Aviation History

1903- 1918 19L9-1926

1927- 1939 1940-1949

1950- 1959 1960-1969 1970-1979 L980-1989 1990-

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AN INTRODUCTION

TO AVIATION

The Importance of Aviation to Our World History 7

Your Future in Aviation Maintenance 7

The ASA Aviation Maintenance Technician Series 9

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Aviation History

AN INTRODUCTION

TO AVIATION

In only 100 years, aviation has progressed from just the dream of flight to the reality of thousands of people traveling by air each day. All first-class mail now travels by air, and air express is becoming one of the most popular ways of shipping. Aviation has evolved through a number of key eras, each with their own advancements in the way airplanes connect people and places of the world. Let's look at some of the most outstanding happenings in each of these eras.

1903-1918 The airplane evolved from a machine that could barely support itself in the air, into the pursuit planes, bombers, and observation airplanes of World War I. These aircraft were, for the most part, dangerous, undependable, and ineffi­cient, but they did fly.

With their Flyer, the Wright brothers solved the basic problem of control which finally allowed man to fly.

1919-1926 The government sold surplus WWI airplanes to ex-military aviators who became barnstormers and who carried thousands of passengers on their first airplane ride. This was the age of the flying circus when aviators flew without government regulation.

AN lNTRODUCTIO:'\ TO A VIATION

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1927-1939 During this period the federal government began to control aviation by licensing airplanes and airmen, and by helping to develop airports and airways. This period includes the "Golden Age of Aviation" in which surplus WW I airplanes were disappearing and the aviation manufacturing industry began to come into its own. The Wright Whirlwind engine proved reliable enough for trans-Atlantic flights, and the world became aware of the airplane as a means of serious transportation.

Hundreds of aircraft manufacturers operated during this era, and the National Air Races attracted thousands of onlookers each year. Heroes and heroines in the persons of Charles Lindbergh, Wiley Post, Jimmy Doolittle, and Amelia Earhart, and names such as Lockheed, T ravelair, Waco, and Stinson were as fami liar to the average person as Chevrolet, Ford, Chrysler, and Honda are to us today.

!til-metal construction replaced wood &fabric, as the state-of-the­art technology in the early 1930s.

The fasr all-metal, low-wing, cantilever monoplane replaced the slower and more clumsy trimotor airplane for regular airline service.

AVIA liON M ,\1\;TF.:\A'\CE TECHNICIA)- SERIES GENERAL

1940-1949 World War II dominated this era. High-performance fighters and high­altitude, long-range bombers were designed and built by the thousands. During this period, the jet engine and the helicopter were developed, but the war ended before either was perfected. Flight by instruments was common in the military, but was not generally used by civilian pilots.

After the war, the GI Bill provided f1ight training for thousands who had wanted to fly during the war but who served on the land or the sea. These new pilots, along with the thousands of returning military pilots, caused the industry to anticipate "an airplane for everyone." Airplane manufacturers, flight schools, fixed-base operators, and nonscheduled airlines flourished, but many soon fell by the wayside.

1950-1959 This era ushered in the first commercial jet transport aircraft, and the war in Korea brought about the acceptance of the helicopter as a practical aircraft. Aerospace activity began with the launching of the first satellite.

The long-range jet transport airplane made it possible for people and things to cross oceans in hours rather than weeks.

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1960- 1969 This was a time of accelerated development of aerospace and high-speed aircraft. During this time, both the Concorde superson ic transport and the widebodied Boeing 747 made their first flights.

1970- 1979 The "Cold War" caused most aviation development to center around high­speed, high-performance military aircraft, and it was during this time that computerized systems became of extreme importance in aviation technology.

1980-1989 During these years the skyrocketing costs of ownership and maintenance of private planes caused most general aviation manufacturers to stop producing them. Deregulation of commercial airlines and the increase in carriage of mai I and express-by-air multiplied the demand for transport aircraft. The increased number of flight hours for these aircraft has expanded the importance of aviation maintenance.

The widebodied Boeing 747, with its large seating capacity and long range, has made air travel the most efficient way for the public to travel.

