Aging Wires & Systems

Aircraft wiring: Polyimide wire life projection

September 25, 2012 Michael Traskos

Polyimide wire (commonly referred by the trade name, Kapton®), is the mustard colored kind of aircraft wiring that can be found in older civilian and commercial aircraft made before the 1995. Similarly to other wires, it degrades over time. However, unlike other common aircraft wire insulations, the damage that it causes through electrical arc tracking […] Read more

Giving your aircraft EWIS a good cleaning

April 13, 2012 Michael Traskos

During standard aircraft maintenance, it occasionally becomes necessary to clean the wiring, remove FOD (foreign object debris), and/or clean equipment near wiring (which is just about everywhere on the aircraft). This process should be handled with care and attention to details. Cleaning should follow the manufacturer’s recommendations where applicable. Where no information is given on […] Read more

Why not perform certification test on aged aircraft wire?

March 22, 2012 Michael Traskos

Before a wire is first brought onto an aircraft, it must first go through a series of tests that validate the quality of the finished wire. Most of these tests are conducted on new wires that have not been subjected to accelerated aging. This raises the question of whether subjecting an aged aircraft wire (one […] Read more

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

December 13, 2011 Michael Traskos

Through this series of articles, we have gone over all of the components that are necessary to perform a full risk assessment to maximize wire life extension. In this article, we will examine what a comprehensive risk assessment entails. 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

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

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

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

July 17, 2011 Michael Traskos

Subtopic: Applying Technology to your Fleet – Step #1 For purposes of aircraft wire life extension, start with identifying what wires are on the aircraft (see Lectromec’s When should you consider adopting a wire life extension program? Part III article article). It is then necessary to perform a selective sampling of the aircraft. Obviously, the […] Read more

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

July 4, 2011 Michael Traskos

This is the third article in a series addressing the concepts associated with wire life extension and an Electrical Wire Interconnection System (EWIS) analysis of aging aircraft. The When should you consider adopting an aircraft wire life extension program? article addressed some of the fundamental concepts behind risk and risk assessment and how they are […] Read more