ASAP AM Spares Blog

For a majority of aircraft, propulsion and flight is made possible through the combustion of fuel and air mixtures within an engine. For an aircraft piston engine in particular, such systems will burn fuel within cylinders, creating the necessary reciprocal power needed to drive propellers. This continuous operation throughout a flight can result in high amounts of heat and exhaust within the system, requiring the expulsion of spent fuel to reduce pressure, mitigate heat, and more. The expulsion of such matter and heat is achieved through the use of the aircraft exhaust system, that of which contains a number of important parts and characteristics that ensure the efficiency and wellbeing of aircraft and their engines. 

Pilots and aeronautic fans alike may have heard of the term “bleed air,” but what exactly is it? As a byproduct produced during the combustion stage within an aircraft engine, bleed air is hot air that can be redirected and used to aid in various functions of the aircraft. Readily available, this source of energy proves beneficial for the means of enacting temperature control, pressure control, and pressure regulation. Within this blog, we will explain the functionalities of bleed air systems within modern aircraft and why they are important in maintaining key internal and external functions.

Aircraft are large vehicles with numerous heavy control surfaces and flight systems that are paramount to standard operations. To ensure proper control over the aircraft during flight, pilots must have a means of quickly activating and managing various airplane parts. With aircraft actuation systems, energy can be harnessed from mechanical sources to create linear or rotary motion for the means of operating landing gear, flaps, aircraft brakes, slats, and much more. While many early aircraft took advantage of cables, gears, and rods for mechanical actuation, new systems have come about over the years which are more streamlined and efficient. In this blog, we will discuss the various types of aircraft actuation systems that are commonly present in the aviation sector, allowing you to best understand their functionalities and design.

A gas turbine power plant, also referred to as a gas turbine engine, is a type of internal combustion engine that utilizes compressed fuel and air mixtures to produce mechanical or electrical power. Ranging in use from the power plants of aircraft to industrial gas turbines used for mechanical drive, gas turbines can come in a variety of shapes and forms to accommodate varying applications. While gas turbine engines may differ based on their application, all will contain primary elements such as the gas compressor, a combustor, and a downstream turbine.

A broad range of tools are used in the process of rivet installation. This includes hand tools such as rivet cutters, bucking bars, hand riveters, countersinks, and dimpling tools, and power tools such as pneumatic rivet guns, rivet squeezers, and microshavers. In this blog, we will discuss each type of tool and its basics functions.

The aircraft gas turbine engine has highly advanced our capabilities of flight, allowing for aircraft to conduct powerful compression and combustion to achieve high altitude flight at great speeds. As the compression of air is crucial for efficient flight operations, the compressor section of the engine assembly is specifically designed to handle high amounts of intake air and increase its pressure. With the compressor, air can be pressurized to benefit fuel ignition, cabin pressurization, de-icing, cabin heating and cooling, and many other processes that benefit flight operations. Due to the various roles undertaken by the compressor, it is paramount that such assemblies are understood and well-maintained to sustain their efficient operations.

An aircraft flight control surface is an aerodynamic device that allows the pilot to control and adjust the flight attitude of an aircraft. The most commonly known flight control surfaces are the ailerons, elevator, and rudder, but these are not the only ones. However, there are also many lesser known flight surfaces known as secondary or auxiliary flight surfaces. These include the flaps, slats, spoilers & speed brakes, and tabs. This blog will cover each secondary flight surface and its function.

Due to the volatile nature of electricity and the sensitivity of electronics that rely on it, it is important that there are a number of protective devices in aircraft and fail-safes present within a circuit for protection. From short circuits to ground faults, surges of electricity can easily travel through wiring and cabling unhindered due to the low resistance of such components. As such, circuit protection devices may be used to ensure that appliances and electronics are well protected, as well as those who are near them or operate them. In this blog, we will provide an overview of fuses, circuit breakers, thermal protectors, and arc fault circuit breakers, all of which are commonly used as circuit protection devices.

A critical aspect of regular turbofan or turboprop engine maintenance is the hot engine inspection. A hot section inspection (HSI) refers to the examination of the condition of many key engine parts, such as the turbine blades, combustion chamber, stators, vane rings, compressor turbine disk, and shroud segments. In this blog, we will further discuss what HSIs are, and why they are so important.

Aircraft fasteners serve as one of the most important components of aircraft construction, allowing for parts to be fixed together through mechanical means. In general, various types of aviation hardware provide their unique roles that benefit assemblies, and commonly used components include nuts, screws, bolts, and more. One type of aviation hardware type that is often overlooked for its importance is the washer, that of which may be paired with threaded fasteners and other components to provide various benefits.