A VIATION M AI:\TE:\ANCE TECHNICIAN S ERIES G ENERAL

1990-The small airport has lost its economic importance, but the large airports serviced by both major and commuter airlines are vital to our economy. The major airlines all have their own extensive maintenance facilities, and there are now large, well-equipped facilities that service independent operators and operators in foreign countries. Airplanes are flying so many hours and lasting for so many years that the "aging fleet" has become a special challenge in aviation maintenance.

Many private pilots and aviation buffs are involved with amateur-built aircraft that are in many instances more state-of-the-art than some of the commercially built aircraft. Each year, the Experimental Aircraft Association fly-in at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, gives general aviation another boost and keeps the interest in private flying alive.

The Importance of Aviation to Our World History The railroad opened up travel in the United States shortly after the Civil War ended in 1865, and during the 1930s, highway development increased the utility of buses and private automobiles. But the development of practical, long-range, high-speed, pressurized jet airplanes has broken down greater barriers. Airplanes can take us to any point on the earth in a matter of hours. Air freight and air express move all but the largest bulk cargoes much faster and more economically than ships, trucks, and trains. Today, airplanes have almost completely replaced trains, busses, and ships for moving people over long distances.

Research and development in the aerospace industry and military avia­tion, both sustained by the federal government, impact all aspects of our lives. Computer technology, new composite materials, high-strength and light­weight metals, and new breakthroughs in turbine engine technology are ex­amples of the way our entire economy profits from aviation.

Your Future in Aviation Maintenance Aviation maintenance has undergone many changes over the years. In the early days, airplanes were often designed, built, flown, and maintained by the same person, but today's high-teen aircraft are so complex that special­ized training and experience are needed to maintain them. Expertise with the welding torch and dope brush, so important to the A&E (aircraft and engine) mechanic of the 1930s and 1940s, have given way to the skills of trouble­shooting electrical systems and turbine engines that are the stock in trade of today's aviation maintenance technician (AMT). To these skills are being added flight control systems analysis and composite repair that have become of increasing importance to the AMT.

AN INTRODUCTION TO AVIATION

The space shuttle is today 's state-of-the-art flying machine. Spin-offsfrom its complex and sophisticated systems provide chal­lenges for the technician today and in the future.

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Civilian aviation maintenance is different from all other types of transporta­tion maintenance because it is so carefully controlled by the Federal A via­tion Administration. For a person to be allowed to work on an aircraft cer­tificated by the FAA, he or she too must also be certificated by the FAA. The basic maintenance license is the mechanic certificate with an airframe and/or powerplant rating.

The requirements for the mechanic certificate, along with its privileges and limitations, are discussed in Chapter 12, beginning on Page 698.

The highly complex systems in our modern aircraft are impossible to trouble­shoot using the methods that were used in the past. These systems use BITE (B uilt-In Test Equipment), and such systems as ECAM (Electronic Central­ized Aircraft Monitor), EICAS (Engine Indicating and Crew Alerting Sys­tem), FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine Control , and FMCS (Flight Management Computer System) are all computer controlled and do much of their own troubleshooting. It is the responsibility of the AMT to interpret the output from these systems and make intelligent decisions regarding which components to replace when a system malfunctions.

AVIATION MAINTENANCE T ECHNICIAN SERIES G ENERAL

The ASA Aviation Maintenance Technician Series (AMTS)

This series is part of a collection of training materials produced by ASA for aviation maintenance technicians. These include the General textbook, Airframe textbook (in two volumes), Powerplant textbook, the Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, Aviation Mechanic Handbook, the General, Airframe and Powerplant Technician Knowledge Test Guides, Inspection Authoriza­tion Test Prep, and the Prepware for Aviation Maintenance Technician Knowledge Exams.

ASA also reprints certain FAA publications that are of vital concern to the AMT. These include copies of pertinent Federal Aviation Regulations, Advisory Circulars AC 43.13-1 Band -2A Acceptable Methods, Techniques and Practices: Aircraft Inspection, Repair, and Alterations, and the ques­tions that are used on the General, Airframe, and Powerplant knowledge tests. To conserve space and increase their utpization, ASA has put the Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms and the FAA reprints on a single compact disk (Pro-Flight Library CD).

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