Table Of ContentAviation Maintenance
Technician Series
DALE CRANE
Airframe
Volume 1: Structures
Third Edition
Aviation Maintenance Technician Series: Airframe
Third Edition
Volume 1: Structures
by Dale Crane
Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc.
7005 132nd Place SE
Newcastle, Washington 98059-3153
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.asa2f1y.com
© 1994-2007 ASA
All rights reserved. None of the material in this textbook supersedes any operational documents,
regulations or procedures issued by the Federal Aviation Administration, or aircraft and avionics
manufacturers' guidelines and instructions.
First Edition 1994, Second Edition 1999. Third Edition published 2006 (hardcover printing 2007).
Printed in Canada
201 0 2009 2008 2007 98765432
Cover photo courtesy Bombardier Aerospace, used by permission
Photo credits: p. 6-©iStockphoto.com/Dan Harmesan; p. 20- Raisbeck Engineering; p. 25-©iStockphoto.coml
David Maczkowiack; p. 28- Cessna Aircraft Company; p. 28-Piper Aircraft; p. 29-Beech Aircraft Corporation;
p. 158- Miller Electric Manufacturing Co.; p. 159- The Lincoln Electric Company; p. 235 - Robert Scherer;
p. 251-Heatcon Composite Systems; p. 424-Joe Finelli; p. 425-Cessna Aircraft Company; p. 451-Aircraft
Braking Systems Corporation.
Illustration credits: pp. 41, 237-line drawings courtesy Grumman Corporation; p. 156-drawing source courtesy
The Lincoln Electric Company; p. 314-illustration courtesy Chadwick-Helmuth Company, Inc.
Sections of some chapters are excerpted from previous publications, and have been used with permission:
pp. 202-203, "Poly-Fiber Covering and Painting Material" courtesy Poly-Fiber Aircraft Coverings, Riverside,
California; pp. 205-207, sections of the Superflite System manuals; pp. 205-207, Ceconite 7600 procedures
provided by Blue River Aircraft Supply, Harvard, Nebraska.
ASA·AMT·STRUC·3H
ISBN 1-56027-712-2
978-1-56027-712-5
Library oj Congress Cataloging-in-Publicatiol/ Data:
Crane, Dale.
Airframe / Dale Crane; Terry Michmerhuizen, technical editor.
p. cm. - (Aviation maintenance technician series)
Includes index.
I. Airframes-Maintenance and repair. 1. Title. n. Series.
TL 671.9.C663 1994
629. 13 4'6-dc20 94-22063
CIP
01
11 AVIATION MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN SERlES Volume 1: AIRFRAME STRUCTURES
Aviation Maintenance
Technician Series
Airframe
Volume 1: Structures
Third Edition
DALE CRANE
TERRY MICHMERHUIZEN EDITORIAL BOARD
Technical Editor FOR THE THIRD EDITION
SCHOOL OF AVIATION SCIENCES LINDA S. CLASSEN
WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY M ARY ANN EIFF
H.G. FRAUTSCHY
LEARD WYLIE JERRY LEE FOULK
Technical Editor TERRY MICHMERHUIZEN
SCHOOL OF AVIATION SCIENCES
WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
ROBERT AARDEMA
Technical Editor
SCHOOL OF AVIATION SCIENCES
WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc.
