DE AVILLAND CANADA DHC-8 OF PISCES AVIATION (PASSIONAIR)

ENGINE CONDITION MONITORING REPORT OF THE DE AVILLAND

CANADA DHC-8
BY

JOSEPH QUANSAH
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................... 4

FIGURES .................................................................................................................................... 5

LIST OF TABLES....................................................................................................................... 5

1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................... 6

1.1 SUPERVISORSHIP ............................................................................................................... 8

2. ENGINE CONDTION MONITORING ................................................................................... 9

2.1 OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................... 9

2.2 OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS ......................................................................................... 10

REFRENCES ............................................................................................................................ 11
 ABSTRACT

Ghana’s aviation sector is a dynamic industry due to the country’s expanding population and
increasing tourism. Growth in demand gives rise to flow in responsibility for a safe journey with
appropriate maintenance to aircraft. In the airline industry, the role of maintenance is to provide
safe, airworthy, on-time aircraft, around the clock. Aircraft maintenance must be planned and
performed according to prescribed procedures and standards. An airline generally has a diverse
fleet of aircraft. Each fleet type has a predetermined maintenance program established by the
manufacturer. The Ghanian aviation sector has only two private domestic airlines namely Pisces
Aviation commonly known as PassionAir and Africa World Airlines. PassionAir is one of the
best domestic airlines in the country therefore Standardized maintenance would aid in achieving
the customers’ attraction among competitors by providing a comfortable and very safe flight
every time.

The engines of the DE AVILLAND CANADA DHC-8 were removed and taken through a
borescope inspection.
LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1. Image of a turboprop engine ...................................................................................... 9

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1. Types of Maintenance Check ...................................................................................... 7

 CHAPTER ONE
1. INTRODUCTION

Aviation provides the only worldwide transportation network, which makes it essential for global
business and tourism. It plays a vital role in facilitating economic growth, particularly in
developing countries. It transports close to 2 billion passengers annually and 40% of
interregional exports of goods (by value). 40% of international tourists now travel by air.
Aviation’s global economic impact (direct, indirect, induced, and catalytic) is estimated at US$
2,960 billion, equivalent to 8% of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The world’s 900
airlines have a total fleet of nearly 22,000 aircraft. 25% of all companies’ sales are dependent on-
air transport. 70% of businesses report that serving a bigger market is a key benefit of using air
services [2]. In the early days of aviation, owners and engineers were often concerned with in-
flight failures and component reliability developed Maintenance Schedules to help prevent costly
occurrences. As aviation grew and scheduled air transport arrived, safety, reliability, and
economics became important to attract passengers. Aviation maintenance has been identified by
the FAA (Federal Aviation Authority) as an area where better efficiency is needed to cope with
ever-increasing workloads. It became apparent that to achieve a controlled balance between
safety and economics, 2 Regulatory authorities needed to ensure minimum standards were
maintained and a level playing field existed for fair competition between operators. What to
maintain, when to maintain, and how to maintain, are the keys to the content of the Maintenance
Schedules and a system was developed for Operators, Manufacturers, and Regulators to share
experience and knowledge on these very issues for new aircraft being developed. The frequency
of maintenance tasks is affected by the way the aircraft is to be operated. The maintenance
scheduling policy plays a vital role to ensure that the aircraft remains within an effective
operational condition for stipulated calendar days. Regular maintenance and inspections ensure
that aircraft are airworthy and prevent component and system failures during operation. This
therefore must be done under critical supervision since unexpected failures of components add to
the complexity and stress of maintenance. Maintenance checks/phases are divided into
Categories – ‘line’/ ‘transit’, ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘C’ (from lightest to heaviest) – enabling aircraft
operators to plan regular inspections. Although the required maintenance tasks and the number of
engineers assigned may vary between aircraft type and model. Maintenance, Repair, and
Overhaul (MRO) typical check types are summarized in table 1.1. The periodic maintenance
checks must be performed after a certain amount of time or usage. The most common checks are:

• “A” Check – due every month or each 500 flight hours; done overnight at the airport gate;
• “B” Check – due every 3 months; also done overnight at the gate;

• “C” Check – due every 18 months (about 1 and a half years) or each 9000 flight hours;
performed at a maintenance base or a hangar and takes about 3 days - 1 week [1].

