Seacocks are valves that are placed on the hull of a boat or ship which in order to allow water to flow in or out of the vessel. They can be used for varying applications, including the cooling of engines with sea water to the removal of water from a sink drain. While many individuals may want to use a through-hull fitting, such additions can be risky as they can sink ships if not formed correctly. While a tee connector on an existing inlet is most preferred, there are times in which a new through-hull fitting is either needed or more advantageous. In this blog, we will provide a brief overview of how seacocks are safely installed or replaced on marine vessels.

Turbochargers are among the most advanced engine components of an onboard ship. The impeller blades of a medium sized turbocharger commonly rotate at speeds up to 400 revolutions per second, and the outer edges of the rotor blades therefore move at more than one and a half times the speed of sound. As turbochargers are critical components, it is important that proper procedures for safety and cleaning are always adhered to. In this blog, we will discuss the best practices for safety and turbocharger overhaul & cleaning.

When automobiles began making the shift from manual transmission to those that are automatic, a number of parts and assemblies had to be adjusted to accommodate such changes. In manual transmission vehicles, a component known as the clutch is what connects the transmission to the engine. Without it, the vehicle would face an engine kill every time it came to a stop. With automatic transmissions, the clutch is no longer needed as it is replaced with a component known as a torque converter.

When flying at night, pilots need a reliable means of illuminating their aircraft’s instrument panel. Although most new aircraft feature pre-lit instruments, many pilots are in need of a lighting system for their existing instruments. This blog will offer a few suggestions of how to keep your instruments lit and visible.

Turbonormalizing and turbocharging engines share many characteristics. They both compress outside ambient air to create engine power, they both use an exhaust driven turbine to power a centrifugal compressor at high speeds, and they can both use the same turbo components. When designing a turbonormalizing system, the manufacturer usually starts with a normally aspirated engine and begs the question: while making the fewest changes, how can I take this normally aspirated engine and make it operate at sea level power at altitudes greater than 18,000 feet? In reality, the turbocharging system was designed based on the same question. The answer, for both, is a list of eight additions to be made:

To simplify what a photodetector is, it can be a wide range of modern devices and gadgets, They are among the most universal kinds of innovation being used today. They consist of  simple gadgets on televisions to photodiodes in a fiber optic association, to camcorders and even to gigantic clusters utilized by space experts to identify radiation from the opposite side of the universe. Photodetectors are available in a colossal assortment of gadgets utilized in business, industry, diversion and exploration. Indeed, the field of photodetector plan and use has developed to the point that a couple of experts have a total diagram. Generally, photodetectors incorporate any gadget for enlisting photons with frequencies over that of radio waves—from far infrared on up to gamma beams. In this article we will discuss the fundamental basic uses of photodetectors.

For an aircraft engine to function efficiently, smooth operation of the aircraft fuel system is required. To ensure that fuel supplied to the engine is free from debris and contaminants, a number of aircraft fuel system strainers and filters are implemented throughout the tank. In this blog, we will discuss the various methods and components that are implemented within aircraft fuel systems in order to ensure clean fuel for combustion.

Gears and sprockets are both used every day in a broad range of important applications. As they look somewhat similar, and share a basic principle of operation, gears and sprockets are often mistaken for one another. Despite this, they really do not share many characteristics. This blog will explain both the few similarities and many differences between gears and sprockets, as well as the uses for each part.

Screws are a type of fastener that feature a helical external threading that wedges and digs into the component it is installed into as it is tightened. As torque is applied and the screw is driven in, materials are pulled in tightly to prevent easy removal of the screw. Materials that screws are used in can include wood, sheet metals, and plastics. The most common material that is used to manufacture screws is steel, though stainless steel, titanium, brass, bronze, and other screw types are also available. Screws are the most commonly used threaded fastener on aircraft, having many different applications. While many variations of screws exist, they are generally classified in three groups: structural, machine, and self-tapping.

