Braking systems play a crucial role in various machinery and vehicles to ensure safe and controlled deceleration. One essential component of these systems is the braking resistor, an essential element of the wider assembly. In this blog, we will delve into the world of braking resistors, exploring what they are, how they work, their applications, and their importance in ensuring efficient braking operations.

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Turboprop engines have long been a critical component of aviation, propelling aircraft of various sizes and types. These engines, while often overshadowed by their more well-known turbojet counterparts, serve a crucial role in both commercial and military aviation. In this blog, we will delve into turboprop engine functionality, exploring the key components that allow them to function and how they differ from turbojet engines.

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In the aviation industry, safety and preparedness are of utmost importance, especially during nighttime operations. Therefore, pilots require reliable lighting tools to navigate their aircraft and perform essential tasks in low-light conditions. In this blog post, we will explore the most important things pilots look for when purchasing flashlights and headlamps, as well as some popular equipment that many rely on for safety during low-visibility or nighttime operations.

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Maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) facilities play an integral role in keeping aircraft operable and airworthy. Although any facility that performs these actions in servicing aircraft may be labeled an MRO, there may be a significant variation in the business models and efficiency between locations. Like other aspects of aviation, MROs are constantly looking for ways to innovate so that they may optimize repair time while maintaining high reliability. In this blog, we will focus on the various strategies being implemented by MRO facilities to increase output and provide customers with the best experience possible.

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Semiconductors are an important element of countless advanced electronic assemblies, coming in the form of a material that has an electrical conductivity value between a conductor and an insulator. The resistance of semiconductors may vary based on their design and environmental conditions; values often come down to the amount of impurities present in their crystal structure or the current temperature of the component itself. There are many common types of semiconductors that one may take advantage of for their application, and popular materials include silicon, germanium, gallium arsenide, and others. In this blog, we will discuss how semiconductors have benefited modern aircraft, allowing you to better understand their use and importance in varying settings.

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A tachometer is an instrument that measures the rotational speed of a shaft or disk, and it is responsible for measuring the RPM of a moving object such as a plane. As such, they are usually found in the aviation and automotive industries. Within the automotive industry, tachometers are displayed on the dashboard of the car, informing the driver when to shift gears by taking the rotational speed of the shaft into consideration.  

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An integral component of modern aviation is the series of flight instruments that work together to provide the crew with valuable information about the aircraft. In the cockpit, you may notice dozens of gauges and meters, some of which are used frequently, and others rarely. Of these many instruments, one of the most commonly used throughout the flight is the attitude indicator or artificial horizon. This critical component provides real-time information to the pilot about the aircraft's orientation. In this blog, we will discuss everything you need to know about the artificial horizon instrument, including its design and implementation.

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Navigation is a crucial element of flight operations, allowing pilots and operators to carry out a flight plan to reach an intended destination with ease. While most pilots now rely on highly advanced GPS technology and the Flight Management System (FMS), past operations were much more difficult. This was especially true in the polar regions where magnetic compasses are unreliable. In such instances, pilots would take advantage of what was known as grid navigation.

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Aircraft have countless components that necessitate routine maintenance to ensure their optimal functionality. Propellers are just one example of components that need to be inspected from time to time to guarantee they are in working condition. Typically made of an aluminum alloy or a structural composite material, propellers provide propulsion, allowing aircraft to traverse the sky.

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Rotary engines are internal combustion engines with chambers that change in size as the rotor rotates. This type of engine also has an odd number of cylinders per row that are radially configured. More than that, rotary engines are considered to be one of the most notable advances in engine technology. However, there are several advantages and disadvantages one must consider when looking to switch to a rotary engine or browsing vehicle options with this type of engine.

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A filter manifold, or pressure filter, is tasked with combining a myriad of separate filtration components into a single assembly. The compact construction reduces the total weight and cost of the unit, making it the optimal choice for many applications. Often implemented in commercial and military aircraft, they have been responsible for protecting aerospace fluid systems for decades. With this in mind, this blog will cover filter manifolds and how they work.