Table 1.1 TYPES OF MAINTENANCE CHECK

CHECKS LOCATION DESCRIPTION DURATION

Line Transit At Gate Daily (before the first ≈ 1 hour
flight or at each stop
when in transit).
Visual inspection;
fluid levels; tires and
brakes; emergency
Equipment
“A” At Gate Routine light ≈ 10 hours (whole
maintenance; engine shift) / overnight
inspection.
“B” At Gate If carried out, similar ≈ 10 hours to 1 Day
to ‘A’ check but with
different tasks (may
occur between
consecutive ‘A’
checks)
“C” At Hangar Major structural ≈ 3 Day to one week
inspection of airframe
after paint removal;
engines, landing gear,
and flaps removed;
instruments,
electronic and
electrical equipment
removed; interior
fittings (seats and
panels) removed;
hydraulic and
pneumatic
components removed
 1.1 SUPERVISORSHIP

A supervisor is an individual immediately in line after management who is responsible for

monitoring and regulating a company’s staff in their performance of delegated duties.
Particularly, they oversee the daily performance of a small group, team or department. A
supervisor has the authority to recommend or exercise discipline, promotion, rewards and hiring,
and they perform many functions that help improve a company’s productivity. The job of a
supervisor is an intensive role, so when you are looking for candidates, it’s important to choose
someone who can handle the job’s responsibilities. The following are some of the qualities of a
good supervisor [2].

 Excellent communication skills for effective listening and positive body language for giving
feedback to employees and customers
 Good conflict resolution abilities to improve organizational productivity
 Strong leadership skills to create a supportive and motivating work environment
 Good interpersonal skills to identify and establish a purposeful team culture
 Outstanding time and priority management to manage intense workloads and time constraints
 Ability to recognize diversity issues and appreciate their impact on the workplace
 Ability to solve problems effectively by choosing suitable solutions
CHAPTER 2

2. ENGINE CONDTION MONITORING

2.1 OVERVIEW

Aircraft engine inspection is a key pillar of inspection/maintenance procedure to ensure the

airworthiness of an engine. This is performed by airlines, maintenance organizations, engine
owners etc. for the visual assessment of the internal condition of aircraft engines to avoid any
potential failures and incidents or accidents due to these. Current visual engine inspections are
mainly performed using borescopes. Borescope itself is a tool used to inspect the internal parts f
the engine for damage such as cracks, stress fractures, corrosion, etc. without disassembling the
engine (Vembar et al., 2005). The most common form of the borescope is the video borescope
that gets the visual recordings through a camera at its top and conveys the visual image to a
display. Due to the high stress exerted on the material used in the engines, particularly the blades,
any damage carefully needs to be detected and rectified. If not, the internal damage can escalate
into engine shut down or any other catastrophic accident might happen. For this purpose, the
manufacturers specify areas to be inspected, acceptable and non-acceptable damage limits, and
any repair procedures as applicable. These are included in the Aircraft Maintenance Manual
(AMM) created and periodically updated by the manufacturer. The operator cannot deviate from
the AMM [3].

PW121 turboprop engines is the engine the DE AVILLAND CANADA DHC-8 uses. The engine
was taken through a borescope inspection. Below is an image of the engine.

Figure 1.1
2.2 OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

During the borescope inspection, the following parts were inspected.

Turbine blades.

The turbine blades are responsible for extracting energy from the high temperature, high pressure
gas produced by the combustor, below is a borescope image of the turbine blades.

After the checks/study it was observed that the blades were in good condition.

Fuel nozzles.

The Fuel nozzles inject fuel into the combustion area in a highly atomized, precisely patterned
spray so that burning is completed evenly, in the shortest possible time, and in the smallest
possible space.

After the checks/study it was observed that the Fuel nozzles were in good condition.

Burner can.

Also known as the combustion chamber or the flame holder. The combustion chamber is fed
high-pressure air by the compression system. And this is where burning takes place.

After the checks/study it was observed that the the flame holder was in good condition.

Igniters.

The igniters come on during the engine starts to light the initial fuel air mixture.

After the checks/study it was observed that the igniters were in good condition.
REFRENCES

[1] Shargawi, A. A., & Abed, S. Y. A Study of Boeing 747 “C” Check Maintenance Processes
Using Simulation.

[2] What is a supervisor? Key skills, duties and roles. (n.d.).

https://www.indeed.com/hire/c/info/what-is-a-supervisor

[3] Uzun, İ. (2023). Damage detection in aircraft engine borescope inspection using deep

learning.