Transport Aircraft Familiarization Study Guide

- Main Regional Transport Aircraft Manufacturers -

- Boeing and Airbus are the only major large passenger aircraft
manufacturers of large commercial jets.
- Boeing’s established brand is the 7-series.
- Airbus’s established brand is the A-series of jets.
- Both of which include narrow-body aircraft, wide-body aircraft, and jumbo
jets.
- Bombardier and Embraer are leaders in the regional and business
airplanes market.
- Both leaders focus on smaller-sized jets.
- NOTE: Regional aircraft typically hold far fewer people
and have a weight less than 19,000 lbs.

- APU, Pneumatic, and Environmental Control Systems -

- The auxiliary power unit (APU) provides power and compressed air when
the aircraft’s engines are not running, or when the aircraft needs additional
power (flying across the ocean).
- APU provides electrical power and compressed air for ground activity (and
sometimes needed in flight).
- APU system consists of: A small turbine engine, engine controls,
mountings, and an enclosure (APU compartment)
- Fuel is normally supplied to the APU from one of the plane’s main tanks.

- Pneumatic Systems -
- Compressed air for the pneumatic system can be supplied from the main
engines, APU, or a high-pressure ground cart.
- Systems that rely on or use pneumatics for system operation:
- Air Conditioning/Cabin Pressure
- Wing and engine anti-pressure
- Engine starting, or cross starting
- Hydraulic reservoir pressure
- Air-driven hydraulic pumps
 - Environmental Control System -
- ECS’s function is to control the cabin temp and pressure using two systems,
• Conditioned Service Air System (CSAS)
• Pressurization System

- Heat Exchanger – Air to air radiators.

- RAM Air Doors – Controls air flow through heat exchangers.
- Air Cycle Machine – Cools air by transforming heat into mechanical
energy.
- Water Separator – Removes water that has condensed from the air cycle
machine. Hot air is fed in to prevent icing.
- Mixing Valve – Regulates the mixture of cold air and hot air before
distribution to cabin.
- Anti-Ice Valve – Inside of the water separator is temp sensor which controls
the anti-ice valve to allow enough warm air to mix with the air exiting the
expansion turbine. (Keeps temp above freezing).

- Pressurization Systems -
- Aircraft Altitude – The actual height above sea level at which the aircraft is
flying.
- Ambient Temperature – The temperature in the area immediately
surrounding the aircraft.
- Ambient Pressure – The pressure in the area immediately surrounding the
aircraft.
- Cabin Altitude – Cabin pressure in terms of equivalent altitude above sea
level.
- Differential Pressure – The difference in pressure between the pressure
acting on one side of a wall and the pressure acting on the other side of the
wall. In aircraft air-conditioning and pressurizing systems, it is the
difference between cabin pressure and atmospheric pressure.

- A cabin pressurization system typically maintains a cabin pressure altitude

of ~8,000’ at the maximum designed cruising altitude of an aircraft.
 - Pressurization Control System -
- The cabin pressure control system provides cabin pressure regulation,
pressure relief, vacuum relief, and the means for selecting the desired cabin
altitude in the isobaric and differential range.

- Two Modes of Operation: Manual and Automatic

• Automatic is the typical configuration unless a malfunction has
occurred. (Set temp and forget).
• Manual in which pressures are monitored and controlled by the
flight crew.

- Pressurization Components -
- Regulation -
- Outflow Valve: Allows for air to exit the cabin at a controlled rate which
results in the cabin becoming pressurized.
- Safety/Dump Valve: If the outflow valve fails, the dump valve will
release excess pressure (can be manually activated) by a squat switch to
prevent pressurization on the ground.
- Vacuum Relief Valve: Allows ambient air into the cabin.

- Instrumentation -

- Cabin/Differential Pressure Indicator: Works like an altimeter but has

two references, outside air pressure and cabin pressure.