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As the aviation industry continues to grow worldwide, billions of passengers travel across the globe every year. Many of these passengers will ride on commercial airliners, those of which rely on turbine engines with turbine blades. Turbine engines, or jet engines, are the most widely used powerplant for commercial flight in the modern day, allowing for many aircraft to achieve the power and propulsion required to traverse long distances with ease. Turbine engines have had a long history since their inception, and countless developments have been made in the form of improved technologies and new engine types. In this blog, we will discuss the history of turbine blades and turbine engines, allowing you to see how they have shaped the history of aviation since their invention.

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As our modern society has become increasingly dependent on electronics for transportation, communication, entertainment, security, and more, it is very beneficial to have a basic understanding of how such devices function and how they are designed. Connectors are one of the most basic elements of electronics, serving as a device that joins electrical conductors together for the means of establishing circuits. Connectors can come in a plethora of forms, often being specifically designed for a particular application, device, or function. Despite a vast array of connectors existing, there are certain classifications and groups that encompass some of the most common variations that are available. In this blog, we will provide a brief overview of a few of the most important connector types, allowing you to better understand their designs and uses for electronics of all forms.

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Due to the high speed ranges that aircraft typically operate in during flight, it is important that they are capable of reaching a safe stop upon landing on a runway. While aircraft can reduce their speed before landing through the use of engine power reduction and flap extension, the aircraft brake system is the safest and most reliable option when on the ground. Brakes can also benefit ground operations during taxi procedures or when parking the aircraft, making them an indispensable part of operations. In this blog, we will provide a brief overview of the aircraft brake system so that you can best understand its functionality and importance.

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Every commercial flight, even those taken by private jets, involves certain aspects that are handled entirely by a computer. As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more sophisticated, it is virtually guaranteed that more and more pilot duties will be taken over by automated systems. In fact, as early as 2015, one pilot claimed that autopilot does approximately ninety percent of all flying. The pilot is essentially there to take off, land, and monitor the autopilot, stepping in only when needed. In the recent decades, aviation has seen a significant drop in fatal accidents, largely thanks to automation. In this blog, we will look at the future of automation in the aviation industry.

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At an altitude between 30,000 and 40,000 feet where most aircraft will operate, temperatures will often fall below -40 degrees Fahrenheit. At such cold temperatures, any exposed fluids will quickly freeze and components can be affected as well. To ensure that ice does not form across aircraft surfaces and disrupt airflow, aircraft anti-icing heaters are used. While conventional devices have proven useful for many aircraft, such equipment is often too heavy for implementation on smaller aircraft and helicopters. Nevertheless, developing anti-icing heaters that can be manufactured from expanded-graphite foil may prove to be a lightweight and efficient solution for such aircraft....

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As artificial intelligence, machinery, and general technologies continue to advance, automation is becoming ever more realized for a great number of applications and industries. From the automatic program recordings conducted by TVs to self-driving electric cars, automation can come in many forms and benefit society in a multitude of ways. Within the realm of aviation, automation has a grand potential for streamlining processes and operations, creating more flexibility for service providers and businesses alike. While aviation industry automation does have its various advantages, there are some challenges and considerations to keep in mind as such technology becomes increasingly present. With air traffic management in particular, automation can revolutionize how we manage aircraft throughout the skies, but there are some hurdles that will need to be addressed before such changes can come to fruition. 

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As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to be adopted by various industries and organizations, a plethora of sectors have seen rapid improvements in their operations. Within the aerospace industry, labor costs, health and safety, human errors, manufacturing, and development all serve as concerns that can be thoroughly improved with data science and machine learning for increased efficiency. As the aerospace industry always strives to speed up processes to meet an ever-growing demand, such technologies can prove beneficial while ensuring high-quality manufacturing and services...

