Electrical Wiring for Aerospace
When examining the status of a electrical wiring for aircraft, the inspection cannot be just about wiring. It needs to cover the components of the wiring system. This means inspection of clamps, connectors, splices, harness routing, drip loops, and many other components.
In past articles (What to look for with aging Composite wire, What to look for with Aging Polyimide Wire), we have discussed what types of specific wires to look for to determine insulation aging. While this is necessary, identifying the physical signs of aging is easier when regular inspections are done (how else can you tell if something has changed without having something to compare it against?).
In this series of articles, we will go through a complete visual inspection to examine all the parts of an aircraft’s electrical wire interconnection system (EWIS). Whether your needs are based on reviewing the quality of a new aircraft or the status of an existing aircraft, these articles will provide a baseline for an examination process.
Based on our experiences as well as military and FAA inspection guidelines, these documents will clearly identify tasks that should be performed in a comprehensive inspection process.
This is a three part series; part 2 covers inspection guidelines and part 3 covers areas of degradation that should be considered during inspections.
Michael Traskos
President, Lectromec
michael.traskos@lectromec.comMichael has been involved in wire degradation and failure assessments for more than a decade. He has worked on dozens of projects assessing the reliability and qualification of EWIS components.