Most crystal oscillators and ceramic resonators are used for consumer devices such as wristwatches, clocks, radios, computers, children’s toys and even cellphones. In this article, we will review some main differences between the crystal oscillator and the ceramic resonator. In main functionality the two are not that different. Where they diverge is more in material and degree of ability than in actual function.

Threaded fasteners such as bolts are used throughout aircraft for a variety of reasons. They are manufactured from cadmium, a zinc-plated corrosion resistant steel, or anodized aluminum alloys. In general, there are three types of bolts used in aircraft structures. They are general purpose, close tolerance, or internal wrenching bolts. Additionally, bolts come in three head styles: hex, clevis, and eyebolt. This blog will provide a brief explanation of bolts and their many uses in the aviation sector.

If you’ve ever been sitting in the window-seat of a plane preparing to take off, you’ve surely noticed the vehicles and machinery hard at work around you. Those vehicles and machinery are called Ground Support Equipment (GSE) and are used to service aircraft between flights. The roles this equipment fulfills include ground power operations, aircraft mobility, and cargo/passenger loading operations. There is both powered and non-powered ground support equipment. Non-powered equipment includes dollies, chocks, aircraft tripod jacks, and service stairs. Powered equipment consists of refuelers, tugs and tractors, ground power units, belt loaders, de-icing vehicles, and more.

Automatic protective devices, better known as circuit breakers, are a critical part of an aircraft’s electrical system. Circuit breakers are provided to minimize distress to the electrical system in case of wiring faults or serious malfunction of a system or connected equipment, and are paired with alerting devices that provide a visual or aural alarm to alert the pilot to the situation.

With the rapid modernization of aircraft, more electronic components such as navigation systems, intercoms, and even flight amenities such as entertainment systems all need power. With the increased demands of power from the beginning of each flight, many current aircraft have turned to alternators over generators as their source of power generation. In this blog, we will explore how alternators produce power, as well as how they can prove beneficial to some aircraft as compared to standard generators.

The aerospace and defense industry has an overwhelming amount of information including classification systems such as part numbers, NIINs, CAGE codes, USP numbers, and federal supply classifications. If you are doing business within the aerospace and defense industry it is important to familiarize yourself with all of the industry terminology as, without proper understanding, you may find yourself struggling to keep up with demand, or would be at a loss as to how to source a part.

Measuring fuel levels in an aircraft is an incredibly important task. Running out of fuel for an automobile typically means a ruined afternoon; an aircraft running out of fuel while operating, meanwhile, is potentially disastrous. Therefore, accurate and reliable fuel gauges are essential, with the most commonly chosen type in small aircraft being resistive-type fuel systems. In a resistive-type fuel system, a float level gauge feeds information on the fuel level to magnetic couplings and potentiometers that then relay information to the pilot. As fuel is expended in flight and the levels in the tank drop, the float inside the tank drops as well and slides a moving contact a long a resistor, increasing its resistance. The amount of resistance translates to how much fuel is left in the tank.

Aircraft rely on fuel for propulsion, but electricity is just as vital for flight as well. Everything from instruments to lights to setback TVs in commercial passenger jets rely on electricity, which is generated as some of the energy produced by fuel being burned goes into a generator or alternator that produces electricity.

One of the greatest challenges Americans traveling through Europe face is the fact that many of the plugs for their electrical devices cannot be inserted into the various socket types found throughout Europe. In this blogpost, we’ll break down eight different power adapters that will allow you to recharge and use your electronic devices while traveling overseas.

We are all quite used to the standard curved shape of a commercial aircraft window, but believe it or not, they were once square. In 1952, three tragic commercial airplane crashes left engineers puzzled. The ill-fated airframes had two things in common—a fuselage that tore apart at cruising altitude, and square windows. 

A portmanteau of “aviation” and “electronics”, “avionics” is a word used to describe aviation electronics for aircraft, artificial satellites, and spacecraft. Avionics are incorporated on an aircraft for a multitude of purposes: communication, navigation, monitoring, flight control systems, fuel systems, collision-avoidance systems, flight recorders, weather systems, aircraft management systems, and in-flight entertainment.