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From new and advanced engines to robust glass cockpits, the constant development and improvement of technology has greatly revolutionized the aviation industry and how they carry out operations. In more recent years, technology has further benefited the industry by allowing organizations to improve upon their operations with the use of artificial intelligence and data science. From customer service to the maintenance of aircraft systems, technology has opened up many avenues for greatly increasing the efficiency, safety, and overall streamlining of all processes. In this blog, we will take a look into the various operations and procedures that are seeing the greatest impact from the development and implementation of such data-driven technologies...

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Gyroscopic instruments are used on all aircraft where they provide the pilot with critical attitude and directional information, especially when flying under instrument flight rules. The power sources of these instruments can vary, as the end goal is simply to spin the gyroscopes at a high speed. This blog will cover the three most common sources of power for gyroscopic systems: vacuum, pressure, and electrical.

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For aircraft owners, rising prices are nothing new. Despite this, as the cost of aviation fuel continues to get higher and higher, owners and operators of general aviation and business aircraft are constantly confronted by the need to revamp their aviation fuel cost management methods - no matter what they may be. The constant increase of operating costs related to owning or renting an aircraft affects businessmen, pilots, and aviation enthusiasts alike. Furthermore, it affects owners, flight schools, and fixed base operators (FBOs). Unfortunately, this problem doesn't look like it's going away any time soon.

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If you’ve flown an aircraft in high summer temperatures, you know how hot the interior of your cabin can become. As such, you may be tempted to take every measure to keep the inside of the cabin as cool as possible. Despite this, using materials not designed for use on aircraft will likely only cause a bigger problem in the future. This blog will offer some advice in dealing with the heat and its effect on aircraft windows.

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Welding is a process of conjoining two or more materials together through the use of heat application. Typically, this requires an external or internal entity, such as heaters or friction, that causes the surfaces of such materials to melt together and fuse through cooling. Although welding has a long rooted history in use, it was the end of the 19th century in which we saw multiple modern welding techniques come about, allowing us to achieve many different industrial and construction applications with such power...

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When the gas turbine engine first released to the aviation market, aircraft capabilities as we knew them were drastically changed. With such engines, aircraft could produce massive amounts of thrust from fuel combustion, allowing airliners to travel great distances with high speeds. Nevertheless, these aircraft and their respective engines require vast amounts of fuel, often ranging from 35,000 to 85,000 gallons. While aircraft may be filled with a little more fuel each trip than they need to successfully carry out a flight operation, it is still paramount that pilots precisely monitor and log fuel consumption rates for safety, weight and balance efficiency, and more. As accurately monitoring fuel is critical for flight operations, companies across the world strive to constantly improve our abilities to conduct such measurements. In recent years, the Fluid Systems Division of Parker Aerospace has partnered with Oxsensis Ltd. to create an optical-based system that is set to transform how pilots perform in-flight fuel monitoring.

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When designing aircraft, there are many factors that are taken into consideration depending on the desired application that it will fulfill. For instance, an engineer may implement a more powerful engine to increase speeds, or install hardpoints to help the aircraft in its ability to establish air-superiority. Nevertheless, one of the most important factors that affect aircraft ability, and classification, is the wing planform. Wing planform refers to the shape of an aircraft's wing structure when viewed from above. This design has major effects on the performance and capabilities of an aircraft, and such aspects may be influenced by a wing’s aspect ratio, taper ratio, and sweepback.

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As aircraft technology continues to improve throughout the years, obtaining the realization of fully electric aircraft seems to be closer than ever. As compared to standard fuel powering, electricity poses a much more economically feasible method of producing aircraft propulsion. Electric aircraft also present the capabilities of creating air taxis, silent airliners, and other technologies that would greatly improve our aviation capabilities. To move closer to the goal of electric aircraft, one major obstacle that must first be overcome is our limitation in battery technology. Typically, current batteries are unable to meet needed power to weight ratios and costs that would make them a feasible choice....

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The fuselage of an aircraft is one of the most critical parts of the entirety of the plane, allowing for passengers, crew, cargo, and other equipment to be held safely during flight operations. The fuselage plays many roles, containing the cockpit, acting as a center of gravity, and may even house engines that provide power for aircraft systems and flight. Depending on the aircraft and its operations, the fuselage of the aircraft may differ. Throughout history, various designs and structures of the fuselage have come about, each using different materials and framing to achieve similar abilities. In this article, we will discuss the main types of fuselage designs that are present on aircraft.....