NEWCASTLE, WASH I NGTON
CONTENTS
Volume 1: AIRFRAME STRUCTURES
Preface v
Acknowledglnents
Vll
1 Basic Aerodynamics 1
2 Metallic Aircraft Structures 59
3 Nonmetallic Aircraft Structures 169
4 Assembly and Rigging 265
5 Hydraulic and Pneumatic Power Systems 319
6 Aircraft Landing Gear Systems 419
Glossary: Airframe Structures Glossary - 1
Index: Airframe Structures Index-l
Vol u me 2: AIRFRAME SYSTEMS
7 Aircraft Electrical Systems 491
8 Aircraft Fuel Systems 587
9 Cabin Atmosphere Control Systems 655
10 Aircraft Instrument Systems 719
11 Communication and Navigation Systems 793
12 Ice Control and Rain Removal Systems 869
13 Fire Protection Systems 893
14 Airfcraft Inspection 921
Glossary: AiljraTne Systems Glossal)! - 1
Index: Airframe Systems Index - I
AVIATION SUPPLIES & ACADEMICS, INC. Contents iii
iv AVIATION M AINTENANCE TECHNICIAN SERIES Volume 1: AIRFRAME STRUCTURES
PREFACE
Aviation maintenance technology has undergone tremendous changes in the
past decades. Modern aircraft, with their advanced engines, complex flight
controls and environmental control systems, are some of the most sophisti
cated devices in use today, and these marvels of engineering must be main
tained by knowledgeable technicians. The Federal Aviation Administration,
recognizing this new generation of aircraft, has updated the requirements for
maintenance technicians and for the schools that provide their training. The
FAA has also instituted an Aviation Maintenance Technician Awards Pro
gram to encourage technicians to update their training.
New technologies used in modern aircraft increase the importance of main
tenance technicians having a solid foundation in such basic subjects as math
ematics, physics, and electricity. The Aviation Maintenance Technician Se
ries has been produced by ASA to provide the needed background informa
tion for this foundation and to introduce the reader to aircraft structures,
powerplants, and systems.
These textbooks have been carefully designed to assist a person in preparing
for FAA technician certification, and at the same time serve as valuable
references for individuals working in the field. The subject matter is orga
nized into categories used by the FAA for the core curriculum in 14 CFR
Part 147, Aviation Maintenance Technician Schools, and for the Subject
Matter Knowledge Codes used in the written tests for technician certifica
tion. In some cases in the ASA series, these categories have been rearranged
to provide a more logical progression of learning.
This textbook is part of the ASA series of coordinated maintenance tech
nician training materials. The series consists of the General, Ai/frame, and
Powerplant textbooks with study questions, the Fast-Track Test Guides for
A viation Mechanics, exam software for Aviation Maintenance Technician
tests, the Oral and Practical Exam Guide, the Dictionary of Aeronautical
Terms, and the Aviation Mechanic Handbook.
Continued
AVIATION SUPPLIES & ACADEMICS, INC. v
To supplement this fundamental training material, ASA reprints the FAA
Advisory Circulars AC 43.13-IB and 2A Acceptable Methods, Techniques,
and Practices-Aircraft inspection, Repair, and Alteration, and semiannu
ally updated excerpts from the Federal Aviation Regulations that are appli
cable to the aviation maintenance technician.
Dale Crane
VI A VIATION MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN SERIES Volume 1: AI RFRAME STRUCTURES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A series of texts such as this A viation Maintenance Technician Series
could never be compiled without the assistance of modern industry. Many
individuals have been personally helpful, and many companies have been
generous with their information. We want to acknowledge this and say
thank you to them all.
Aeroquip Corporation, Jackson, MI Evergreen Weigh, Inc., Lynnwood, WA NASA Lewis Research Center,
Aerostar International, Sioux Falls, SD General Electric Aircraft Engines, CleveLand, OH
Airborne Division, Parker HannifJin Cincinnati, OH Northrop Corporation,
Corporation, Elyria, OH Grayhill, Inc., La Grange, IL Pica Rivera, CA
Aircraft Braking Systems Corporation, Grumman Corporation, Bethpage, NY Optronics Engineering, GoLeta, CA
Massillon, OH Heatcon Composite Systems, Piper Aircraft Company,
American Avionics, Seattle, WA Seattle, WA Vera Beach, FL
Beech Aircraft Corporation, Hobart Brothers Company, Troy, OH Poly-Fiber Aircraft Coatings,
Wichita, KS Lincoln Electric Company, Riverside, CA
Biddle Instruments, Blue Bell, PA Cleveland, OH Raisbeck Engineering, Seattle, WA
Blue River Aircraft Supply, John Fluke Manufacturing Company, Randolph Products, Carlstadt, NJ
Harvard, NE Everett, WA Simpson Electric Company, Elgin, IL
Cessna Aircraft Company, Machida, Incorporated, Superfiite, Elk Grove Village, IL
Wichita, KS Orangeburg, NY Technical Chemical Company,
Chadwick-Helmuth Company, Inc., Maule Air, Inc., Moultrie, GA Dallas, TX
El Monte, CA Micro-S urface Finishing Products, Teledyne Battery Products,
Christie Electric Corp., Gardena, CA Wilton, fA Redlands, CA
Dayton-Granger, Fort Lauderdale, FL Miller Electric Manufacturing Zetec, Inc., Issaquah, WA
DeVilbiss Ransburg Industrial Company, Appleton, WI
Equipment, Maumee, OH Monsanto Chemical Company,
St. Louis, MO
A special thanks goes to David Jensen and Pete Owsley of Heatcon®
Composite Systems of Seattle, Washington, for their valuable input and
their editing of the section on Composite Construction.
