To say airplanes have a lot of parts would be an understatement. When accounting for everything from landing wheel bearings and wheels to wires and fasteners, many airplanes have millions of parts. Some of these parts, however, are more important than others. Among the most important parts are flight critical pats. What are flight critical parts exactly, and why are they important?
Flight Critical Parts Explained
Flight critical parts are airplane parts that are deemed to be critically important. They are regulated by aviation organizations, such as the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The FAA and EASA have guidelines regarding the use of flight critical parts.
Flight critical parts can best be described as parts that airplanes need to safely fly. Failure of a flight critical part may result in catastrophic damage to the airplane, such as engine shutdown. All flight critical parts are essential to the safe flight of airplanes.
Many airplanes contain millions of parts. The Boeing 747 is said to contain over 6 million parts. Some of these parts aren’t critical or otherwise necessary for an airplane to fly. Whether these parts are absent, removed — or if they are fail — airplanes will still be able to safely fly. Flight critical parts, on the other hand, are absolutely necessary for airplanes to safely fly.
Common Types of Flight Critical Parts
Cooling fins may be considered flight critical parts. As they burn jet fuel, airplane engines will produce heat. Cooling fins allow them to dissipate this heat so that they don’t overheat and, thus, sustain catastrophic damage. Cooling fins are fin-like pieces of metal on airplane engines. They allow heat to dissipate during flight.
Traffic collision avoidance systems (TCASs) are considered flight critical parts. Also known as traffic alert systems, TCASs live up to their namesake by protecting against midair collisions. They are designed to monitor the space around an airplane for the presence of other airplanes and aircraft. If detected, the TCAS will warm the pilot so that he or she can take evasive action.
There are countless other flight critical parts. While some of them have different purposes than others, they are all critically important. Airplanes need flight critical parts to safely fly.
In Conclusion
When researching airplane parts, you may come across the term “flight critical.” It’s used to describe parts that airplanes need to safely fly.
