Industry and government have worked together to learn more about the effects of aging on aircraft. The focus of their efforts has been on research and regulation that specifically applies to large transports and commercial operations. However, the physics of aging ignore regulatory boundaries. Through this effort, industry has learned much about corrosion, metal fatigue, inspection techniques, and wiring deterioration. Much of this knowledge can benefit GA.
Methods for mitigating the effects of airplane aging parallel those used in medicine. Advances in medical science continue to result in new methods of detecting precursors to serious health problems. Health professionals recommend increasingly more intrusive “inspections” as people age. People accept these recommendations and generally request more thorough physicals as they get older. Conversely, most small airplanes, regardless of age, are rarely (if ever) inspected beyond a non-intrusive annual or 100-hour inspections as required by 14 CFR 43.15, Appendix D.
Purpose
The recommended best practices contained in this guide are similar to suggested physical exams that doctors recommend. Each airplane ages differently depending on how it is maintained and used over its life. However, airplane design concepts are similar from model to model and from manufacturer to manufacturer. Therefore, these best practices generically apply to all GA models regardless of manufacturer.
This guide explains the importance of reviewing the airplane’s maintenance records. It gives some ideas for doing it and contains references that provide additional detailed information. It also provides sources of information specific to particular airplane types. The owners of older airplanes routinely form organizations, especially when the manufacturer no longer exists or provides little customer support. These organizations (referred to as “type clubs”) share information and are often considered the best source of continued airworthiness concerns that could be or develop into safety problems.
This guide provides a baseline airplane-wide checklist of potential aging concerns for critical areas of an airplane. Included in this guide is an example of such a maintenance and inspection checklist with reference information for a specific airplane model. This example shows how these best practices can be used.
Best Practices
Many aging aircraft designs that are still capable of safe and useful operation in today’s environment have manufacturers that have gone out of business or (for other reasons) no longer exist. Other manufacturers that may still exist do not have the capability of providing field support for the aging models. Engineering drawings, maintenance procedures, and other technical data are just not available from these nonexistent or nonsupportive manufacturers.
Acquiring, organizing, preserving, and making available for easy access all data that can be found greatly increases the likelihood for improvements in the maintenance and safe operation of a particular airplane. Extended to a model type or several model types, these actions can have an enormous impact on the future safe operation of the aging small airplane fleet.
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本文链接地址：Best Practices Guide for Maintaining Aging General Aviation Airplanes(2)