A very special thanks goes to Terry Michmerhuizen, Leard Wylie, and
Robert Aardema of the School of Aviation Sciences of Western Michigan
University for their careful editing, critiquing, and many suggestions in the
first and second editions. Additionally, very special thanks to the members
AVIATION SUPPLIES & ACADEMICS, INC. VII
of the Editorial Board for the Third Edition (see Pages ix-x), for their
valuable help in updating this new full-color edition of the Structures
volume of AMTS: Airframe. The publisher would also like to thank Robert
Scherer for the use of his "NC-Sl" Beech Starship photograph, Heatcon
Composite Systems and Miller Electric Mfg. Co. for their contributions to
the color photography added in this Third Edition.
VIII A VIATION M AINTENANCE TECHNICIAN SERIES Volume 1: AI RFRAME STRUCTURES
AMT AIRFRAME
EDITORIAL BOARD
Third Edition, Volume 1: Structures
Linda S. Classen
Metro Tech, Instructor and Mechanic
Linda Classen is an Aviation Maintenance Instructor at Metro Technology
Center in Oklahoma City. She has Private Pilot, Commercial, Instrument,
and Certified Flight Instructor certificates. She holds a degree in journalism,
and is a member of the Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance
(A W AM), and the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA).
Mary Ann Eiff
Human Performance and Safety Consultants
Mary Ann Eiff designs maintenance and management courses and teaches
aircraft mechanics, managers and supervisors for airlines and MROs. She
developed courses and taught aviation maintenance at Purdue University.
Mary Ann has a Master's in Adult Education, an A&P, Private Pilot,
and loves to encourage young people into aviation careers. She was on the
founding Board for Women in Aviation International and for the Associa
tion for Women in Aviation Maintenance (A WAM). In 2001, A WAM
a warded her the Mary Ann Eiff Teacher of the Year A ward for encouraging
people into aviation careers. She was also awarded the Women in Aviation
Educator of the Year Award by W AI. In 2004 she was awarded the PAMA
Award of Merit, and the Phillips 66 Aviation Leadership Award.
Henry (H.G.) Frautschy
Executive Director, Vintage Aircraft Association; and Editor,
Vintage Airplane Magazine
H. G. Frautschy was named Executive Director of the Experimental Avia
tion Association (EAA),s Vintage Aircraft Association division in March
2000, after serving as the Editor of Vintage Airplane magazine and Associ
ate Editor of both Sport Aviation and Warbirds magazines since October
1990. Prior to joining the EAA staff, Frautschy was Publications Manager
for Air Wisconsin, a regional airline based in Appleton, WI. He also served
as Senior Technical Writer for Sikorsky Aircraft.
A 1980 graduate of Parks College of St. Louis University with a bach
elor of science degree in aircraft maintenance management, Frautschy also
holds a private pilot certificate (with a seaplane rating) as well as airframe
and powerplant mechanic certificates, and he currently holds an FAA In
spection Authorization. He currently maintains a 1948 Aeronca lSAC Se
dan, and is restoring a 1947 Aeronca lICC Super Chief. He was also ac-
AVIATION SUPPLIES & ACADEMICS, INC. ix
