Course# 501
Aging Aircraft Course (Sustainment Course)

When a student completes this course she/he should be able to:

  • understand what factors cause aircraft to age
  • learn about Multiple Site Damage and Widespread Fatigue Damage and how to postpone them
  • have a basic understanding of aircraft loads and aerodynamics and how they contribute to aging
  • recognize up to a dozen different types of corrosion that can afflict an aircraft and how to minimize their occurrences
  • explain what Limit of Validity is for aging aircraft
  • have a good working knowledge of aging aircraft wiring issues and EWIS
  • show a solid grasp of various factors that contribute to aircraft fatigue crack initiation and growth
  • be familiar with best practices to mitigate aging issues in aircraft

Who should take this training:

Managers / Engineers / Materials Scientists / Inspectors / DERs in:

  • Aircraft Maintenance
  • Aircraft Production
  • Airline Liaison with OEM
  • Continuing Airworthiness
  • Aircraft Production
  • Helicopter Maintenance
  • Repair
  • Accident Investigation
  • Engine Overhaul
  • Materials Selection
  • Materials and Processing (M&P)
  • Automobile
  • Structural Analysis
  • Structural Design
  • Fatigue Crack Growth Analysis
  • Safety Officers
  • Wiring / Ageing Avionics
  • Regulatory Authority, NAAs
  • Corrosion Prevention & Control Programs (CPCP)
  • Metallurgy
  • Materials and Process Engineers

From Industries including but not limited to:

  • Airlines
  • Defense Directorates
  • MROs, Repair Stations
  • Army
  • Aircraft and Component Manufacturers
  • Airforce
  • Technical College
  • Navy
  • Civil Aviation Authorities
  • Aircraft Manufacturers
  • Material Suppliers
  • Universities
  • Accident Investigation Agencies, NTSB
  • Structural Design
  • ASI (Aviation Safety Inspectors)
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Syllabus

Aging Aircraft Course / Sustainment Course

  1. Things that ‘age’ an AircraftFatigue Crack Initiation & Propagation, Corrosion, Foreign Damage, Synergistic Failure Modes, Susceptibility of High Strength Materials
  2. Convertible in the Sky!!
    Deadly Corrosion + Fatigue Combination, Short-Hop Flights — Effect of Spectrum on Aging, Inspections, Important Lesson on Fail-Safe.
  3. Fail Safe, Safe Life & Damage Tolerance
    Structural Illustrations, Safety Factors, Miner’s Myth (Miner’s Rule), Fracture Mechanics Fundamentals, Crack Growth Example, Practical Data, Residual Strength
  4. Airworthiness Assurance Task Force Findings
    Human Factors, NDT Technology, Inspector/mechanic Training, Maintenance Communications, Fatigue Testing
  5. Multiple Site Damage– Widespread Fatigue Damage
  6. How Aging affects Fail-Safety
    Case Study: Boeing 747 Flap Track Assembly Stress Corrosion
  7. Aircraft Certification — Transport and Commuter
  8. Protection against Wear, Spalling, Galling…
  9. Fretting Fatigue
    Case Study: A Helicopter Impeller Failure
  10. Hydrogen Embrittlement – Fasteners
  11. Corrosion Overview
    General Attack, Pitting, Intergranular Corrosion, Crevice Corrosion, Exfoliation and Microbiological Corrosion, Stress Corrosion, Corrosion Fatigue
  12. Corrosion Control Methods
    Designs to Minimize Corrosion, MIL-S-5002, MIL-F-7179, NAVAIR 01-1A-509, NDI, Materials Selection, Treatments, Coatings, Amlguard, Unicoat, Corrosion-X, ACF-50, Corrosion Block Grease, LPS…
  13. Aging of Wiring
    EWIS
  14. NASA Aging Aircraft Efforts
  15. Engine Integrity
    Turbine Disk Failure Modes, Bursting, Plasticity, Hi-Cycle & Low-Cycle Fatigue, Retirement for Cause, Short Crack Data ENSIP, Engine DTA, Case Study: United Airlines DC-10-10/CF6-6D Accident, Sioux City, Iowa, Fan Disk Investigations, Airline Inspections, The Role of FAA
  16. Loads
    Flight Loads Data Collection, Structures Technology, Ground and Handling loads, Truncation, Clipping, Omission
  17. Aging General Aviation Aircraft
    FAA / NAIR Cessna 402 Teardown, Best Practices Guide for Maintaining Aging General Aviation Aircraft
  18. Nondestructive Inspection on Aging Fleet
    D checks, Thermography, Probability of Detection Curves, X-ray,
    Bolt-hole Eddy Current, Magnetic Particle, Ultrasonic, Penetrant
  19. Nondestructive Testing of Aging Aircraft
  20. Pressure Test
    Proof Tests Advantages and Disadvantages
  21. Repair Techniques
    Unique Problems in Multi-Site Damage, Composite Repair Methods, the Airworthiness Patch
  22. Use of Damage Tolerance in Maintaining Airworthiness
  23. Cracks at Structural Holes
    Fatigue Life Enhancement, Cold Working of Holes to Extend Airframe Life, Stress Intensity Factors, Cracks at Loaded Holes, Multiple Holes, Crack Growth Acceleration
  24. Composites Fatigue & Damage Tolerance
    Delaminations, Stiffness Losses, Fastener Hole Integrity, Impact Damage, Residual Strength Predictions, Moisture Ingression, Environmental Damage
  25. Emerging NDI Technology For Aging Aircraft
    Photogrammetry, Moire Motion Detection, Shearograph, New Holographic Techniques
  26. Limit of Validity — LOV Concept