Aircraft wire failure and incident investigation, Part I

October 13, 2011 Michael Traskos

The hazard of aircraft wire failure and electrical arcing will exist for as long as there is a need to deliver electrical power through wires. While electrical arcing is a common occurrence, the factors that impact an arcing event are often not well understood. This article reviews each step involved in electrical arcing, from what […] Read more

Aircraft EWIS failure and the process of electrical arcing

October 7, 2011 Michael Traskos

The hazard of aircraft EWIS failure and electrical arcing will exist for as long as there is a need to deliver electrical power through wires. While electrical arcing is a common occurrence, the factors that impact an arcing event are often not well understood. This article reviews each step involved in electrical arcing, from what […] Read more

When should you consider adopting an aircraft wire insulation assessment program? Part VI

September 22, 2011 Michael Traskos

SubTopic: Determining the Severity of Failure for wire life extension. A wire insulation assessment is a significant step forward in understanding the condition of the wire system and the topic of aircraft wire life extension for aerospace. However, to achieve a full system risk assessment, the assessment of probability of failure must be combined with […] Read more

Commonalities between EWIS and structured risk assessments for life extension programs

August 31, 2011 Michael Traskos

One of the criticisms of the EWIS risk assessment field is that it is an inexact science. Another is that no real value is achieved from performing an EWIS risk assessment. This article reviews these criticisms and shows how the EWIS risk assessment process follows accepted industry standards for aircraft assessment. The value of these […] Read more

What to look for with composite aircraft wire aging

August 13, 2011 Michael Traskos

This article continues the theme of identifying different kinds of wire aging, by describing the signs indicating when a composite wire is starting to age. Read more

What to look for with polyimide wire aging

August 11, 2011 Michael Traskos

Key to continued aircraft airworthiness is regular visual inspection of the wiring. However, depending on the particular wire insulation installed on the aircraft, the signs of degradation can vary significantly. This article will review what to look for when inspecting polyimide-based wires. The first thing is understanding the wire construction. A standard polyimide wire follows […] Read more

Here are some tips on conductor solderability with wire systems

August 9, 2011 Michael Traskos

An important property of a wire conductor is solderability (the ease of soldering the conductor) with wire systems. This property is greatly affected by the type of platting a wire has. Some conductor platting types such as Tin provide for an easy wetting of the conductor and soldering. Other platting types such as Nickel-platted conductors […] Read more

When should you consider adopting an aircraft wire life extension program? Part V

August 5, 2011 Michael Traskos

Subtopic: Applying Technology to your Fleet – Step #2 The next step after determining the operating conditions within the aircraft is to review the aircraft from the fleet level. This is if you are considering an aircraft wire life extension program. This fleet level assessment examines utilization; basically, it evaluates the fleet’s variability (age, service […] Read more

Results of intrusive inspection on aircraft wire systems

July 23, 2011 Michael Traskos

In the Basic concepts of Wire Degradation article, we reviewed the degradation of wire insulation from a laboratory perspective. This article discusses some the findings of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Intrusive Inspection Project fact-finding committee with information on aircraft wire systems. One of the most thorough publicly available sources for understanding the aging of […] Read more

Basic concepts in understanding aircraft wire degradation

July 19, 2011 Michael Traskos

Aircraft wire degradation often means a reduction in a wire insulation’s ability to withstand physical, electrical, or chemical strain. Such reductions can lead to insulation breaches, which can result in system interruption. All modern wire insulations are long chains of molecules called polymers. Over time, due to various types of stress, there is wire degradation. […] Read more

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