Auxiliary power units (APUs) are specialized devices installed in vehicles to provide energy for various functions. Found in large aircraft, naval ships, and large land vehicles, APUs allow them to operate autonomously without the need for GSE such as ground power units, external air-conditioning units, or high-pressure air start carts. That being said, this blog will cover APUs, how they work, and their importance. Read more >>

For an aircraft to remain airworthy and safe to operate, it must meet stringent quality guidelines and regulations that focus on part conditions, maintenance, and approval. To prevent damage to various parts and systems and their subsequent failure, aircraft engineers take advantage of a process known as heat treatment. Generally, this process will cover a wide variety of parts ranging from landing gear components to the individual bearings and joints of assemblies, ensuring that they all perform with high reliability and integrity. In this blog, we will discuss the heat treatment of aircraft components, allowing you to better understand how such processes are carried out for a number of items. Read more >>

Reciprocating aircraft engines are almost always fitted with independent, dual ignition systems, allowing for increased safety in terms of redundancy in the case of a system failure. With dual magneto configurations, the engine can even continue to run in the instance of the electrical system failing. As a result, new technology often continues this sense of redundancy, always ensuring that there is some form of backup to keep the engine running during a standard flight operation. In this blog, we will discuss the operations of a piston engine and the importance of spark plugs, allowing you to better understand how such systems function and are maintained. Read more >>

Fundamentally one of the most “hands-on” locations in aircraft, cockpits centralize compulsory flight controls that enable movement of a vehicle—sharing a resemblance to sitting in the driver's seat of a car. A typical sight unanimous within aircraft, the cockpit, or flight deck, is also known as one of the most overwhelming regions for its abundance of flight control switches and various operational equipment. Situated at the front of the vehicle to promote visibility, the cockpit centralizes crucial equipment needed for flight, ensuring a pilot always has an optimal angle to interact with devices while in the air. Diving into the basics of what composes a cockpit, we will summarize key controls used by pilots in such a location and how they aid in safely navigating an aircraft from taxiing to touchdown. Read more >>

Piston engine technology has a long history for automobiles and aircraft engine assemblies, ensuring the generation of thrust and propulsion through the combustion of fuel-and-air mixtures. Since their inception, various piston engine types have come about for aircraft and automobiles, examples being in-line, rotary, V-type, radial, and horizontally opposed engines. The opposed piston engine in particular is a more specialized type, featuring cylinders that have a piston on both ends and a lack of a cylinder head. Read more >>

For airlines that require high amounts of power for their standard set of operations, having a device that provides energy for functions outside of propulsion can be highly beneficial. Common to large aircraft such as commercial airliners, devices such as Auxiliary Power Units (APU) are regularly used for the vehicle to operate autonomously without the aid of a ground power unit, high pressure air start cart, external air conditioning unit, or other various ground support equipment. In this blog, we will discuss the design and operation of auxiliary power units, allowing you to better understand how they augment the operations of various aircraft. Read more >>

Aircraft lighting is a crucial aspect of flight safety, ensuring that pilots and passengers have the ability to see their surroundings to safely move around a cabin, interact with controls, and more. Aircraft cockpit lighting and panel lighting solutions in particular serve an extremely important role, providing pilots visibility to efficiently operate and monitor all aircraft instruments, switches, breakers, and more. In this blog, we will discuss the main aspects of aircraft cockpit lighting, allowing you to better understand how pilots maintain safety and control during low visibility conditions and night operations. Read more >>

Aircraft landing gear can come in a variety of forms, the most common being those that utilize wheels. With a tire and wheel assembly, the entire weight of an aircraft can optimally be supported during takeoff, landing, and taxi procedures. To ensure that even the most massive commercial transporters are supported, wheels are engineered to be extremely strong, yet lightweight. To best understand how the tire and wheel assembly efficiently provides for aircraft ground procedures, one must learn how they are designed and how they function. Read more >>

Preparing for numerous possible weather conditions is a crucial part of flight planning, and it allows for operators to ensure that flight paths can be optimally made using the most efficient and safe routes. Turbulence is one of the most impactful forces on aircraft parts, often accounting for upwards of $100 million annually for the maintenance and efficiency impacts faced by the general aviation sector in the United States alone. To create optimal flight paths while accounting for weather, technology has consistently advanced to increase the capabilities of weather systems for more accurate and real-time forecasting. In this blog, we will discuss the future of weather systems and how upcoming technologies will improve flight planning. Read more >>

A transponder is a wireless communications, monitoring, or control device that picks up and automatically responds to an incoming signal. The term is a contraction of the words transmitter and responder. An aviation transponder has multiple interrogation modes, or formats of pulsed sequences from an interrogating Secondary Surveillance (SSR) or similar system. Multiple modes exist, such as modes 1-5 for military use, and modes A-D for civilian use. In this blog, we will discuss everything you need to know about mode C transponders. Read more >>