Aviation Maintenance Technician Series: General Third Edition by Dale Crane Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc. 7005 132nd Place SE Newcastle, Washington 98059-3153 Email:
[email protected] Website: www.asa2fly.com © 1993 –2011 Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc. All rights reserved. None of the material in this textbook supersedes any operational documents, regulations or procedures issued by the Federal Aviation Administration, or aircraft and avionics manufacturers’ guidelines and instructions. First Edition published 1993. Third Edition published 2005 (hardcover printing 2007). PDF Edition published 2011. Cover photo © Gary Gladstone / The Image Bank Photos pp. 3, 5 and 7 courtesy Museum of Flight Foundation Photos pp. 4 and 6 courtesy The Boeing Company Photo p. 480 courtesy Dowty-Rotal, Inc. ASA-AMT-G3-PD
PDF ISBN 978-1-56027-844-3 LC# 92-1292
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AviAtion mAintenAnce techniciAn SerieS
GenerAl
CONTENTS
Preface
v
1
An Introduction to Aviation
2
Mathematics
3
Basic Physics
4
Basic Electricity
5
Aircraft Drawings
6
Weight and Balance
7
Materials and Processes
8
Cleaning and Corrosion Control
9
Fluid Lines and Fittings
1
11 61 137 365 403 449 525
579
10
Ground Operation and Servicing
11
Regulations and Maintenance Publications
12
Mechanic Privileges and Limitations
13
Maintenance Forms and Records
14
Tools for Aircraft Maintenance
15
Entering the Field of Aviation Maintenance Glossary Index
605 649
677 707
725 777
791 809
AVIATION SUPPLIES & ACADEMICS, INC.
Contents
iii
AN INTRODUCTION TO AVIATION Aviation History In only 100 years, aviation has progressed from just the dream of flight to the reality of thousands of people traveling by air each day. All first-class mail now travels by air, and air express is becoming one of the most popular ways of shipping. Aviation has evolved through a number of key eras, each with their own advancements in the way airplanes connect people and places of the world. Let’s look at some of the most outstanding happenings in each of these eras.
1903 –1918 The airplane evolved from a machine that could barely support itself in the air, into the pursuit planes, bombers, and observation airplanes of World War I. These aircraft were, for the most part, dangerous, undependable, and inefficient, but they did fly.
With their Flyer, the Wright brothers solved the basic problem of control which finally allowed man to fly.
1919 – 1926 The government sold surplus WWI airplanes to ex-military aviators who became barnstormers and who carried thousands of passengers on their first airplane ride. This was the age of the flying circus when aviators flew without government regulation. AN INTRODUCTION TO AVIATION
Chapter 1
3
1927–1939 During this period the federal government began to control aviation by licensing airplanes and airmen, and by helping to develop airports and airways. This period includes the “Golden Age of Aviation” in which surplus WW I airplanes were disappearing and the aviation manufacturing industry began to come into its own. The Wright Whirlwind engine proved reliable enough for trans-Atlantic flights, and the world became aware of the airplane as a means of serious transportation. Hundreds of aircraft manufacturers operated during this era, and the National Air Races attracted thousands of onlookers each year. Heroes and heroines in the persons of Charles Lindbergh, Wiley Post, Jimmy Doolittle, and Amelia Earhart, and names such as Lockheed, Travelair, Waco, and Stinson were as familiar to the average person as Chevrolet, Ford, Chrysler, and Honda are to us today.
All-metal construction replaced wood & fabric, as the state-of-theart technology in the early 1930s.
The fast all-metal, low-wing, cantilever monoplane replaced the slower and more clumsy trimotor airplane for regular airline service.
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AVIATION MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN SERIES
GENERAL
1940 –1949 World War II dominated this era. High-performance fighters and highaltitude, long-range bombers were designed and built by the thousands. During this period, the jet engine and the helicopter were developed, but the war ended before either was perfected. Flight by instruments was common in the military, but was not generally used by civilian pilots. After the war, the GI Bill provided flight training for thousands who had wanted to fly during the war but who served on the land or the sea. These new pilots, along with the thousands of returning military pilots, caused the industry to anticipate “an airplane for everyone.” Airplane manufacturers, flight schools, fixed-base operators, and nonscheduled airlines flourished, but many soon fell by the wayside. 1950 –1959 This era ushered in the first commercial jet transport aircraft, and the war in Korea brought about the acceptance of the helicopter as a practical aircraft. Aerospace activity began with the launching of the first satellite.
The long-range jet transport airplane made it possible for people and things to cross oceans in hours rather than weeks.
AN INTRODUCTION TO AVIATION
Chapter 1
5
