Surely, you understand that purchasing an aircraft is not the same as getting a car or a bike. In truth, it is a substantial investment, necessitating thorough thinking, planning, budgeting, and foresight. Hence, it is not something you would contemplate doing every few years (unless you are blessed with riches).
As Edmonton’s most trusted aviation welding technicians, we believe an aircraft purchase is a once-in-a-lifetime investment for many aircraft enthusiasts. In all honesty, buying an aircraft is not something you can contemplate every 10 years or so, as is the case for your vehicle. Thus, we understand that you want to preserve your precious air ride for as long as possible.
Read Also: Useful Safety Tips For Aircraft Enthusiasts
So today, we shall give you some tips on how to increase the lifespan of your aircraft and avoid early loss of airworthiness. But before we do that, let us establish what the expected life of a light aircraft is.
Expected Life Of A Light Aircraft As Per Aviation Welding Specialists
While your private plane's lifespan depends upon many factors, you can expect it to operate well for at least twenty-five to thirty years. However, you should never take the latter as a hard-core airworthy period because a plane’s lifespan is not usually measured in years. A plane’s life depends upon the number of pressurization cycles it undergoes.
An airplane's repeated pressure after each takeoff and landing is known as a pressurization cycle. Thus, the frequency of your flights and flight length are the major role players.
Read Also: Factors That Determine The Lifespan Of Light Aircraft
Nonetheless, a medley of ancillary considerations, like maintenance, repairs, and part replacements, can either prolong or shorten the projected life of your plane. Since light aircraft undergo more frequent shorter flights, their lives are less than commercial planes.
Now, let us look at the tips that may help you boost your plane’s lifespan:
Regular Aircraft Parts Inspection
Prevention is better than regret.
In the case of an aircraft, cures are always costly and result in regret. Moreover, the deterioration of one part often puts immense pressure on the parts adjacent to it, resulting in the degradation of other parts as well.
Ultimately, these damages reduce a plane’s efficiency and render it unsafe no matter how much you try to fix the issues. Once a major chunk of an aircraft's parts lose their structural integrity, it is challenging to restore the plane to its original state.
Therefore, regular inspections will help you identify and fix problems in their initial stages, thereby increasing the plane’s service life.
Timely Aircraft Maintenance
The way you treat your plane affects its operational efficiency and longevity. Like your body, your plane also requires frequent cleaning, grooming, and care. In fact, proper maintenance is the most crucial element as it can prevent future parts repair and replacements.
Although we put an emphasis on timely repairs and parts replacements, you can avoid these with proper maintenance. Indirectly, maintenance also increases a plane’s lifespan as it does not suffer frequent damage.
Prompt Aircraft Repairs
Even if you practice exemplary hygiene, illnesses are just inevitable at times. The same philosophy applies to your aircraft. Despite proper maintenance, you might need to take it to an aviation welding technician for a minor repair once in a while. These drastically boost an aircraft’s performance and, ultimately, its life.
Contrarily, ignoring a minor problem will invite substantial monetary losses in the long run. Hence, timeliness is key here.
Rely Only On Reputed Aviation Welding Technicians
Speaking of aviation welding specialists, their skills, commitment to quality, appropriateness of equipment and welding techniques, and overall integrity also matter.
Read Also: What To Consider Before Hiring An Aviation Welding Technician
A welding expert can make or break your aircraft. Their expertise is like an incantation with the potential to increase your aircraft’s life. If gone wrong, it will do the opposite. So when choosing an aviation welding technician for repairs or parts replacements, think twice or even thrice.
Choose Quality Over Price
The battle between quality and price will forever accompany the human race. The secret is to overcome the temptations of price and choose quality instead. So when contemplating repairs or replacements, do the long-term math rather than considering the here-and-now.
Trust us, this decision will take your aircraft a long way.
Only Opt For High-End Aircraft Exhaust And Engine Replacements
Aircraft parts like engine mounts and aircraft exhaust systems require replacements before the plane as a whole. Therefore, we believe we must put a particular emphasis on these parts. Proper replacement of these parts will drive your plane’s lifespan a good number of years forward.
Proper Storage Makes A Difference
Lastly, the conditions under which you store your plane also affect its mechanical health and, eventually, its life. So you must maintain the hangar’s cleanliness, temperature, humidity, and burrowing animal and pest access to the place. The safer the hangar is, the longer your plane will live.
About Acorn Welding
As our name suggests, we are aviation welding professionals serving Edmonton and the surrounding areas with the utmost professionalism and honesty. Learn more about Acorn Welding.
Need high-end aircraft parts? Contact us now.
