place. Anti-extrusion are necessary in a variety of situations. Some of their applications include: Read more >>

Airspeed Indicators (ASI) are flight instruments used to measure the airspeed of an aircraft. They function either electronically or via a pitot-static system and are crucial to the safe operation of an aircraft. Because of this, pilots must be able to ensure their ASI is accurate and functioning properly. Electronic ASIs provide the peace of mind that readings will be accurate, but typically only newer, more sophisticated aircraft will feature an electronic ASI. For all other aircraft, a pitot-static system will be in use. In this case, to ensure reliability, the ASI must be calibrated and maintained regularly. Read more >>

Within piping and hydraulic systems, valves are an important component that allows for the controlling of liquid flow. Utilizing a valve, the flow of liquid can be started, stopped, redirected, sped or slowed down, or be regulated in regards to its flow. The more complex the system of piping is, the harder it can be to manually manage it in its entirety. Some systems may even prove to be dangerous to handle manually due to extreme temperatures or that the pipe houses chemicals. Complex system may also require very precise changes in which accurate control is of utmost importance. For these systems, servo valves are a great solution that allows for easy and efficient piping management. Read more >>

Fasteners are often some of the most important parts for the construction of aircraft and equipment. At their most basic, they secure two or more components together in a non-permanent fashion, restricting motion relative to the attached component and include hardware components like screws, nuts, bolts, rivets, and more. Flange mount bearings are a specific type of bearing fastener, and are important for applications where a shaft is perpendicular to the surface it is being mounted upon. Common applications for flange mount bearings include HVAC belt drives, conveyors, food processing machines, and more. Read more >>

Of the six million parts that are used to make a Boeing 747-800, aircraft fasteners contribute to half of that number. Fasteners play a vital role in the overall construction and completion of aircraft. They are used to assemble and hold together various components in primary structure areas, pressurized/non pressurized applications, and to transfer loads from one part to another. A wide variety of fasteners are used in the construction of an aircraft, such as nuts, bolts, screws, clamps, rivets, and many more. Read more >>

Few components are as important as aircraft bearings in the aerospace industry. Bearings, as their name implies, bear weight and friction, allowing components in the aircraft to turn and rotate in a controlled manner. Bearings can take several different forms, but for this article we will focus on roller bearings. Read more >>

Believe it or not, building an aircraft is a complicated process. It is one thing to design the aircraft on paper or more likely, on the computer, but it is another thing to piece it together. Specialized tools and hardware are required to fix the various aircraft components in place and allow for any mechanical movement to occur. Bearings are small pieces of hardware that house linear or rotational movement. As the name suggests, bearings bear weight within a piece of machinery, and are particularly useful in reducing the amount of friction within a machine. The moving parts have a smaller surface area than two rigid components moving past one another. By decreasing the amount of friction inside a machine, you are effectively increasing the lifespan of the machine. Bearings are widely used across the aviation, marine, and defense industries. There are numerous types of bearings including the popular rod end bearing. Read more >>