EWIS SLEP: 5 days in the desert

December 5, 2014 Michael Traskos

As part of a project with the US Navy, Lectromec staff was in Tucson for one week supporting a service life extension program (SLEP). We all know that aircraft are designed for a given number of flight hours. One question that an asset manager may ask is if the aircraft has reached this threshold, is it still able to accomplish its mission? In the terms of commercial aircraft, can the asset deliver passengers safely and reliably? It is only reasonable that an assessment should be performed to determine what changes might be necessary to accomplish this. Read more

Partial analysis of 2014 aircraft EWIS failure rates

November 24, 2014 Michael Traskos

Periodically, Lectromec reviews the state of the industry and EWIS failure rates. In this article, Lectromec reviews the January – November data in the FAA’s service difficulty report (SDR) database as of November 16, 2014 for incidents reported to have occurred during 2014. Read more

Latest update from the October 2014 SAE Wire Committee Meeting

October 22, 2014 Michael Traskos

The meeting for the SAE Fall 2014 8A and 8D groups covered a lot of ground and developments in the aerospace wire and cable world. The SAE Wire Committee Meeting, held in Tempe, Arizona, consisted of three days of meetings, presentations and task group reports. Here are some of the developments from the SAE meeting. […] Read more

Aircraft wire abrasion resistance

October 15, 2014 Michael Traskos

The proper installation of wiring will dramatically reduce unnecessary stresses and result in an uneventful service life. In the real world, wires rub against various airplane components and can create unsafe conditions from both physical and functional viewpoints. Because of this, materials must be selected that can endure mechanical stresses and not pose a hazard […] Read more

Aircraft EWIS regulations in China

October 2, 2014 Michael Traskos

There have been significant developments in the Chinese aerospace industry over the last couple of years. The largest of these developments is the design commencement of the Comac C919 narrow-body aircraft. It is a huge undertaking with the projected introduction into service in 2018. It has been necessary to standup an infrastructure capable to support […] Read more

Assessment of mechanical stress on aircraft wire insulation

September 19, 2014 Michael Traskos

Mechanical damage is one of the most common causes of aircraft wire insulation failure. This mechanical damage can come from a hundred different sources (maintenance actions, chaffing, pinching, etc.), but many put a similar basic stress on the wire. One area that must be considered from a wire selection and qualification perspective is pinching a […] Read more

The impact of series arcing

September 15, 2014 Michael Traskos

While electrical arcing on aircraft is often associated with a dramatic failure event, a much more common occurrence on aircraft is series arcing. Series arcing can contribute to overheating and component damage, reduction in signal quality, and poor/sporadic performance of electrical equipment. In this article, we discuss the basics of series arcing, the failure effects, […] Read more

Corrosion prevention compounds (CPCs) and aircraft EWIS

August 29, 2014 Michael Traskos

Corrosion prevention compounds (CPCs) are compounds that are placed on many aircraft components. Applied to a variety of mechanisms, these compounds have been found to increase structural life by reducing corrosion. While there are benefits to reducing corrosion, the impact of the CPCs on wire insulation and the aircraft Electrical Wire Interconnection System (EWIS) in […] Read more

EWIS failure and the MQ-1B Predator incident

August 22, 2014 Michael Traskos

On May 2013, a US Air Force MQ-1B General Atomics Predator aircraft crashed north of Creech Air Force Base in Nevada. The estimated loss was over $4.5 million. This is a good example of EWIS failure. Below are some of the key EWIS-related findings from the United States Air Force Abbreviated Accident Investigation Board Report. […] Read more

Aircraft wire degradation and looking in the arc

August 15, 2014 Michael Traskos

Those who have witnessed electrical arcing and aircraft wire degradation first hand know the feeling of the intense heat radiating from the arc location, the screeching sound (AC arcs), and the bright flash that leave you visually stunned for several moments. The problem with recording these events is that the arc flash is often so bright […] Read more

By: Michael Traskos