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If you spend enough time in or around the aviation sector, you will inevitably hear the term TSO used. In an industry with so many highly-specialized parts and practices, the many acronyms and abbreviations can become hard to remember. This blog will cover the technical standard order, or TSO, one of the more important acronyms in the industry....

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When deciding upon which light aircraft is best for you, it may be worth considering the different types of aircraft fuel systems that may be present on different models. Aircraft fuel feed systems all work to move fuel from the tanks to the engine, but the method in which this is achieved differs depending on the type. In this blog, we will be discussing two standard fuel installation types, the gravity fed and pump-feed fuel systems.

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Throughout history, the wings for an aircraft have adopted several shapes and standards. Today, commercial vessels and other aircraft, adopt a standard shape with the wings swept back, but some aircraft can still be seen with rectangular, trapezoidal, and other wing shapes. If you’re interested in entering the aviation industry or are already active in it, then it might interest you to know about the many different types of wings shapes....

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When travelling from sea level to higher altitudes, some may have experienced altitude sickness caused by “low levels of oxygen”. Contrary to this popular belief, even high altitudes have plenty of oxygen available in the air. The real culprit is the low pressure of the air which leads to an inability for the oxygen to permeate into our circulatory system, due to the fact that our lungs must have lower air pressure than the outside air. When flying, it is important that there is ample breathable air in aircraft for both the cabin and crew to be healthy and comfortable. In this article, we will discuss how aircraft have been designed to supply air at a pressure and temperature that we rely on for safe and comfortable travel....

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As a commercial aircraft generates lift, strong vortices of air are also created that can be strong enough to flip smaller aircraft that follow too closely. These vortices are created as the high pressure air from the bottom of the wing moves to the low pressure at the top of the wing. This creates turbulent air that spins around in a tunnel behind the aircraft. It can also create drag which slows down the aircraft. To combat this, some aircraft utilize winglets attached to the end of wings.....

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Aside from the obvious and necessary need for propulsion, an aircraft’s engines also provide power for various other systems such as the electrical, pneumatic, and air conditioning. But these systems are in use even in situations when running the main engines would be unsafe or inefficient in terms of fuel usage, such as when passengers are boarding and during pre-flight procedures. In these times, power can be provided by ground carts, but in situations where they are not available or are insufficient, the auxiliary power unit is utilized instead.....

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The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is a collection of satellites that transmit positioning data to receivers. Receivers take this information and use it to determine location. While use of the GNSS is a daily occurrence for many aviators, its introduction to the public sphere is relatively recent, having only been introduced in the last few decades. However, the aviation industry realized the great potential of GNSS for safety and efficiency long before its introduction.....

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When you think about the technology of an aircraft, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the complexity of the countless moving parts that make it take flight. However, while there are many subcomponents, there are really only five major parts to an aircraft: the fuselage, wings, empennage, powerplant, and landing gear....

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Like all internal combustion engines, and aircraft’s engine generates exhaust gas as it operates. This gas is dangerously hot and high in carbon monoxide, which is toxic to humans, and needs to be vented safely away from the cockpit of the aircraft to protect the passengers and crew. The engine exhaust system’s job is to direct these exhaust gases past the aircraft, as well as utilize them for heating the aircraft....

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The Environmental Security Technology Certification Program is actively working to transition to a more environmentally friendly solvent to quickly and efficiently remove hydraulic fluid from DoD aircrafts. Petroleum-based solvents contain air pollutants (HAPs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can cause health and environmental issues are currently being used by the U.S. military. The immediate ramifications of these harmful solvents include ground-level ozone, or photochemical smog, lung tissue damage, respiratory illness, and vegetation damage. Some examples of these harmful solvents are Stoddard Solvent, PD-680 and MLF-PRF-680....