- Cabin Rate of Climb Indicator: Indicates the rate of change in cabin

pressure.
- Controls -
- Basic Preset: When cabin pressure reaches a preset value (about 8000’)
• The Outflow Valve begins closing until max cabin differential
pressure is reached and the cabin altitude begins to climb.
 • Cabin rate of climb will be slightly less than airplane rate of climb
due to higher air density in the cabin.

- Cabin Pressure Control: Pilot selects when altitude pressurization begins

and can preset the rate at which the cabin pressurizes.
- Differential Range System: Works to prevent exceeding pressure limits.
- Isobaric Range: Works to maintain a preset cabin pressure.

- Pressurization System Failures -

- Cabin does NOT decompress: Outflow valve is blocked, a safety valve
should decompress the aircraft, triggered with WOW (Weight on Wheels).
- Cabin does NOT pressurize: Outflow valve is stuck open.

- Anti-Icing and Rain Protection -

- The Different Subsystems of the Ice and Rain Protection System are:
- Wing ice protection
- Engine Air Intake Ice Protection
- Probe Ice Protection
- Windshield Ice and Rain Protection
- Drain Mast Ice Protection
- Ice Detection System (Optional)
- Water and Waste System Ice Protection (Some are optional).

- Wing Anti-Icing -
- Hot air (bleed air) from the pneumatic system is provided for the anti-icing
of the three outboard leading-edge slats (3, 4, and 5) of each wing.
- Probe Anti-Icing -
- The air data probes are heated AUTOMATICALLY when at least one
engine is running.
- Ice protection of the Angle of Attack (AOA) sensors, pitot probes, static
ports and Total Air Temperature (TAT) probes is achieved by electrical
heating.
 - The PROBE/WINDOW HEAT pushbutton switch (normally in the
AUTO position) may be used to select the probe heating ON with the
engines shut down.
- Windshield Anti-Icing and Rain -
- Electrical heating is provided for windshield anti-icing and cockpit side
window de-fogging.
- Rain repellant (like Rain-X) can be applied anytime wipers are required
(One window at a time).
- Drain Mast Anti-Icing -
- When the electrical system is powered, the wastewater Drain Masts are
also electrically heated.

- Electrical Power Systems -

- Most large aircraft typically use both: 28V DC/ 115V AC @ 400 Hz
(Three Phase)
- Electrical System Configurations -
- Three basic electrical configurations used on transport aircraft:
- Parallel Bus
- Split Bus
- Split-Parallel Bus

- Electrical System Config. - Parallel -

- In a parallel configuration, the aircraft load is equally shared by all active
generators.
- If one generator fails, the remaining generators pick up the load without
interrupting primary power.

- Electrical System Configurations – Split Bus -

- The only time two generator channels are connected is when the
aircraft is on external power, APU power, or if one generator fails.

- Electrical System Config – Split Parallel Bus -

 - In a split parallel bus configuration, the generators can be operated in
parallel, split or electrically disconnected by a split system breaker.
- When the split system breaker is closed, connects both halves of the sync
bus.
- When split system breaker is open, splits the sync bus into two separate
halves or “systems”.

- Flight Control Systems -

- Control surfaces are hinged or movable airfoils that change the airflow over
the aircraft’s surface which in turn causes the aircraft to roll, pitch up or
down, and turn.

- Three Axes of Movement: Longitudinal, Vertical, and Lateral.

- Longitudinal axis (X axis) - Runs nose to tail and is the axis that
controls roll.
- Vertical axis (Y axis) - Runs through the center of the aircraft
(perpendicular to the fuselage) and is the axis that controls yaw.
- Lateral axis (Z axis) - Runs from wing tip to wing tip (perpendicular to
fuselage) and is the axis that controls pitch.

- Primary Flight Controls -

- There are three primary flight controls:
• Ailerons – Roll control
• Elevator – Pitch control
• Rudders – Yaw control

- Flight Control System – Secondary Controls -

- Some of the secondary flight controls include:
• Spoilers
 • Flaps (Typically trailing edge, some airframes have them on the leading
edge.
• Leading edge slats
• Control trim systems

- Flight Control System – Spoilers -

- Spoilers function is to REDUCE lift on the wing by interrupting the
airfoil over the wing.

