Electrical Fault and Fire Prevention and Protection

June 3, 2016 Michael Traskos

The prevention of electrical fires is a common goal for most aircraft systems. Advisory Circular (AC) 25-16, “Electrical fault and Fire Prevention and Protection”, released in 1991, can be considered one of the precursors to the Electrical Wiring Interconnection System (EWIS) regulations. Although the document is now 25 years old as of last month, AC 25-16 provides a wide variety of recommended practices that are commonplace in the EWIS design and installation. Here we review some of the key points addressed in AC 25-16 and considerations with modern EWIS design with respect to electrical fault and fire prevention and protection. Read more

Aircraft wire systems: Bent pin analysis

January 29, 2016 Michael Traskos

Previous Lectromec articles have focused on certain parts of system design such as the physical separation between systems. In particular, the articles have focused on the wiring. In this article, we will switch our attention to a different, but no less important, area: the Electrical Wiring Interconnect Systems (EWIS) connector assessment. Specifically, we will examine […] Read more

Taking a look at aircraft wire testing and evaluation

July 15, 2015 John Gilroy

For the past thirty years, Lectromec has been a leader in the area of aerospace wire testing and evaluation. In order to provide aerospace professionals with information to increase their knowledge of this complex topic, we began creating educational materials. Accordingly, Lectromec has published almost two-hundred articles, distributes a monthly newsletter, has a podcast, and […] Read more

MIL-HDBK-683: Techniques for effectively analyzing data

June 23, 2015 Carina Cannon

Failure analysis and system reliability are a fundamental part of the aerospace industry. With the extremely rare exception, modern aircraft are assessed and evaluated at the component, system, and aircraft level for all manner of failure impacts. This article will give methods for effectively analyzing data and discuss the commonly accepted Failure Mode and Effects […] Read more

EWIS regulatory compliance: 25.1703, Part II

June 16, 2015 Michael Traskos

Aerospace wiring requirements like the FAA regulation §25.1703 can be difficult to comprehend in one sitting. Lectromec has taken this complex document on EWIS regulatory compliance and divided it into some logical categories. In our last podcast titled An EWIS Perspective, we examined concepts in expected life and discussed how to select components designed for […] Read more

EWIS regulatory compliance: 25.1703, Part I

June 5, 2015 Michael Traskos

Proper aircraft wire installation begins with selecting the right components. There will never be a perfect component, because there will always be tradeoffs between performance, cost, weight, and reliability. Engineering is what allows us to weigh all these factors and determine which one is the most important. The decision matrix includes requirements of the electrical […] 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

7 considerations for aircraft wire separation

March 30, 2014 Michael Traskos

The development of a safe, reliable, and easy to maintain Electrical Wire Interconnection System (EWIS) is a challenging task. The considerations range from selecting each EWIS component, to matching the load and Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) requirements of the connected devices, to ensuring your design can maintain performance across multiple zone environments. EWIS design takes a […] Read more

EWIS regulatory compliance with 25.1707, Part VII

February 28, 2014 Michael Traskos

This is the final article on the series devoted to the FAA regulation 25.1707 on EWIS separation. The previous six articles in this series are listed below: Jan 20, 2014 Part I: Damage assessment for 25.1707 Jan 28, 2014 Part II : EMI compliance in 25.1707 Feb 7, 2014 Part III: Heavy Current Cables in […] Read more

EWIS regulatory compliance with 25.1707, Part VI

February 25, 2014 Michael Traskos

This is the sixth article in the series focused on FAA 25.1707 that discusses electrical wire interconnection system (EWIS). The previous articles in this series are listed below: Jan 20, 2014 Part I: Damage assessment for 25.1707 Jan 28, 2014 Part II : EMI compliance in 25.1707 Feb 7, 2014 Part III: Heavy Current Cables […] Read more

FAR