One Saturday morning last month I turned on my home computer while waiting for my first cup of coffee to brew. When I sat down to check the usual email and some news all that showed on the screen was some never before seen code and a couple warnings to check this or select that. My first thought was, “oh darn this isn’t good.” Well, no it wasn’t good.
After a couple days of thinking maybe I could understand how to work my way through some set-up instructions, reprograming, shall I say troubleshooting, me and my 8 year old laptop went to the big-box electronic store. Not surprised at the outcome, hundreds of dollars later I left with a new laptop. I’m sure many of you have experienced this common occurrence.
I’m still trying to understand how to correctly use some of (maybe all of) the features of a new piece of consumer electronic equipment, and although not really a comparable scenario to modern day avionics, the entire experience again brings me back to the topic of understanding and maintaining the modern aviation electronic equipment.
In this month’s issue of Aircraft Maintenance Technology we look at several aspects of aviation electrical equipment including how technology today can assist the maintainer.
Honeywell Aerospace’s MyMaintainer mobile app is designed to allow technicians to wirelessly access information at the gate, on the ramp, or in the hangar and perform fault analysis from data stored on the aircraft in order to assist with troubleshooting.
The Electronic Flight Bag or EFB began as a system for flight crews to use a tablet device to store information traditional found in the forms of paper charts and manuals. The EFB is rapidly making its way into the hands of maintainers.
We are all aware of how business aircraft today have become a modern office in the sky providing much of the same level of communications, internet access, and entertainment that passengers are accustomed to on the ground. Satcom Direct provides you with an overview of the cabin communications typical in today’s business aircraft.
As with my attempts to understand a problem with an 8 year old laptop computer, Jim Sparks says, “Technicians caring for the next generation aircraft will need a strong knowledge of connectivity which includes awareness of the various means of digital communications along with the care and maintenance of equipment and wiring.”
But not all aircraft today are flying around with new electronic equipment in them. What about 10 to 20 year old avionics? Mark Wilkens from Elliott Aviation suggests in his article titled, “Beware the Cost of Avionics Obsolescence” airplane operators may not understand that parts obsolescence of older technology may be inevitable.
Regardless if you are a pilot, maintainer, or a passenger, new aviation electronics are rapidly becoming a huge part of our lives. They appear to be constantly evolving and changing and we all will need to adapt to the new challenges that come with new technology.