- Fuel Systems – Turbine Engine Fuels -

- Three types of jet fuels used:
• Jet A – Kerosene grade turbine fuel
• Jet B – Blend of gasoline and kerosene
• Jet A-1 – Only used in extremely low temps

(*Jet A and B are most used.)

(**Jet A and B are blends of heavy distillates and tend to absorb water.)

- Fuel Systems – Contamination -

- Because jet fuel is highly viscous, it is more susceptible to contamination
than aviation gasoline.
- NOTE: If the fuel is cloudy and disappears at the bottom, air is present.
If cloudy fuel disappears at the top, water is present.
- Water present in the fuel system can cause several different problems
like icing, or the engines will simply stop working.

- Microbial growth feeds on the hydrocarbons in the fuel but resides in the
suspended water.
- Fuel Systems – Tanks -
- When an aircraft maneuvers, the long horizontal nature of an integral wing
tank requires baffling to keep the fuel from sloshing.
 - Fuel Systems – Fuel Components -
- Fuel Quantity Indication System (FQIS) - Transport aircraft use
capacitive fuel quantity systems. Capacitive fuel probes compare the
dielectric of fuel to that of air to give the quantity.

- Hydraulic Systems -
- The most common of the hydraulic systems are:
-Landing Gear
-Leading Edge Devices
-Flaps
-Speed Brakes
-Wheel Brakes
-Flight Control Surfaces
- Hydraulic Systems – Fluid -
- Transport category aircraft primarily use Skydrol as the hydraulic fluid.
(Mainly because of the low temperature operations)
- Hydraulic Systems – Components -
- Transport aircraft typically have 3 hydraulic systems:
- Two Mains and an Emergency
(Yellow, green, blue for Airbus/ Left, right, center for Boeing)
- Oxygen Systems – Flight Crew -
- The flight crew oxygen system is supplied from cylinders of compressed
oxygen that flows through shutoff valves, regulators, lines, and masks to the
flight crew.
- In certain operating situations (smoke, gas), or rapid decompression, the
flight crew uses oxygen masks for breathing.
- Flight crew oxygen system is usually a pressure-demand (on-demand)
system.
- The system provides either 100% oxygen or diluted oxygen (mixture of air
from the flight deck and oxygen) to the flight crew’s mask.
- When a flight crew member inhales, oxygen is provided, but only when a
breath is drawn in.
- Oxygen Systems – Passenger -
- Passenger oxygen systems have oxygen masks that drop from the ceiling in
case of cabin decompression, or smoke.
- The passenger oxygen system uses a chemical oxygen generator.
- When the mask is pulled, a pin is released from the striker assembly to a
squib, which ignites the core.
- When sodium chlorate and iron powder are combined and heated to
478°F, releases up to 45% of its weight as gaseous oxygen.
- Once the core has been activated it will provide 12 to 18 minutes of oxygen,
allowing pilots time to get to a lower altitude where oxygen pressure is
adequate.
- Warning and Fire Protection Systems -
- 5 Types of Fires:
• Class A – Ordinary combustibles (solid material fires) - wood, paper,
plastic etc.
• Class B – Flammable liquids or gases – fuels, alcohol, aerosols
• Class C – Electric fires
• Class D – Combustible metal fires – magnesium, potassium etc.
• Class K – Cooking oils, fats etc.

- There are typically 3 types of warning indications:

• Visual – Annunciator lights on the glareshield, individual panels of
Electronic Instrument System (EIS).
• Audible – Speakers are in the flight deck for aural tone warnings and
callouts.
• Feel – Some aircraft are installed with shaker stick systems, that will
vibrate to warn of an impending stall.

- Warning and Fire Protection Systems – Fire Detection -

- Fire detector systems commonly use thermal switches (spot detectors)
and/or continuous loop sensing systems.