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How does an aircraft gauge how fast it is traveling? How do pilots know what altitude it is travelling at? These questions can be answered with a few pieces of technological equipment: the pitot-static system, airspeed indicator, and vertical speed indicator. These components are capable of providing the aircraft airspeed, altitude, and Mach number of a plane in flight, and relay this information to the pilots in the cockpit. Each one contributes to the overall safety and proper functioning of an aircraft....

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Adhering to proper maintenance practices is of utmost importance in the Aerospace industry. No aircraft is so tolerant of neglect that it is exempt from deterioration in the absence of inspection and maintenance programs. Corrosion, wear and tear, natural fatigue, and chance failures all contribute to the overall functioning and safety of aircraft....

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An aircraft flight deck, also known as the cockpit, houses the aircraft's control systems. On a commercial airliner, flight decks may also be called a glass cockpit; they feature electronic flight instrument displays rather than the traditional analog dials and gauge display. Airline pilots are required to obtain their Airline Transport Pilot certification. In addition to this certificate, they receive type ratings that allow them to fly specific aircraft. Type rating is required for certain aircraft that have complex systems....

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Regardless of what type of plane you are flying in, it most likely has a pressurized cabin. All airplanes, barring certain military aircraft, have a pressurized cabin. It is a crucial part of designing an aircraft because the purpose of pressurizing cabins is to ensure a safe and comfortable environment for passengers and flight crew at high altitudes....

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Steam turbines extract thermal energy from pressurized steam and use it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Because it generates rotary motion, it’s widely used in power generation, refineries, and petrochemical industries....

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In the aerospace and aviation industry, sometimes the biggest problems, like engine failure, are not the most important problems to be dealt with. Sometimes, it’s just basic structural maintenance and repair. Aviation, due to the high stress and drastic change in air pressure, requires the use of stronger and more versatile materials for things like the exterior walls or doors. However, just because a structure is more durable doesn’t mean that it doesn’t need servicing....

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An aircraft is made up of different parts. When owning an airplane, it is important to not only look at the sub-parts and main components but also look at the spare parts that will be used when a part fails. As an aircraft owner, it is crucial to understand the different parts of an airplane and the effects of a non-working part on the entire airplane.....

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The usage and availability of graphics cards and online currency, such as bitcoin and cryptocurrency, has created a growing industry for miners. This high-end hardware is in extreme demand and becoming very scarce.....

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Ontic, a leading global provider of OEM-pedigree parts and MRO services for multiple aerospace platforms, recently signed a new license agreement with UTC aerospace systems. UTC has licensed Ontic to the manufacturing rights from their Electric Power Systems business segment for the wound motor product lines. This is the latest addition that Ontic has added to their UTC portfolio, they currently have the rights to several other UTC divisions, with the first license agreement dating back to over forty years ago. This specific product line aligns perfectly with Ontic’s commitment to constantly support non-core and legacy products. This agreement has also allowed ontic to expand service for electronic products on specific platforms, making Ontic truly value their relationship with UTC. The agreement will allow Ontic to add parts from eight different military aircrafts to their platform which include, F-16, AV8B, CH-53, CH-47, C-130, C-5, KC-135 and C-5.....

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In 2014 the Mexican Navy announced it would be ordering ten units of the Airbus AS565 MBe panther helicopters. They closed the deal during the delivery ceremony, and the Navy become the first customer to launch this new helicopter version. The first four helicopters were delivered to the Mexican navy in 2016 and the remaining amount were delivered this year. The MBe panther is a multi-role, all weather medium rotorcraft. The helicopter is specifically designed to land on and operate on ship decks, land based sites, and offshore locations. It is made to assist the navy with various tasks including but not limited to, search and rescue, casualty evacuation, maritime surveillance, counter- terrorism and offshore patrolling...

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World renown airline companies, Boeing and Emirates, indicated their commitment to acquire forty 787-10 Dreamliners at the Dubai Airshow in 2017. This purchase, which also includes airplanes and other similar equipment, is estimated to cost $15.1 billion in reference to current list prices....

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