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Essay on Aircraft Maintenance Management
Introduction:
In terms of aviation maintenance management, Rankin, B., & Allen, J. (1996, p. 1) observed that "Aviation maintenance activities are the backbone of all successful aviation enterprises. Good maintenance provides safer and more reliable aircraft, increases aircraft usage, and provides confidence of air travel to the approximately 300 million passengers that want to enjoy the freedom, timeliness, and safety of modern aircraft.
Good maintenance management is that tangible asset that provides for the aviation industry the essentials necessary to the establishment of flying confidence by the public. Without good maintenance management, the aviation enterprise is adversely affected".
Current (modern) Maintenance theory,
The average air carrier pilot flies somewhat more than 500 hours per year, and both military and civil experience indicate that considerable exposure is necessary to remain fully proficient in the demanding tasks of flying complex aircraft. The context of exposure is important, of course: in some extremely long-range aircraft, 600 hours of flying may represent only about 50 to 60 takeoffs and landings per year, which may be shared among three or four crewmembers.
Maintenance of adequate motor skills can be a nontrivial problem in such aircraft, and additional "practice" in today's highly capable simulators may be the only answer. A few long-range carriers have mandated such additional training.
The FAA requires annual or semiannual training and proficiency checks as well as periodic observation during line flying.
Most pilots, however, spend far more than
this amount of time reviewing educational materials, manuals, and regulations, both on the ground and on duty. Air traffic controllers likewise receive periodic training and spend many hours studying when not actually controlling traffic during their duty shifts. This professionalism approach is a major reason why the aviation system works well and safely.
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