Avionic Repairs Explained In Easy Stages

Both military and civilian aircraft have so much more to them than just the body and the engines. There are many different controlling systems, and deal with such things as communication, navigation and engine management. There are many more systems too, and you will not be surprised to learn that sometimes this technology becomes faulty. This can mean that avionic repairs will be needed.

In the civilian sector, any aircraft which is out of service can lead to flight cancellations, or delays. Either scenario is not ideal, for either the airline or the passengers. So any disruption is best kept to the minimum amount of time possible.

It is quite often that all such control units will be located in the same bay on-board the aircraft. When a fault occurs the engineer will replace the piece with the problem. They will then conduct testing, thus ensuring that the aircraft is once again serviceable, and able to rejoin the flight program. In this way all disruption has been kept to a minimum.

Once the aircraft has slotted back into the schedule the engineer can sort out the faulty item. Some airlines have their own test and repair facilities at major airports, but for the most part faulty equipment is sent to specialist companies for rectification work. These companies operate under licenses from the equipment manufacturers and aviation authorities.

One of the most important things that the engineer can do now is give as much information about the fault as possible when he is filling out the paperwork. This helps to narrow the list of potential causes down, meaning that the specialist company needs to spend less time on their own diagnostics. They will still have to confirm that there is a problem, and also the likely cause.

As these pieces of equipment are mainly electronic in nature, the area in which they are checked over has to be environmentally clean. This means that the temperature and humidity levels are controlled, also dust and other particulate matter are kept to the minimum. The technicians are all highly trained, and use various devices to eliminate the possibility of static discharges while they are working on the equipment.

During the diagnostic testing the technicians will be looking for operations and readings at set points, these will be compared against the average readings provided by the manufacturer. In a few cases the fault is easy to see with the naked eye, it might be a broken wire or an unshipped PCB. It can also be an electronic component on a PCB which failed.

If it is a definite fault then these are easier to trace, rather than an intermittent one. Once the fault has been traced and rectified the technician will conduct even more tests. This is to confirm that the equipment is once again fully serviceable, and that there are no further faults which might have gone undetected.

The avionic repairs will only be signed off once the technician is happy that nothing has been missed. The piece of equipment is then returned to the operator. They will retain it in a secure stowage until such a time as it required again.