1.

They are responsible to design the system with as high a degree of perfection (low entropy)
as possible within reasonable limits.

2. This type of maintenance is done to prevent deterioration of the system to an unusable

level and to keep it in operational condition. 

3. They are responsible to combat the continual increase in entropy during the operational
lifetime of the aircraft

4. These are component or system that has been designed in such a manner that the parts
that most commonly fail can be quickly removed and replaced in the aircraft.

5. A manufacturer-issued document that includes all equipment and accessories available for
the aircraft model

1. Aircraft Engineer

2. Preventive Maintenance

3. Aircraft Mechanics

4. Line Replaceable Unit

5. Master Minimum Equipment List

1. What are the importance of redesign, and when to introduce it?

Redesigning process is one of the important ways to improve the performance of an

aircraft and to reduce the natural entropy of the aircraft itself. The aircraft engineers believes
that the entropy is inversely proportional to the reliability of the aircraft. If the entropy is
reduced the reliability will increase as well as the time interval of the maintenance. In
redesigning process, the engineers use new components, materials, or techniques to reduce
the natural entropy of a certain system of component.
 Aside from the continuing global airline competition and the demands from the
passengers, engineers and mechanics also want to improve the aircraft performances and to
increase the reliability of an aircraft. And I think this is when aircraft redesign introduce, aircraft
engineers will redesign a certain system or part of an aircraft and they will not just simply
replace or put another component on a certain system because they also considering other
factors and conduct some series test to ensure the performance of the redesigned system of
component. Since not all redesigned aircraft can be justified as successful improvement, airline
operators and engineers must ensure that if they conduct a redesigning process, they need to
talk about it seriously and analyze some possible effects for the aircraft if it can benefit to the
performance and airworthiness of the aircraft because redesign has a corresponding cost for
the airlines.

2. Why do we need to ensure the reliability of aircraft components and systems?

The reliability of an aircraft is what we called the “level of perfection” of component or a

system of an aircraft. Once an aircraft is made, it has a specific designed - in level of perfection.
It is impossible for us humans to create an aircraft that has a 100% level of perfection. And no
amount of maintenance can increase the reliability and this level of perfection. That’s why we
need to ensure the reliability of aircraft components and systems because we are avoiding
having an unscheduled maintenance or to prevent instances wherein the systems deteriorate
rapidly that may results to a lower level of perfection. And there are also some instances that
the systems might experience a complete breakdown that requires more extensive testing,
extreme troubleshooting, and some replacement and restoration of components or the worst
thing might happen is to conduct a complete overhauling on a certain system or component.
Therefore, we need to ensure the reliability and it is important to conduct a proper
maintenance for us to maintain the level of reliability of one system or component to make it
more reliable in terms of performance and safety.
3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of redundancy?

Equipment redundancy is one of the maintenance considerations and solutions that

addresses the in-service interruptions before a maintenance occur. One of the advantages of
the equipment redundancy is to guarantee the safety of the flight crews, passengers and the,
aircraft itself. Aircraft nowadays are now designed in such a way that if one system fails during
the operation, the whole system will continue to operate because of the presence of back up
components. I’m going to use an example for this is the one that we been discussed in our
previous subject in 3rd year, which is the navigational aid maintenance. I learned that the ADIRU
system is composed of 3 ADIRUs and the first and second ADIRU are connected to the captain
and FO’s PFD and ND. While the ADIRU 3 connected to Air Data switch that allows to choose
which PFD and ND screen are going to display when the captain and FO screen are break down
during operation. ADIRU 3 is known for its back up purposes or for redundancy system. that’s
why backup systems are essential because if incidents might happen it decrease the risk of
negative outcomes and additionally, it is also an indication for the aircraft mechanic when to perform
maintenance check or service on a certain system that has redundancy system. aside from that it is to
know how much instrumentation is used in the system and how much maintenance is required to
ensure the system serviceability.

On the other side, it has also a disadvantage wherein if aircraft are built in more backup
systems, it corresponds with a certain weight in the aircraft. Weight and balance are one of the factors
to consider on aircraft operation. That’s why the size and weight of the backup components or the
system are very important, since it requires careful balance of engineering and component selection, it
might affect the performance of the aircraft. And it has also come along with an additional cost for the
airline operators to extend the quality of the aircraft.

4. How would the study regarding failure rate patterns of United Airlines help the aircraft
mechanics and engineers?
 We also need to consider that not all systems or components fail at the same rate and
has its different life spans depends on the usage and its composition. United Airline conducts a
study about the failure rate patterns that really helps the aircraft mechanics and engineers
that’s why many of the extensive maintenance programs were decreased because of these
studies, and the aircraft's reliability also increased. In this way aircraft mechanics and engineers
will be aware and informed when to conduct maintenance or what type of maintenance will be
conducted on a certain aircraft. Understanding these failure rate patterns shows why the
reduction of maintenance could result into a better performance of an aircraft. Looking at the
first three pattern illustrates to mechanics and engineers that these patterns can be group
together as components that having a defined life or has a wear-out period. Though this way
they can distinguish when to conduct a maintenance when these components reach their age
or life span. Overhauls or component replacement can be conducted in these patterns and are
only effective in these group of patterns, this is also known as the scheduled maintenance.

While the other patterns illustrate that majority of failures are during the initial start-up
or operation of the aircraft, or there are instances that the failure rate can be random maybe
because of the lack of maintenance or defect on that certain components. These failure rate
patterns can be random in nature that’s why aircraft mechanics and engineers needed to
conduct proper monitoring and data compilation for them to be informed on the condition of
that certain component, conducting of component replacement and overhauling depends on
the condition of the equipment. This type of maintenance is unpredictable and be identified as
unscheduled maintenance.

5. How can aircraft mechanics and engineers reduce the level of entropy in aircraft systems?

The aircraft mechanic's responsibility is to perform inspections, troubleshoot systems, isolate

faults in systems using a fault isolation manual, and restore systems to their intended use. They can
perform maintenance on both electrical and mechanical systems and determine which parts need to be
removed or replaced. To make it short, the aircraft mechanic’s role in maintenance is to constantly
maintain the aircraft, perform inspections, and prevent the increase of entropy during the lifetime
operation of the aircraft.

While the responsibilities of an aircraft engineers are to design the aircraft system with as much
perfection (low entropy) as possible within reasonable limits. If the design engineers use cheaper
materials and components for the planned designs of aircraft systems, it will greatly reduce the
tolerance and produce more entropy that will affect the performance of the aircraft and will requires to
get more maintenance. Aircraft engineers must ensure that the design has a better chance of
succeeding. It will also ensure that the design is technically fit to achieve the desired properties. To
make it short, the engineer’s job is to reduce the entropy during the designing process.