WHY IS REGULAR AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE IMPORTANT?

 One of the most important aspects of running a successful aviation business is ensuring a strict regimen of aircraft maintenance. Not only is it vital to keep your planes operating smoothly and economically for the longest possible time, but it also helps to ensure the safety of your crew and passengers. Here is a guide to the essentials of aircraft maintenance.

What Is Aircraft Maintenance?

Aircraft maintenance consists of strictly scheduled and regulated preventive inspection, servicing, testing, and repair. Its purpose is to keep aircraft safe and airworthy. 

Types of Aircraft Maintenance

There are four types of aircraft maintenance: service, line, base and depot.

• Service maintenance includes all the routine checks and tweaks that maintenance staff do during and in between a plane’s regular flights. Pilots and ground crew log all activity and issues, and then monitor these records to track and resolve problems.

• Line maintenance refers to any maintenance tasks that can be performed by flight line personnel. This type of maintenance is relatively easy compared to other tasks, and is also performed more often than other types of maintenance. The checks that the pilots do before each flight called pre-flight inspections, fall into this category.

• Base maintenance is a more intensive and thorough version of line maintenance. It includes inspections, overhauls, improvements, and modernization programs. These operations are all performed at base level, and require mechanics, specialists, and facilities that would not be available in flight. They also require more time than is available during a pre-flight check.
• Depot maintenance consists of specialized operations in which parts are removed from the aircraft and sent to workshops for repair and maintenance. Parts such as engines may require this kind of work several times during their lifespan. 

Importance of Aircraft Maintenance

The point of aircraft maintenance is to ensure that planes remain safe and usable for as long as possible. The various types of aircraft maintenance are strictly regulated because the lack of a thorough pre-flight check, and improper or out of date maintenance can cause fatal accidents.

For one, aircraft maintenance prevents lost travel time. Any time a plane spends grounded, due to repairs that could have been avoided through preventive maintenance, equates to lost revenue, and typically a more expensive repair bill. Frequent, planned maintenance will prevent this from happening. Regular maintenance also improves aircraft performance and it extends the active life of the plane. In addition, it keeps passengers and crew safe by ensuring the aircraft is 100% airworthy.

Monmouth Jet Center has on-site mechanics who can provide repair, inspection, and aircraft maintenance services for most types of propeller planes and jet engines. In addition to our aircraft repair services, we also provide ample aircraft hangar space for aircraft storage and maintenance. Contact us for more information about our services and facilities.

This blog was originally published at https://monmouthjetcenter.com/aircraft-maintenance/