- Industry: Aviation
- Number of terms: 16387
- Number of blossaries: 0
- Company Profile:
Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc. (ASA) develops and markets aviation supplies, software, and books for pilots, flight instructors, flight engineers, airline professionals, air traffic controllers, flight attendants, aviation technicians and enthusiasts. Established in 1947, ASA also provides ...
A type of magneto ignition system designed for reciprocating engines that operate at high altitude. The coil in a low-tension magneto has only one winding, the one that compares with the primary coil in a high-tension magneto. A carbon-brush-type distributor directs the low voltage from the magneto to the proper cylinder.
Each spark plug has its own step-up transformer, to change the low distributor voltage to the high voltage needed to jump the gap in the spark plug. Low-tension ignition systems are not popular today because most aircraft that fly at high altitudes are turbine powered.
Industry:Aviation
A type of maintenance tool used for cleaning parts. Compressed air is blown through the spray gun, and as it passes through a venturi, it produces a low pressure. This low pressure picks up a cleaning solution, such as varsol or naphtha, and sprays it out in the form of tiny drops onto the surface being cleaned. The combined solvent action of the cleaning solution and the force of the high-pressure air removes dirt, grease, or other contaminants from the surface.
Industry:Aviation
A type of make-before-break switch. A make-before-break switch is a multipole switch in which one circuit is completed before another circuit is opened. A shorting switch is used in circuits that must never operate, even for a microsecond, without an electrical load being connected.
Industry:Aviation
A type of mask used with a continuous-flow oxygen system. Oxygen continuously flows into the bottom of the loose-fitting rebreather bag on the mask, and the wearer of the mask exhales into the top of the bag. The first air exhaled contains some oxygen, and this air goes into the bag first. The last air to leave the lungs contains little oxygen, and it is forced out as the bag is filled with fresh oxygen. Each time the wearer of the mask inhales, the air first exhaled, along with fresh oxygen, is taken back into the lungs, or rebreathed.
Industry:Aviation
A type of material used as the core for laminated structural panels. Honeycomb may be made from aluminum foil, fiberglass cloth, or paper. It is made with a series of hexagonal (six-sided) compartments joined together in such a way that they look much like the comb produced by the honeybee.
Honeycomb has almost no strength against side loads, but it has an exceptional strength against loads applied in line with its openings. Honeycomb material is sliced to the proper thickness and bonded between face sheets of thin sheet metal or fiberglass reinforced plastic resin. Laminated honeycomb material is rigid, strong, and lightweight.
Industry:Aviation
A type of measuring device used to determine whether or not the dimensions of an object being measured are within allowable limits. A go, no-go gage can be used to determine if a hole is of the correct size. If the hole is at least as large as the minimum diameter allowed, the “go” part of the gage will fit into it, and if it is no larger than the maximum diameter allowed, the “no-go” part of the gage will not fit into it.
“Go ahead” (air traffic control). The phrase used by air traffic controllers meaning “proceed with your message.” This phrase is not to be used for any other purpose.
“Go around” (air traffic control). Instructions for a pilot to abandon his approach to landing.
Industry:Aviation
A type of measuring tool consisting of strips of precision-ground steel of accurately measured thickness. Feeler gages are used to measure the distance between close-fitting parts, such as the clearances in a mechanical system or the distance by which moving contacts are separated.
Industry:Aviation
A type of mechanical damage to the surface of an object. Fretting is caused by one object rubbing against another and wearing part of it away.
Industry:Aviation
A type of mechanical lock, used to prevent a nut from loosening on a shaft. A locking hole or keyway is cut in the shaft and the internal tab on the lock ring is slipped into it. The nut is screwed down onto the shaft and tightened to the proper torque; then one or more of the external locking tabs are bent up against the flats of the nut to keep it from backing off and becoming loose.
Industry:Aviation
A type of mechanical tachometer used to measure the speed of rotation of a shaft or wheel. Two or three flyweights are mounted on a collar around a rotating shaft in such a way that, as they spin, centrifugal force pulls them away from the shaft. As they move away from the shaft, the collar moves up the shaft. As the collar moves up, it causes a pointer to move over a dial to indicate the speed being measured.
Industry:Aviation