- Spot Detectors – Thermal switches that complete an electrical circuit at a

specified temperature. Connected in parallel with each other, but in series
with the indicator light. When the temperature rises above set value, the spot
detector closes, completing the light circuit and indicates the condition to the
flight crew.

- Continuous Loop Sensing – Permits more complete coverage than a spot

detector system. Essentially just sensing wires that are surrounded by a
dielectric material, whose resistance decreases to near zero at a specific
temperature. This allows the “hot”, or sense wire to ground out, completing
the path for the indicator light.

- There are two types of continuous loop detectors:

- Kidde (kid) - Two wires embedded in a ceramic core inside an Inconel tube.
- Fenwal (fen-wall) - A single wire surrounded by a continuous string of
ceramic beads in an Inconel tube.
- Warning and Fire Protection Systems – Smoke Detection -
- Smoke detection is used throughout the aircraft in the:
1. Cargo compartments
2. Avionics Compartments
3. Lavatories
4. Galleys
5. Landing Gear

- Communication Systems -
- External communication systems primarily involve voice/data transmission
and reception between aircraft, aircraft to ground and satellite to aircraft.
- External comms system varies between HF, VHF, and SELCAL.
 - Communication Systems – Internal -
- Internal comms are used to communicate in and around the aircraft. The
different systems include:
- Flight Interphone
- Service Interphone
- Passenger Address
- Call System

- Flight Interphone:
- Provides private communication between the flight crew and/or ground
crew.
- Passengers use a system to summon an attendant, using individual call
switches at each seat.
- Attendants can be called from the flight deck, other attendant stations,
passenger seats, and the lavatories.

- Service Interphone:
- Provides intercommunication among the flight deck, flight attendants, and
ground personnel.
- Flight deck crew members communicate using a handset (if installed), or
their audio selector panel and a microphone.
- Flight attendants communicate between attendant stations or the flight deck
using any of the attendant’s handsets.

- Passenger Address:
- The PA system allows the pilots and flight attendants to make
announcements to the passengers. (Speakers located in the cabin and
lavatories).
- Call System:
- Crew to crew of attention of communication.
- Uses tones, chimes, horns and annunciator lights.
- Activated from the flight deck, FAP, or external power receptacle.

- Auxiliary Systems -
- Systems Included:
- Potable water
- Waste water
- Lighting systems
- Emergency Systems
- Equipment Cooling
- Types of Waste Waters:
- “Blue Water” is toilet waste water.
- “Gray Water” is sink waste water.

- Auxiliary System - Lighting -

- To adjust the background lighting on the glare shield, use the

potentiometers located beneath the glare shield.

- Auxiliary System – Purser Station -

- The FAP display structure is made of different pages related to the

different systems connected to the CIDS.

- Auxiliary System – External Lighting -

- Typical aircraft have four landing lights:

- Two in the wing roots
- Two on the nose landing gear
- Typical aircraft have four wing tip lights:
- Two in the nose
- Two on the wings (NOT including nav lights)

- Power Plant Intro -

- Jet engines use turbo fan engines.
- Engine Pylons are made of steel and titanium alloy materials.

- FADEC: Full Authority Digital Engine Control:

Gives full range of engine control to achieve a steady state and transient
engine performances when operated in combination with aircraft
subsystems.

- EEC (Electronic Engine Control):

- A dual channel computer located on the engine fan base.
- Controls the engine during the start and all operations and EEC manages
engine thrust and protects against overspeed and over temperature by
controlling the engine sub-systems.
- Also monitors all engine subsystems and sensors for failure.

- Access Gearbox Contents (What it drives):

- Fuel Pumps
- Oil Pumps
- Hydraulic Pump
- Integrated Drive Generator (IDG)
- Dedicated Alternator

- Structure ATA’s:
- ATA 52: Doors
- ATA 53: Fuselage
 - ATA 54: Nacelles & Pylons
- ATA 55: Stabilizers
- ATA 56: Windows
- ATA 57: Wings

IF YOU DISTURB AIRFLOW OVER YOUR WING, LIFT DECREASES.**